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Heidi, a West Michigan native from the Holland and Saugatuck area, began studying violin at age 12 and quickly immersed herself in music, participating in orchestras, chamber ensembles, and street performances. She attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Interlochen Center for the Arts, learning from world-class musicians. In 2016, she won the Norbert Mueller Concerto Competition and performed with the Holland Symphony Orchestra, where she played throughout high school. Heidi earned her Bachelor of Music Performance from Elmhurst University, studying under A. Francois Henkins. As concertmaster of the Elmhurst Philharmonic, she won the Elmhurst University Concerto Competition and performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Major. Passionate about music and teaching, Heidi emphasizes music theory, ear training, technique, and fun in her lessons, tailoring her approach to students of all ages and goals. She is thrilled to join the Westmont Music Academy family and looks forward to meeting you!

Linssey Ma is an active chamber performer, charity-recitalist, music teacher, and researcher. Linssey has earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music at Grand Valley State University and Master of Arts in Musicology at Western Michigan University. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Linssey was exposed to music at a very young age. Her mother gave her singing lessons and not long after she started the violin through Suzuki training. Linssey has studied the violin with nationally and internationally acclaimed artists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Russia, and from the States. Linssey continued her violin study under the guidance of an awarded conductor, Libor Ondras, an international concert artist, Gregory Maytan, and an acclaimed artist, David Lisker. She also has studied the violin with Megan Crawford, a member from the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and has participated in a Master class with Terje Moe Hansen from Norway and Kontras Strings from Chicago.During her studies at Grand Valley State University, Linssey has also completed the requirements as a music educator. She continued to further her education emphasizing western and world music history at Western Michigan University and completed her thesis research on Latin American Baroque Villancicos. Linssey has experience teaching general music, music history, and violin methods for more than six years. She has taught music in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and currently teaching around the Chicago area. She also has done solo performances abroad such as Toronto, Canada and Florence, Italy. Linssey is still an active orchestra member of the Holland Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and the Grand Rapids Vintage Parlor Orchestra, and other chamber orchestras in Grand Rapids. Linssey believes her purpose as both an educator and performer is bridging communities together. She is passionate about giving back to the community and sharing music to her audience through charity recitals. She has collaborated with organizations and formed intimate chamber recitals to fundraise music programs for churches, community orchestras for young musicians, and help Afghan musicians to escape from war and further their music education in Mexico.

Svitlana was born in Ukraine, and has been playing the violin since she was seven years old. She recieved her education from the Lviv Musical College and one of the most prestigious Ukrianian conservatories, The Lviv National Conservatory. While in Ukraine, she performed in orchestras and taught at Sambir Music School for 10 years. Many of her students continued to love and have a great passion for music. Some, even became teachers themselves! Svitlana has also had the honor of playing in the orchestra conducted by the famous Ukranian composer and conductor, Professor Mykola Kolessa.

Since coming to the United States, Svitlana has continued to perform in local orchestras, such as the North Shore Chamber Orchestra, St. Vincent Orchestra, and has collaborated with pianist Dr. Alexander Zintchenko and conductor Anatol Lysenka. She has been deeply involved with teaching students of all ages and skill levels in several local community schools, along with teaching here at Westmont Music Academy.

Svitlana's teaching style has a unique touch of traditonal European music education. Her cirriculum is fun with a pleasant blend of theory and playing. She has a wide variety of method books that keeps her students engaged and excited to learn! Svitlana, is also a real pet lover - she has a lovely and very friendly boxer at home named Indi, who loves to sing while she plays the violin.

With over 15 years of professional violin experience, Tia has a deep love for coaching others on their musical journeys. She has experience in recording, writing, and arranging music selections in numerous genres, and has done solo & group performances for weddings, business events, family reunions, and more. After adding teaching to her list of services in 2017, she obtained a minor in Music from North Central College in 2019. She has since taught students aging from 3 to 65 years old, at all experience levels and learning styles. She is especially skilled at crafting lesson plans that suit the needs of neurodivergent students. Her passion for offering support and encouragement to others as they explore and learn more about who they are has motivated her to persue a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psycholgy. She belives that music is an important part of self-exploration, and plans to always incorporate her love of music into her future theraputic work.