« The best teachers not only inspire and instruct a student well while they work together, but also provide that student with the passion, skill set, and strategies to keep going independently. Janel absolutely did that for me with my cello playing. I started playing cello through my school program when I was 10; by the time I hit middle school, I had bad habits technique-wise and little interest in the instrument anymore. Orchestra music wasn’t enough to motivate me. I quit for a full year, and my cello remained completely untouched during that time. Then my parents reached out to Janel. I instantly liked her - she was kind and compassionate, and really cool in so many ways. She worked with me on my form and I noticed results instantly. She furthered my classical training, but also let me explore turning my own favorite music and songs into something I could play on cello. She taught me to have fun with the folk and pop music that I loved. She worked the most important foundational goals - like good tone and technique - into lessons that she often designed based on my personal musical interests. She helped me tackle complicated sheet music from composers like Bach and Faure, but she also taught me how to play by ear and improvise. She empowered me to feel confident in different genres with the cello, and she opened my eyes to how my cello playing could be a form of self-expression. I liked her so much as a person too that I always wanted to make her proud, and suddenly the main thing I wanted to do as soon as I came home from school was practice cello. She helped me gain an intrinsic motivation for practicing, and it never felt like a chore imposed on me again. I felt confident and happy when I had her guiding my work with my instrument. Eventually I couldn’t work with her anymore as I went away for college, but her lessons always stayed with me. I found a way into the folk music scene where I moved by playing an Old Time tune she had taught me for my first jam - and I happened to meet my future husband there. Now we play gigs together often as a guitar and cello duo. Cello never ceased being one of the most important parts of my life. I give Janel the credit for inspiring me to pick it back up again as a kid, and for showing me how fulfilling and adaptable it could be throughout my life. Janel’s teaching is responsive to the individual needs of her students, it’s diverse and adaptable to so many genres, and she herself becomes a positive force in the lives of the musicians she works with - I can’t thank her enough for helping me stay with my cello. »