An Interview with Mimi Zweig

Erin Aldridge (1992)

For the past ten years, I have been a violin student of Mimi Zweig.  As a student, I found over the years that I had questions about Mimi’s experience and background that I had not had an opportunity to ask. Just a short while ago I finally had an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. Here are some of the fascinating things I learned about Mimi.

Q. How old were you when you started playing the violin?

A. I was eight years old.

Q. What other instruments do you play?

A. I play the piano, the whole family of recorders, the bassoon (When I was 10, I played for three months, but quit because the case was too heavy to carry to school) and the viola.

Q. What colleges have you attended?

A. I attended Syracuse University, The Manhattan School of Music, and the State of University of New York at Albany.

Q. Who were your violin teachers?

A. My first teacher was a painter. I studied with her for a few years and had a good time sight reading. When I was fifteen, I studied with Louis Krasner. He was my first artist teacher. Then I studied with Rafael Bronstein. He was a famous violin teacher, but passed away a few years ago. The rest of my teachers have been my students. When you teach, you learn from your students.

Q. What made you decide to teach?

A. In 1972, I went to watch a woman teach kids at the North Carolina School of the Arts. After that day I was hooked, and I have been teaching ever since.

Q. What do you enjoy most about teaching?

A. Watching the students make good progress, and the joys that come from music making and working with young people.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the violin?

A. Its beautiful tone.

As you can see from this interview, Mimi is an excellent teacher and a very special person. I know that I have learned a lot from her, and I continue to appreciate all the things that she shares with me.