Testimonials
"To learn from Dr. Hunter is truly the most transforming experience as a parent. It has helped me to discover my daughter’s music talents, her good ears, good memories, and most importantly those lessons having indirectly taught her perseverance on how to tackle hard tasks in her life and becoming a master at the end. To be able to learn it well and enjoy it for more than 5 years is definitely closely related to her master teacher -- Dr. Rebecca Hunter. Dr. Hunter is a consummate violin teacher who knows the art of teaching violin in young children. She has many creative ways of teaching it, goal sheets during holidays, note books, piggy thumb drive, score sheets, rewards, beads, trophies for completing a book, pizza parties, community concerts etc… the list can go on and on without ending. In addition to violin learning, Dr. Hunter has also added music theory classes for more advance kids, which are extremely helpful for our young musicians and for parents too. I am sure that you all would agree with me that Dr. Hunter really knows how to cultivate young kid’s love for music while she still keeps a high standard on them to learn the skills." -- Dr. Jihong Liu, Parent
"Rebecca Hunter is one of those rare musicians who is both a superb teacher and a superb performer. In her teaching she brings her enthusiasm, her warmth and a consummate knowledge of string pedagogy to her work with young violinists. As a performer she plays with a lovely sound and “spot-on” intonation. Everything she undertakes is infused with great vision and creativity, as well as the ability to turn her constant flow of ideas into reality. In addition, she is an enthusiastic and professional colleague, and a joy to work with. In her five short years at USC she has built the Suzuki Strings from 18 to 130 students, while raising the standards to create an amazing program. We are so sorry that she will be leaving USC to go to Ann Arbor, but wish her all the best for the future. "-- Carolina Distinguished Professor of Cello Robert Jesselson, USC
"For the past five years, I have sat in the violin lessons with William (my son), and I watched how much his music had grown under Rebecca's teaching and nurturing. William is not a responsive kid, but her patience amazed me. She would use different wording, different examples to guide him, make him understand, and even get him to open up to her. She did not just build a solid foundation on his violin skills, but she also gave him confidence with his playing. I cannot thank her enough for that. Rebecca did not just make a difference in William's life, but she also had a great influence on me, too. I had no musical training when I was young, but by sitting in these violin lessons, I have learned a great deal about music. I now know every bowing and technique needed to play the songs from book 1 to book 3 (of course with my notes). Now after going through book 4, I learned to appreciate the beauty of concertos and also learned to enjoy listening to them. Everything I know about music today, is a credited to you, Rebecca. Thank you very much." -- Manli Cho, Parent
"Dr. Rebecca Hunter touched our lives through music in a way I would have never thought it was possible. Over the last 4 years, we’ve been so blessed and impressed with the most rigorous and high quality music education produced by Dr. Hunter and her Suzuki Strings at the University of South Carolina. She turned a small program into an amazing success. Our two daughters joined the program when they were 3 and 4, respectively. Dr. Hunter’s program offered us a truly outstanding environment blending the learning, the nurturing, the understanding, the patience, the character building, the development, and ultimately, the LOVE. She created a Suzuki family with a strong foundation and room to grow. I also joined Dr. Hunter’s parents class ‘the Mamas and the Papas’ where I came to appreciate the unique bonding and sharing experience of Dr. Hunter’s program. It comes natural to Dr. Hunter to be a leader, and she does it with kindness and grace while standing by principles. She’s been an inspiration to me in my own teaching as a college professor and raising my own children. I’ve been amazed over the years to see her creative ways to bring smiles on our children’s faces while getting them focused on the lessons. She is a most generous person offering to others her knowledge, time, energy, and finances. She’s been a significant part of our family and our girls love her so much." Dr. Camelia Knapp, Parent
"It has been an absolutely amazing experience working with Dr. Hunter over the past few years. I have learned a great deal from her, and she has made me a better, well-rounded violinist. After every lesson with Dr. Hunter, I feel more confident with my technique, intonation, and ability to maneuver around and with the violin. Under her instruction, I have become more confident and more capable playing the violin. The way Dr. Hunter teaches her students is personalized and hands on. You can immediately tell that she has a true passion for working with her students and making them the best musicians possible. It has been a rewarding and amazing experience learning from and getting to know such a talented and unique person." -- Holden McCullough, Student 9th Grade
"I have had the pleasure of studying violin at the graduate level with Dr. Hunter at the University of South Carolina. She is one of kind. Through her teaching she is able to convey musical techniques and ideas with an effectiveness that produces beautiful growth. Her passion and care for each student is evident by the time and dedication she continually puts forth, always willing to go above and beyond. Dr. Hunter’s character encompasses a constant smile and a joy that is transcendent and reflective in her teaching. I am honored to have been her student and to have formed a lasting relationship with such a loving and inspiring teacher, musician and woman." -- Zoe Whittaker, Graduate Student
