Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic DeStefano.
Dominic, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My founding partner and I both started teaching private violin and viola lessons while in graduate school in Cincinnati. As we were honing our skills as classical musicians, we were also earning tons of hands on experience with students of all ages. Once we started working as freelancers, teaching and performing around the area, we became more and more dedicated to teaching. We both ended up with very large studios full of great students. We soon discovered how amazing an experience it was to teach in students’ homes and decided to promote the idea across Cincinnati.
We started on our own, but soon hired cello and piano teachers to join the studio. Once we grew enough that we had to hire more violin teachers, we knew that we were on to something. We spoke to some friends in other cities about our experiences and several of them wanted to get involved. City Strings & Piano was born, with lessons available in students’ homes in a handful of cities across the country, and we decided to move from Ohio and open studios in Boston and New York. We are in 7 cities today, working on further perfecting the concept before the next phase of growth.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always challenges in business, just as in life! As trained musicians with no business experience, we learned so much about accounting, marketing, planning, and law along the way. But that has allowed us to grow, as a business and as people. Each city where we offer lessons in so different, which I don’t think we expected very much. Luckily we have local partners involved in each city to help us along the way and we have been able to adjust strategy and expectations as appropriate for each locale.
Please tell us about City Strings & Piano.
We provide violin, viola, cello and piano lessons in your home with the best teachers available in the Boston area. We work hard to keep our teachers and families engaged in learning, so that everyone has a wonderful musical experience. Our teachers are all experienced, fun and flexible, so that lessons are never one size fits all. Individual learning plans are important for students of all ages, and we only work with teachers dedicated to finding the right plan for each of their students. We also think it is important to provide frequent performance opportunities and make the process as simple as possible so that we can fit music into your life!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember dropping my violin while I was practicing and the fingerboard broke clean off. I was so upset, I couldn’t control myself! Why would such a sad memory be one of my favorites? Because I love to tell this to my students today when they are learning to handle their instruments. Not only does it make them take extra care, but they always have the most amazed look in their eyes. I think it puts their learning experience into a greater perspective that is difficult to explain. Kids often walk away from the story remembering that their teacher was once a beginner just like them! And by the way, it’s a simple repair for the violin shop if the fingerboard falls off–just don’t tell the little kids!
Pricing:
- Tuition for weekly 30 minute lessons is $160 per month
- Additional time is discounted 10%
Contact Info:
- Website: https://citystrings.com/boston
- Phone: (617) 545-4280
- Email: boston@citystrings.com
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