About

My name is Rebecca Portillo, and I have been playing the violin for almost 35 years and have over 25 years of music teaching experience.  I have a BA degree in music education from California State University Northridge, and I love teaching music! There is nothing as rewarding as watching someone's eyes light up when they "get it"! 

I started playing the violin because a music teacher came around and offered it to all the classes in 4th grade - and this sounded great to me, although I had no real prior music exposure and wasn't entirely sure what playing the violin entailed, because I was going to get out of class twice a week! That's right, I unknowingly launched my musical career because I wanted to get out of class! (And even sillier, I chose violin over cello because in my 4th-grader mind, I thought violin would be easier to learn because it was smaller. Ha!) Of course, once I started actually learning to play the violin, I was hooked and there was no going back. 

After finishing my music degree, I went on to teach orchestra programs at several elementary schools in Los Angeles for a few years, before returning to the Antelope Valley and switching to running a private lessons studio. My passion is bringing the opportunity to learn to play a stringed instrument - something that changed the entire trajectory of my life - to as many children and adults as I can. Because this is my driving purpose, I strive to make lessons and classes as accessible as possible - that's why I include services like using classroom violins during class time and assistance with finding your first instrument as part of the "package" for every student, and offer many group classes as an affordable option for families and a way to develop ensemble skills in musicians of all ages.

I teach all levels, from no music experience to advanced, and especially enjoy working with neurodiverse students. I'm passionate about giving beginning musicians the best start possible so they keep going, and helping advancing musicians develop the technical skill and musicality to take them as far as they want to go!   I believe in thinking outside the box when it comes to teaching and learning. I've developed a Suzuki-blended approach that enables everyone to learn to play beautifully from the beginning.

When I'm not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband, son, and our two crazy dogs (Buddy and Ozzy) and our very entertaining cat (Penelope).