"Dr. Rebecca Hunter is a truly exceptional violinist, teacher, educator, clinician and colleague who I had the pleasure of working with for 5 years at the University of South Carolina. We conducted two searches to find just the right person for our new Violin Pedagogy position that was created to enhance and expand our string program, and Dr. Hunter showed that she was by far the best qualified to take on the multiple responsibilities of taking over our developing Suzuki program, teach applied violin to undergraduate and graduate majors at USC, perform solo and chamber recitals, and most of all develop and lead a new graduate degree - Master of Violin Pedagogy. She did all of the above with an expertise and enthusiasm that exceeded all of our expectations. She was very well respected by her university colleagues and loved by her many students of all levels, as well as the many parents whose children she worked with so closely. As a colleague who has observed her teaching over the years, I can confidently say that Rebecca is a creative, versatile, and exceptionally effective teacher, with a keen talent for achieving the highest standards for young students and advanced university students alike. At her final Suzuki concert in Columbia, it was so impressive to hear over 300 students play on such an incredibly high level, due to her organization and vision which enabled her to develop the program so well, as well as her excellent guidance and training of her many teaching assistants. Her wonderful playing serves as a great role model to her students, and she proved herself to be a wonderful chamber music collaborator with her USC faculty colleagues. We lost a wonderfully dedicated teacher and musician when Dr. Hunter left Columbia, but now the lucky students and parents in Michigan will soon learn of her great gifts and enthusiasm for teaching, and will get to know her as a warm and energetic person we have gotten to know here in South Carolina. Rebecca knows she is welcome back anytime to the institution and city she served so well, and I wish her all the best in what I know will be an ever more successful career in teaching and performing in her new home." -- Professor of Violin Dr. William Terwilleger, USC
"It has been such a pleasure working with Dr. Rebecca Hunter with the Suzuki Strings Program where my son, Robert, has been studying violin the past three years. Dr. Hunter has a natural ease with children of all ages and she is very kind, patient, and nurturing; she makes learning fun! The Suzuki Strings has grown tremendously under her leadership; the program consists of a well-rounded music program that not only includes private lessons, but also music theory and group ensembles (small and large). Furthermore, Dr. Hunter clearly understands the importance of involving parents in their child’s lessons and group activities. Her teaching methods and activities are creative, engaging, and highly interactive. I have been teaching for over 30 years and Dr. Hunter is certainly one of the most knowledgeable and motivated teachers I have met. My entire family has enjoyed every opportunity that Dr. Hunter has provided her students and their families."-- Dr. Stephanie Muga, Parent
"We consider ourselves very lucky to have Dr. Hunter to teach our sons violin. Jayson was 3 and half and Brayden was 2 when they started to learn violin with Dr. Hunter. There are a lot of challenges to start at this young. Dr. Hunter was willing to make extra efforts to bring out the best talent in them which include but not limit to: teached them at 6:30 am every week for a year just because their attention span was the best at this time; created fun challenging game to engage them at class and encourage them to practice at home; threw fun meaningful party at the end of the semester to reward her students for daily practice. This list can go on and on. Our sons have improved tremendously as violinists since they studied with Dr. Hunter. She is truly a caring loving inspirational violin teacher!" -- Sabrina Chen, Parent
"Our family is very thankful to have had Dr. Hunter as Austin's violin teacher. He recently completed Book 5 and other repertoire from Bach, Telemann, and Kreisler. With each performance, he has became more poised, confident, and has improved his technique. Austin himself says of his time with Dr. Hunter, "Dr. Hunter is a great teacher. She is very strict, but I learn a lot from her every week. I like challenges. Even though I might not get the new thing she taught me the first time, she's very patient to repeat the details until I learn it. I enjoy the feeling when I overcome the difficulty and make progress." -- Cindy Huang, Parent
"My daughter has such an amazing rapport with Dr. Rebecca Hunter from the first day we met and still today. She is an outstanding Suzuki Teacher. She is patient and fun. We had the pleasure of her being Ava's teacher for several years. We miss her. She instructs in such a manner that the parent is able to understand and the child is able to follow. She encourages home practice and will instruct on what needs to be practiced. She also gives fun ways to practice while she is teaching and ways to help with practice at home. She also gives information through emails, workshops, festivals, concerts and camps. She gives back to her community and has concerts in nursing homes, local festivals and museums. She is caring , loving and just a joy to be around. My husband, myself and my daughter all would recommend her as a teacher. To describe her in one word AWESOME!! If you have any questions or concerns I would love to answer them for you." Teri Uggiano, Parent
"My son had lessons with Dr. Hunter for five years. She is definitely not lacking in patience or energy! Not to mention her expertise in violin! I was always impressed with her temperament in teaching and how she was able to help the children to see the real joy in their music. Violin has truly blessed our lives. It was a privilege Rebecca!" -- Melody Lindsey, Parent