Simple Solutions: A New Look at Old Problems in Viola Pedagogy

In this engaging and practical 90 minute session, violist-educators Carol Gimbel and Dr. Alice Lindsay invite participants to revisit persistent pedagogical issues with a fresh, research-informed, and experience-backed perspective. Drawing from decades of teaching, performing, and mentoring, Simple Solutions offers insight into overlooked anatomical realities and ergonomic innovations that can influence and revolutionize technical fluency, comfort for violists, and artistic fulfillment.

Participants will leave with tangible techniques and “studio-ready” exercises that can immediately benefit students and professional players alike. Framed within the broader Congress theme of heritage and diversity, this session blends tradition with innovation—grounded in the historical wisdom of master teachers (including Paul Doktor, Joseph DePasquale, and Samuel Applebaum, all of whom shaped Dr. Lindsay’s pedagogical lineage) and enhanced by contemporary anatomical awareness.

This “hands -on” proposal is not only a celebration of pedagogical heritage—it is a call to adapt, question, and refine how we teach and play the viola across generations and geographies.