San Francisco Institute of Music

My daughter and son are students of SFIM and they love it. We initially heard about David and Audinga by word of mouth three years ago, when our daughter was 5.5 yrs old. We set up an initial meeting with Audinga and our daughter connected with her right away. Our daughter started playing violin with them and has developed tremendously over the last 3 years. Now our son (6 yrs old) has started violin lessons and he really enjoys it. As other reviewers have stated, SFIM offers a comprehensive teaching approach. David and Audinga live, eat, breathe music and they have found an effective way to infuse that into their teaching style. Their dedication to the teaching of music, music theory, the enjoyment of playing music, as well as the general well-​being and over-​all growth and development of each student is both unique and evident in the students.
They conduct monthly masters’ classes and 2 formal recitals each year. This helps the kids to become more comfortable with performing in front of audiences and also helps to build a warm, supportive family community. It’s also great fun to see the kids progress!

A friend highly recommended San Francisco Institute of Music to me 3 years ago for my daughter who was 6 at the time. I signed her up for violin lessons and she hasn’t looked back. Audinga and David who founded the school are both amazing teachers and have created a very specific approach and methodology. Their lessons cover every detail including correct posture and hand positions for holding violin and bow. I’m learning that having these essentials provides a strong foundation to build on. I also like the fact that they suggest a variety of books so my daughter has multiple etudes and pieces to practice which makes practice more interesting.
There’s an informal monthly performance and 2 formal recitals a year. This really helps the kids to focus and have a goal and it’s wonderful to see each child progress over time.
If you have a child who wants to learn to play the violin or the piano, you should definitely check out San Francisco Institute of Music.

We were looking for a new piano teacher for my daughter who has been taking lessons on and off with several different teachers with varying results. Mrs. Audinga Jacobson came highly recommended from a mom who has her child taking piano lesson with Audinga for a while.
I made the call and was immediately agreed upon a time for our meet and greet session. It was nice to see that Audinga is very serious about the quality of music each of her student should undertake. She is always very gentle but firm in her lesson with my daughter. She is consistence with her message, know what you are doing, and under sand it well.
My daughter has been making steady progress and is happy with her piano lessons with Audinga.
I highly recommend her if you are looking for a serious but nice piano teacher.

Our daughter started studying the violin when she started kindergarden (just before turning 5.) Over two years later, she enjoys music, practices every day, and performs without any anxiety. She handles constructive criticism very well and feels genuine pride at a job well done. David and Audinga are both talented and experienced musicians as well as dedicated and loving teachers.
They consider how they teach, when they introduce techniques, and what might work best for individual children. They work with beginners, intermediate, and advanced students (and also manage their parents!) Monthly performance classes allow more performance experiences and also form a community of families who all love music.
I can’t imagine my daughter having a better musical education!