Holiday Music for Violin Ensemble - violin part

Holiday Music for Violin Ensembles (formerly "Holiday Music for Three Violins") was originally conceived for students of Suzuki teachers in Albuquerque as supplementary literature for performance during the holidays by Albuquerque-area Suzuki students. Violin 1 was designed for the Suzuki Book 1 level, playing the melody. Violins 2 & 3 were written for the more advanced student with the ability to play harmonies. This collection of Christmas, Hanukkah and other seasonal music represents over twenty years of work. Originally published in 1990, included were pieces arranged by myself, Susan Kempter and others from the old Albuquerque Suzuki School. They were originally written using DOS software pre-dating Windows technology. I recorded on cassette tapes, utilizing MIDI technology (still in its infancy) for the benefit of Suzuki students learning the pieces. This collection has been revised four times over the years to include a few additional pieces arranged by me. I continued arranging and compiling several other supplementary holiday pieces and eventually published a "Volume 2" in 2008. Some selections were updated with more "user-friendly" key signatures, and using more modern, state-of-the-art recording and notation software, the manuscript is visually much more consistent and easier to read. I remixed all recordings with MIDI piano accompaniment playing live audio violin. I hope that this collection of Holiday Music for Violin Ensembles continues to provide year after year of fun and satisfaction for violin students.
About the Author: Jane Soyka has been teaching strings in Albuquerque since 1985. She received her Bachelor of Music Education Degree "with distinction" from the University of New Mexico and studied violin there with Leonard Felberg. She has received extensive Suzuki training from Teacher-Trainers Susan Kempter, Lorraine Fink, Ted Brunson, Alice Joy Lewis, Louise Scott and Marilyn O'Boyle. A long-standing member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, she specializes in teaching young children utilizing the Suzuki Method(R), having registered extensive longterm and unit training with the S.A.A. in the Suzuki violin volumes, supplemental literature and enrichment courses. Jane co-directed, with Marilyn O'Boyle, the New Mexico Suzuki Institute and Advanced String Camp, an S.A.A. sanctioned summer retreat for string students studying via the Suzuki Method(R). Additionally, over the years she was director for the New Mexico Suzuki Workshop and the Rio Grande Suzuki Workshop, both of which were open venues for Albuquerque-area Suzuki students and their teachers to come together for weekly group lessons, performances and play-ins. Jane's expertise in composing and arranging music with young violin students has brought her to Brisbane, Australia as well as Auckland, New Zealand and London, U.K. as a clinician in Suzuki programs there. Since 2007, she has been working with her students in the ongoing project, "My Students' Melodies," recordings of which are available for download through iTunes. In 2009, S.A.A.'s flagship publication, the American Suzuki Journal published an article written by Jane entitled, My Students' Melodies: Inspiring My Students Through Composition." Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jane maintains a full-time private studio. Those who study with her receive weekly private instruction, group ensemble classes and many opportunities for solo recital participation and group public performances. In addition, each year students have the opportunity to create and perform their original compositions. In her spare time and in addition to her private violin-teaching career, Jane enjoys composing and arranging, music publishing and photography.