Stella Kosim
Goes by: Miss Stella or Stella
Stella began playing classical guitar at the age of 13. She took her first lessons at Yayasan Pendidikan Musik, a private music school in Jakarta, Indonesia. She fell in love with music and the classical guitar in large part because of the influence of her dedicated teacher, Oliver Pletscher. In her own teaching, she consistently reflects on the powerful and positive impact a teacher can have on a student because of the influence Mr. Pletscher had on her.
Stella’s students have ranged in age from 4 to 70, and she enjoys teaching students of all ages. Stella has taken Suzuki Guitar teacher training in order to better meet the needs of young students. Likewise, she has studied traditional classical guitar methods and enjoys teaching teens and adults using respected and established methods. She values an engaging teaching approach that motivates and equips students to succeed.
As a way of staying connected with musicians in her home country of Indonesia, Stella has been teaching weekly online masterclasses to young classical guitarists through the Indonesian Classical Guitarist Community (ICGC).
Stella received her bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of Washington where she studied with Michael Partington. She has performed in master classes presented by the Seattle Classic Guitar Society, Northwest Guitar Festival, New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes and the Guitar Foundation of America.
In addition to music and teaching, Stella loves math, numbers, and has a degree in Business and Accounting. She also loves travelling, cooking, and walking outside with her cat, Groucho. Stella lives in Snohomish County with her husband, Robert, and her son, Garrett.
Stella is not currently accepting new students on guitar. All inquiries will be put on a wait list.
Robert is currently accepting students on Tuesday evenings. He will start accepting students on Friday evenings in May.
Robert Vierschilling
Goes by: Mr. Vierschilling or Robert
Robert Vierschilling teaches classical guitar to adults and teenagers, and to children using the Suzuki approach. In addition to teaching classical guitar, Robert teaches music theory on guitar and composition for guitar. While a few of Robert’s students have gone on to careers as professional musicians, most of his students learn guitar and music for their own enrichment and enjoyment.
Started teaching guitar lessons as a high school student at a local music store in New Jersey. When he went to college at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore to study classical guitar, he taught guitar at several private schools, scheduling as many classes as he could in the morning so that he could teach guitar in the afternoon. After finishing both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at Peabody, Robert moved to Seattle where he taught guitar at several community music schools and at a guitar store before moving to Eastern Washington become certified to teach music in public schools. In Eastern Washington, Robert taught at a small rural school where he was the only music teacher in the school district, teaching preschool through twelfth grade, including band and guitar. Robert is glad to have settled in Snohomish County where he teaches elementary music for a public school and guitar lessons at Snohomish County Music School.
While building his career as a guitar and music teacher, Robert has also enjoyed staying active as a performer and composing for guitar. Many students have learned to strum basic chords using his Guitar Chord Primer, and several of his original compositions for guitar can be heard on YouTube. Robert performed at numerous venues in Seattle and hosted a classical guitar cabaret at the Couth Buzzard Cafe in the Greenwood neighborhood. When living in Eastern Washington, Robert was active in the Guitar Society of the Tri-Cities, performing and conducting guitar ensembles in several society-sponsored concerts. In Snohomish County, he is a regular participant at the Snohomish County/North End Classical Guitar Open Mic.
In addition to music, Robert enjoys reading and is a fan of comedy, especially sketch comedy and classic comedy movies. Robert lives in Snohomish County with his wife, Stella, his son, Garrett, and his cat, Groucho.