Leah Plave

Hallo, mijn naam is Leah! Ik ben Amerikaan, maar ik leer Nederlands spreken. Ik spreek ook een beetje Frans.

I have been teaching for about 15 years and enjoy getting to know my students and helping them achieve their goals. I'm happy to teach anyone, whether it's your first time with music or if you are advanced! As a four-time immigrant myself, I am experienced with many styles of learning, language, and music culture.

My own music lessons began with the piano when I was four years old. My teacher (who was in her late 90s) didn't have a lot of patience with me, so this venture ended somewhat quickly. When I was nine, I started playing cello and really fell in love with it. Thanks to many great teachers, I was able to make music my career. Since then, I have studied and lived all over- the USA, Canada, Hungary, Bulgaria, and now The Netherlands. I have a Bachelor and two Master degrees in classical cello performance, but I also enjoy performing and teaching other genres such as folk, electronic, non-western, pop, etc.

Leah Plave is an unusual and well travelled artist. Unable to resist any genre besides country western, she edges past the traditional role of a cellist, performing not only classical repertoire but electronic, non-western, experimental, contemporary, and early music. She frequently works with living composers and enjoys interdisciplinary, cross-cultural projects. Leah has lived and toured extensively across Canada, China, Europe, and the USA as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborator. 

Leah is a founding member of many chamber ensembles and can be heard performing in spaces ranging from posh concert halls to sticky bars and candle lit living rooms. Before an untimely deportation from Canada, she served as Artistic Director and cellist of the Montréal Music Collective, for which she programmed and performed chamber and solo works by excellent yet under-represented composers in a monthly concert series. Based in the Netherlands since 2020, Leah is an Artist in Residence at Studio LOOS (Den Haag), where her research focuses on music for acoustic cello and live electronics. She has performed with award winning ensembles such as Z4 Piano Quartet, Lincoln Center Stage piano quintet, Linen of Words, Trio Alora, Vratsa Symphony Orchestra (BG), Theresia Orchestra (IT), Jeune Orchestre Rameau (FR), and Vermont Symphony Orchestra (USA). She has worked with many acclaimed composers of our time such as Zosha Di Castri, Cris Derksen, David Braid, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Michael Harrison, and Amy Brandon.

I love starting adults on the cello! I have had predominantly adults in my studio for the past few years, and therefore lots of experience setting up people with their instruments. I'm happy to work with newcomers to the cello, as well as anyone with previous experience. If it's your first cello lesson, the very beginning takes lots of patience. There is no preperation needed, except a rental cello and bow. I don't lend my cello for use in trial lessons because I believe that to really give yourself a fair shot means to try it more than once! However, I'm happy to help my students find their rentals. These lessons can take place online or at your home.

As a professional musician, I have a lot of experience with auditions (both good and bad!) I used to have terrible stage fright, and it took years of effort to make it better. In this course, we will prepare your audition repertoire, set good goals, and explore what happens to us mentally and physically during an audition experience. After we determine your personal goals, I will give you tools for how to take a successful audition that go beyond just learning the music well. This course is highly tailored to your needs and will leave you feeling stronger and more confident. These lessons can take place online or at your home.

I've been teaching cello lessons for about 15 years to people of all backgrounds and skill levels. I tailor my lessons directly to my students learning styles, musical preferences, and schedule. Having had many teachers myself, I have a broad range of experiences and influences to draw upon. I take a holistic approach to lessons, with my priority being to maintain a healthy, fulfilling relationship to music and learning. Our lessons can be as fast paced or relaxed as you want! There is no preperation needed for this class except a rental cello and bow. I don't lend my cello for use in trial lessons because I believe that to really give yourself a fair shot means to try it more than once! However, I'm happy to help my students find their rentals. These lessons can take place online or at your home.

With many years of formal training, I am happy to help you with music theory. In this course, we can explore the basics of music theory and how it relates to our performance and listening experiences. We can listen to music samples, discuss theories, and practice notation. This can be very personally tailored to your needs- if you would like help learning to read music, to understand rhythms, to sight-sing, or even just to explore new genres, it is all possible. No previous experience is necessary. I will provide all of the materials and may occasionally ask you to print a page. These lessons can take place online or at your home.