Our
Story
A Message from NOVA Strings Academy Founder Dr. Julia Clancy
I started teaching violin lessons when I was in high school. Instantly, I knew that music education was my life's calling. Since then, I've taught violin, viola, music theory, and chamber music at Yale University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Encore Chamber Music Institute, and in my own private studio. I've worked with students of all ages and skill levels. Teaching music has taken me all over the world and I've enjoyed working with students of diverse backgrounds both in-person and online.
Everyone can, and should learn an instrument. Music can be a profession, a hobby, and a lifetime companion. I am passionate about guiding and inspiring each student, young or old, to discover their potential. Each student receives individualized, careful attention.
My goal as a teacher is to make sure that every student develops their skills in order to support their lifelong appreciation and love for music.
Dr. Julia Clancy
NOVA Strings Academy founder and lead teacher
Subjects taught: Violin, Viola & Music Theory
Dr. Julia Clancy received her doctoral and Master's degrees from Yale University where she was twice awarded the Georgina Lucy Grosvenor Memorial Prize. She is a member of Pershing's Own Strings which frequently performs in the White House and throughout the capital region for the President, the White House Cabinet, U.S. Army officials, and foreign dignitaries.
Prior to her appointment to Pershing's Own, Julia played in the San Diego Symphony as Acting Section Violist. She performs frequently with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured guest principal of the Great Falls Philharmonic. She has played in the sections of the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, and Nashville Symphony.
While living in Berlin, Julia performed primarily with the Staatskapelle Berlin under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. She performed and recorded albums with Konzerthaus Berlin, Aldeburgh Strings, iPalpiti and the Boulez Ensemble. She became a member of the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble in 2019 and has toured Europe and South America several times with the orchestra.
As a soloist, she has performed at 92Y, TheGreene Space, National Sawdust, LACMA and venues across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain. She has acted as principal violist in Krzysztof Penderecki’s festival orchestra, Britten-Pears Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, Sarasota Festival Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Moritzburg Festival Orchestra and Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Orchestra.
As an educator, Dr. Clancy has taught music theory, history, writing and viola performance at both the Cleveland Institute of Music and Yale School of Music. She is a former associate faculty member of the Encore Chamber Music Institute. She has served on the faculty of the Moabit Musikschule and The Academy of Fine Arts in Shreveport, LA. She is currently an education consultant for Ivy Labs Education.
Dr. Clancy's early musical education began at the Juilliard School where she studied with Heidi Castleman in the Pre-College program. She holds a degree in medical anthropology from Case Western Reserve University and a degree in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey and Robert Vernon. Ms. Clancy received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University graduating with academic honors.
Dr. Jack Hughes
Subjects Taught: Composition, Music Theory, Irish Fiddle
Music Theory Faculty, Conservatory Cleveland-based composer and music theorist Jack Hughes was born in Reston, Virginia, and his interest in composing was sparked by his public-school music program. He wrote his first real composition, a fugue for string quartet, after being inspired by a transcription of a Bach fugue he performed as a trumpet player in his middle school band. It won first place in a contest for young student composers sponsored by the Webster University Community Music School in St. Louis, and for the first time, at age 13, Hughes got to hear his own work performed and recorded by professional musicians. During high school, he twice attended the summer Young Composers Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was coached in composition and theory by CIM graduates and had additional pieces professionally performed and recorded.
Several years after those pivotal experiences, Hughes earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a double major in theory and composition and studied in the studio of Keith Fitch. He earned his PhD in 2020 at the University of Chicago, where he studied with composers Augusta Read Thomas and Shulamit Ran and theorist Lawrence Zbikowski.
Hughes served as composer fellow for the Canton Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and San Francisco’s Volti choral ensemble in 2017. In 2018, he won the music theory prize for the wellknown Nadia Boulanger curriculum at the summer music program in Fontainebleau, France. In 2019, he was awarded an Underwood Commission from the American Composers Orchestra, which is scheduled to premiere his new work at Carnegie Hall in 2022. The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2020 awarded him its Charles Ives Scholarship and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival selected him for its 2021 String Quartet Project and Commission. Hughes joined the music theory faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music in fall 2021. In addition to his performance background on trumpet, Hughes also plays piano, viola and traditional Irish fiddle.
Learn the violin,
your brain will thank you later.
We've known for ages that music is good for you. But science continues to gives us more and more evidence of music's benefit for the brain and well-being. Learning an instrument can improve long-term memory and lead to better brain development for those who start at a young age.
Not all musicians are good teachers. Not all teachers are good musicians.
Find a teacher with a proven track record in both performance and pedagogy.
Find the right teacher.
Violin lessons in Arlington & Alexandria VA
Give your child a head start. Enroll them in violin classes with a Yale and Juilliard trained musician.
STUDENT/PARENT TESTIMONIALS
Manish Shaha
Passionate and engaging teacher. Has done wonders with our friends children getting them both excited and well versed with reading and playing music live. Can work on any level of expertise and is extremely active in the local music community. A true gem to have in shreveport. Don't miss out on the opportunity to work with Julia before her schedule fills up. Too good to miss out on!
Ardita Ormeni
Our daughter loves Ms. Julia and looks forward to her viola lesson all week! She's so talented and she's amazing with children. It's truly an honor to have someone so accomplished and so well known to teach our child. We recommend her 100%
Elena Dredger
Julia Clancy's love of music and passion for teaching inspired my children to continue with music lessons beyond their school orchestras. I highly recommend her for music lessons!
Nancy Gibson
I didn't think online lessons could be so great! I also didn't realize how hard the violin really could be. Julia helped me develop my technique immensely. Thank you so much-- my kids will be starting with her soon too!
Mamatha Katikaneni
Julia is a wonderful violin teacher with an extraordinary ability to connect with kids instantly and make them enjoy every session with learning music through fun and play leaving my 3 and 5 year old always asking for more and really looking forward to the class again next week. She is able to go down to the level of the children and bring out a sense of appreciation and true love for music which lays a very important foundation in their young minds. I am so fortunate to have found her as a teacher and will definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a violin or viola teacher in the Shreveport Bossier area.
Thomas Lingbloom
I've wanted to take violin lessons for many years. Online violin lessons from Julia have been an amazing experience! She is very knowledgeable about the violin and music generally. I wouldn't have believed how well she could analyze my abilities and customize the lessons online. I think what I appreciate most is her patience.