Drake (they/them) is a violinist living and teaching in Ithaca, New York. A graduate of the M.M. in Suzuki Pedagogy and Violin Performance program at Ithaca College, Drake’s work is focused on the use of violin mastery as a landscape for inner work from a very young age.
Drake began violin in the Suzuki Method at the age of four with DeannamBadgett, and later studied with Tim Washecka and Kristi Manno. They attended The University of Texas at Austin where they studied Violin Performance under the instruction of Sandy Yamamoto and the Miro Quartet while also completing dozens of hours of elective pedagogy courses with Dr. Laurie Scott and Dr. Robert Duke. While in Austin, Drake taught at Monarch Suzuki Academy and The University of Texas String Project, maintaining a studio of over 20 while also a full-time student.
While undertaking long-term training with Carrie Reuning-Hummel, Drake lived in residence at the Ithaca Zen Center where they explored concepts of stillness, oneness and emptiness. Their critical look into the teachings of Shinichi Suzuki (a Zen practitioner himself) through the lens of Zen philosophy has yielded an original approach to teaching the Suzuki Method.