The legacy of violin teacher Ginny christopherson
Ginny Christopherson began teaching young violin students in the early 1970’s in Columbus, Ohio. She taught me from age 5. Later she taught my oldest child Camille from age 3 and 1/2. She impacted thousands of students, parents, teachers, and families throughout her career as a violin teacher, beyond showing kids how to play. I wrote the below in memorium of her recent passing. I share it as a tribute to her, and also as a reminder to me and others of many lessons that can be taken from her example.
In memory of Ginny Christopherson
As you age, you come to appreciate more deeply the people who shaped your life when you were young.
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Today, I want to acknowledge one of those people—my first violin teacher, Ginny Christopherson.
Ginny, I still can’t fully comprehend or express how much you gave to me, starting when I was five years old and continuing into adulthood. Your encouragement, generosity, and wisdom went far beyond teaching me how to play the violin. You taught me how to live, teach, parent, and love with heart.
When I was a teenager, my mom, Diana—sitting right there—once told Ginny that continuing lessons was becoming too much. We had moved 45 minutes away, and between the financial burden and time costs of commuting for lessons, especially given that she had four kids, my mom thought we might need to stop.
Ginny didn’t hesitate. “You can’t quit,” she said, forcefully and matter-of-factly, with such authority and conviction that my mom never brought it up again.
That moment encapsulates Ginny for me: unwavering belief in her students and a commitment to realizing their potential, no matter what.
Many of us in this room are familiar with the tenets of the Suzuki Method she espoused:
- “Nurtured by love.”
- Music as a vehicle to develop character and deepen bonds between parent and child.
- The long journey of ups and downs a family navigates together through a music education of a child.
But Ginny embodied something even more remarkable. She taught us that music isn’t just a practice—it’s a mirror. It reflects our fears and challenges us to face them:
- Do we practice, or do we procrastinate?
- Do we take on new challenges, or do we stagnate?
- Do we engage with others in moments of conflict, or do we avoid them?
Through lessons, play-ins, recitals, and institutes, Ginny gave us the tools to confront those fears. She showed us that music isn’t about perfection but persistence.
Ginny didn’t just have a teacher’s heart—she had a gift for seeing the genius and the heart in every child and parent she taught. She made you feel that you were enough, just as you were. And she believed that if you kept showing up with heart, you would be a revelation to those ready to receive it.
“Playing with heart” isn’t about giving every ounce of effort or leaving it all on the stage. It’s about giving your all despite fear:
- Practicing, even when you doubt your progress.
- Teaching, even when your imperfections are visible.
- Showing up for others, even when resolving a conflict feels unlikely.
Although the future is unpredictable, Ginny taught that if you play, teach, parent, and live with heart, you’ll never have a single regret.
Ginny, your heart lives on in every note we play, every child we teach, and every moment we choose courage over fear. Thank you for teaching us.
