About Us
Leopold Auer Music Academy is a private boutique music school located in Prairie Village, KS. Our programs, taught by acclaimed international artists, provide dedicated students of all ages and levels with a complete conservatory-level music education in violin, viola, cello, and piano. We offer private lessons, chamber music, chamber orchestra, and classes in musicianship, music history, and music theory. We are a preferred Qualified Education Service Provider for the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEP).
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At a glance:
Inclusion
We cultivate an atmosphere of acceptance and belonging.
Community Engagement
We pass on our love of music through performances and events at nursing homes, schools, auditoriums, and other community spaces.
Acclaimed Faculty
Our esteemed faculty perform and teach internationally.
Personalized Curriculum
We craft individual progress plans for every student, and offer clear and consistent feedback to celebrate improvement.
Rewarding Collaborations
Together we unfold the true meaning of music and make lifelong memories along the way.
Flexible Scheduling
We accommodate your busy lives with hassle-free scheduling of lessons and makeup lessons.
Your trust is our priority
We encourage parents to attend lessons, and we invite students to video record lessons for playback during the week. This accelerates the learning process and promotes transparency and trust between parents, students, and teachers. All of our faculty pass background checks.
Our Story
We are named after Leopold Auer (pronounced “hour”), one of history’s most revered teachers and instructor of legendary violinists Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Efrem Zimbalist, Toscha Seidel, Mischa Elman, and Miron Polyakin. His innovative methods passed through his students and grandstudents to us, the founders of Leopold Auer Music Academy. We have adapted the violin master’s teaching methods for 21st century students.
Leopold Auer. Aside from being an excellent violinist, he had remarkable taste in facial hair.
St. Petersburg Conservatory. Prof. Auer taught most of his famous students in this building. The conservatory has one of the richest musical traditions in Europe.
Jascha Heifetz, student of Leopold Auer, is considered by many to be the greatest violinist of the 20th century.
The Leopold Auer Method
Our curriculum stems from 100+ years of experience performing and teaching music. Based on Leopold Auer’s pedagogy, we balance disciplined technical training with lyrical pieces encouraging students to “sing” on their instrument. Students discover their signature sound and style, and the instrument becomes their voice. Find out for yourself why the Leopold Auer Method has produced many of the world’s finest musicians.
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Inclusion
We carry on the legacy of Leopold Auer through our commitment to inclusion. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jewish people were not permitted to live and work in St. Petersburg. Prof. Auer defied government edicts by matriculating Jewish students into his studio. He believed talent should be recognized and cultivated no matter where it comes from. We uphold these same values.
Leopold’s Wisdom
Interpretation
“Too many students who are technically quite far advanced do not properly interpret the technically less difficult pieces they play, because they regard them as beneath serious consideration. This is a fundamental error in musical taste and judgment.”
Empathy
“To understand and to cause to be understood. The artist must aspire to that aim.”
Individuality
“Beauty we must have; tradition we can dispense with. How is a violinist to conceive the meaning of an older work if his own musical instinct and freedom of conception are obfuscated by the dictum, ‘This must be played in such and such a manner, because so and so played it that way 200 years ago?’ “
Discipline
“The right kind of practice is not a matter of hours. Practice should represent the utmost concentration of brain. It is better to play with concentration for two hours than to practice eight without. I should say that four hours would be a good maximum practice time-I never ask more of my pupils-and that during each minute of the time the brain be as active as the fingers.”