Allan Nelson - Violin Teacher

About The Teacher

Allan was raised in a musical family that loved to listen to bluegrass and country artists. As a teenager he found a passion for both classical violin performance and fiddling and has been playing ever since.

He is the Associate concertmaster of the Concordia Symphony Orchestra, and is featured regularly as a soloist at The King's University's Noon Tunes program.

Allan has been invited to compete in several prestigious competitions such as the 2019 Canadian Grand Masters fiddle championship, the Grand North American Fiddle competition, and placed as the runner up in the Concordia Concerto competition.

He has been a recipient of: The Alan and Alice bell award in 2019, the CSO award for outstanding musicianship and excellence in 2021, the Gerry Segger award for performance excellence in 2022, the Johann Strauss award for advanced study of music in Austria, the Ranald and Vera Shean scholarship, and the Winspear fund for Advanced study of Classical music in 2023.

Formal Education

As a fiddler, Allan has studied with two of Canada's most influential fiddlers: Calvin Vollrath and Patti Kusturok. As a classical musician Allan has studied with Frank Ho at The King's University in fulfilment of his Bachelors of music degree, learning both the concerti and smaller works of the major baroque, classic and romantic, and modern composers. Allan has played at various masterclasses during this time and has been actively coached by violinists Mark Fewer and Axel Strauss in the refinement of his craft.

He is also a recipient of several prestigious scholarships for his study abroad: In Vienna at the University of Arts and Music with Peter Schuhmayer, the Mozarteum summer academy in Salzburg with Phillip Meraner and Bernard Hagspiegel and Myrto Aretaiou, and Amitri della musica festival in Atri Italy under Ksenia Milas and Oleksander Semchuk.

In addition to his studies Allan and his students have raised thousands of dollars for animal shelters and charities through the studio's yearly concerts which have up to 150 people in attendance regularly.

A Unique Learning Environment

Before deciding to build his own studio, Allan spent years giving violin lessons for private music schools in Edmonton. While teaching, he devoted much of his time to developing unique and individually tailored curriculum, methodology, and pedagogy.

He is a registered teacher with the Alberta String Association and The Alberta Society of Fiddlers. His students frequently play solo in Festivals such as the Edmonton Speech Arts and Music Festival, compete in local fiddle competitions, and have the opportunity to play ensemble and orchestral music through the Music Enrichment Foundation and other local orchestras.

Allan's goal is to provide his students with as many opportunities as possible to share their joy and enthusiasm for music and the violin