"Annalise Ohse was a wonderful teacher for my daughter. She combined a rigorous focus on technique with a sense of panache, whimsy and bold musicality. Ohse is both generous and exacting, personable and precise. It was a pleasure to work with her, and she excelled at developing individual relationships with her students."
​-Katherine,  ​CT

​"My daughter loved her lessons with Ms. Annalise, and as a musician and teacher myself, I was extremely impressed with the level of her pedagogy. Her manner is warm and engaging, her musicianship is impeccable, and her ability to communicate complex technical concepts in a way that children will understand is admirable. We are sad that she moved away, but are grateful for the strong foundation my daughter received while studying with Ms. Annalise."
-Karie, NYC

"Annalise taught our twin girls (age 5 at the time) during their first year of violin. Annalise is just a fantastic teacher - incredibly knowledgeable, able to develop a wonderful rapport with her students, and full of strategies for keeping our two very active kids on task during their violin lessons. Having studied the cello and piano for many years when I was younger, I was particularly impressed by her ability to pair her rigorous technical requirements with a seemingly endless collection of strategies for helping the girls learn proper violin technique. We have no doubt that the technical foundation that Annalise laid during that first year accounts for the girls' current violin proficiency. Perhaps most importantly, she made learning the violin fun and interesting and provided the girls with a musical foundation on which they have continued to build. The girls looked forward to their lessons with Annalise, and we could not have envisioned a better teacher for our children. We were very sad that we had to leave Annalise when we moved to a new city, and Nashville should consider itself lucky to have her!"
​-Herman, NYC

​"Annalise taught my daughter for 2 years. June loved seeing Annalise and would get excited for each lesson. Annalise would play games with her at an appropriate developmental level that made learning fun. When I expressed frustration as a parent trying to get my daugher to practice, Annalise gave me great ideas and loaned me a book that was so helpful. June was 6 when she started with Annalise and she was the perfect bridge between parent and child in the early stages of learning the instrument. I would not hesitate to begin lessons with Annalise, our loss she is so far away!"
-Laurie, NYC

​"Annalise was our children's violin teacher in New York City for almost 3 years, starting from when our son Kori was about 11 and our daughter Maia was about 8. The kids were skeptical about changing their long time and beloved teacher, but when she had to quit unexpectedly, the best thing that could have happened, happened. Annalise happened. While Annalise is highly skilled in teaching violin using the Suzuki method, there is something else that she brings to the table, that I would say is almost impossible to replicate. And that is her creativity in helping young violinists connect to what they were learning in a truly unique and personal way.

​I have never myself had any musical training, but Annalise was fascinating to watch. For example when Kori had trouble early on keeping the right rhythm for a piece, instead of simply having him constantly repeat exercises to improve this skill, Annalise would have him walk around the house, violin in hand, stomping the beat with his feet until he connected the beat in his body to the beat of the music he was trying to learn. What could possibly have taken months or years to learn, Kori grasped in just a lesson or two. And more importantly, suddenly, something that could normally have been boring to a young boy, was fun and meaningful.

I also remember when Maia, who detested having to stand for a whole lesson, was allowed and taught to sit like a professional concert violinist for parts of the lesson. Eventually Maia found out for herself that standing was actually easier. What could have become a struggle became an invaluable life lesson too. The kids went from simply having music lessons and learning new violin skills, to looking forward to what new thing Annalise would teach them at their next lesson. They were engaged and eager and asking for more.

​Annalise also encouraged them to play contemporary pop pieces that they connected and related to, teaching them skills they needed to play a particular piece, even if it wasn't in exactly the right order. Keeping children and teenagers motivated to learn to play the violin can be especially hard, but Annalise's best skill as a teacher, and why I would recommend her wholeheartedly, is her ability to keep them engaged and excited, and somehow always finding a creative way to connect them to what they are learning. Truly priceless. Wish we could have her back !"
-​Sammy, NYC