Dr. Belén Hernández
Violin/Viola
Age 5 and up/Beginner to Advanced
Doctor of Arts in Music (Violin Performance and Orchestra Conducting)
– University of Northern Colorado. Greeley, CO.
Master of Music (Violin Performance)
– University of Northern Colorado. Greeley, CO.
Bachelor of Music (Music Theory)
– Carson-Newman University. Jefferson City, TN.
Teaching Philosophy
Each person comes to music with different expectations and goals. As a teacher who has worked with early beginners as well as adult students, I try to understand where the student is coming from and help them discover where they want to project themselves. I believe that sharing my genuine passion for music and my love for the violin is the best starting point. I think of teaching as a discovery journey. The teacher’s role should involve facilitating encounters with the traditions of great musicians as well as encouraging students to find their own voice and expression. I am committed to helping my students explore a wide variety of violin playing traditions (violin schools and techniques) and styles (composers and genres). In addition to this, I foster the development of their own musical personality and awareness of their bodies as they engage in sound production.
I incorporate body mapping concepts such as naturalness as a guiding principle (finding what is comfortable and efficient), interdependence of all elements involved in violin playing (proportions and balance), and the relationship of mind to muscles (mental control over physical movement).
In my training, I have discovered that understanding the language of music from an analytical point of view helps me to better express myself. I encourage musical analysis to improve expression, coherence, and memorization.
I strongly believe that music should ultimately connect the community, functioning as a social unifier while celebrating diversity. In my studio I intend to create a comfortable atmosphere for everyone to share who they are and play music together.
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” — Victor Hugo
“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” — Gustav Mahler
Biography
Dr. Belén Hernández started her musical journey in her native Argentina under the guidance of Maestro Gustavo Guersman in Tucumán and later with Maestro Luis Roggero in Buenos Aires. She graduated with a degree in violin performance from the Instituto Superior de Música de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán where she was a member of the university’s youth symphony orchestra. She then joined the Orquesta Sinfónica de Salta in 2007 as a full-time violinist.
In 2010 she received the Tarr Award (full tuition scholarship) at Carson-Newman University where she completed a BM in Music Theory (2014). During her undergraduate studies, Dr. Hernández was granted the Presser Scholar Award and the W.D. Hudgins Leadership Award. She was named Outstanding Music Graduate and became a member of multiple national honor societies, including Pi Kappa Lambda, Alpha Chi, and Omicron Delta Kappa.
She continued her higher education studies at the University of Northern Colorado where she earned a MM in Violin Performance (2016) and DA in Violin Performance with a secondary emphasis in Orchestral Conducting (2020). Her doctoral dissertation,” Life and Legacy of Luis Gianneo: A Comprehensive Study of His Compositions for Violin,” reflects her deep love for Argentine music. During her time at the University of Northern Colorado, she served as Dr. Jubal Fulks’ Graduate Teaching Assistant.
Dr. Hernández has performed in many symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles including the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (CO), Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra (WY), El Paso Symphony Orchestra (TX), Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra (NM), Victoria Symphony Orchestra (TX), Ohio Light Opera (OH), Meridiano Quartet, Colorado MahlerFest, Westpfälzisches Sinfonieorchester (Germany), Symphony of the Mountains (TN), among many others.
She taught violin lessons at Centro Andino para la Educación y la Cultura (CApEC) in Tilcara, Argentina (2008-2010), and Flourish Music Academy in Greeley, Colorado (2017-2019). Dr. Hernández has coached orchestral sectionals at the Denver School of the Arts, Denver Young Artists Symphony, Cherry Creek Honor Orchestra, among others. She was the orchestra director at Horizon Middle School (Clint ISD) in El Paso, Texas, from 2019 until 2022. Under her guidance, this brand-new orchestra program was awarded Superior rating at UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contest.
Dr. Hernández recently taught violin and viola at the Kreismusikschule Kaiserslautern in Germany and served as the assistant director and upper strings coach at the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Kaiserslautern County. She is currently teaching and performing in South Central Texas.