Mateo’s relationship p
to music and to his instrument
denote a young artist in the dawnin
g of his craft.
Patel Conservatory violin student Mateo
Valdes has a very deep and wise gaze
under a fl op of shaggy, dark bangs. He
doesn’t make eye contact much, but when
he does, he seems to possess a kind of oldsoul
way of knowing that belies his slight 10
years of age.
His mother, Natacha, trained in the
Suzuki method as a child and continues
to practice and play violin today. When
her son was old enough to sit for an
orchestra performance, she took Mateo to
an afternoon concert. Like many people,
initial exposure to the arts as a small child
awakened his talent.
“I saw the violin,” he says simply. “And I
knew right away I wanted to learn to play.”
Natacha looked for schools with Suzuki
classes, found the Patel Conservatory
and enrolled her son in 2013, when he
was fi ve years old. The Suzuki method
involves a triangle of teaching and learning
among the teacher, student and a parent
or guardian. So, Natacha and Mateo
began this violin journey with Dr. Catherine
Michelsen, the string specialist at the Patel
Conservatory.
“It was different from what I expected,”
Mateo says of his fi rst lessons fi ve years
ago. “I had to practice putting my feet in
the proper position when I was little and
just starting. Catherine had a cardboard
thing I had to put my feet on, and we would
practice my posture. Then I got into playing.
Book 5 is where I am now.”
But Mateo’s “where I am now” extends
beyond the next book in a serial technique.
Though he continues to train and learn
from his enormous support system at the
Patel Conservatory and at home, Mateo’s
relationship to music and to his instrument
denote a young artist in the dawning of
his craft.
“He’s been a true joy to teach,” says Dr.
Michelsen. “His innate musicality was
apparent early on, both in his playing and
in his interest in other aspects of music such
as improvisation. His sense of dynamics
and phrasing is very impressive.”
Mateo’s versatility was impressive
enough to land him a spot as one
of the youngest violinists in the
Suncoast Super Strings, an arm of
the Itzhak Perlman Music Program
in Sarasota. After rehearsing with
an orchestra comprised of students
from around Florida, the Suncoast
Super Strings performed with Itzhak
Perlman himself conducting in
December 2017.
“I was very excited,” says Mateo. “I liked
performing with so many people. Now that
I played in that orchestra, I sort of have
an image in my head of where I want to
go, where I see myself with the violin. I see
myself playing in a big concert and making
recordings. And a lot of improv stuff.”
Mateo, who studies and practices
rigorously, spends much of his free time
with the violin recording himself on his
computer in improvisations of what he’s
learned. “I love improvising,” he says. “I
work on my pieces to get better, but I do
want to record and do something with
that later.”
“I play with Mateo, too,” says Natacha.
“I’ve seen a huge development in his
technique because of Catherine’s style of
teaching but also because he gets boosts
with the Patel Conservatory camps. He’s
more comfortable, happier with his own
playing. I am most pleased about his desire
to improvise, though. That’s not me or
anybody else. That’s just him.”
“Playing violin is very fun once you get
it,” Mateo says. “After the fi rst six months,
I really started to enjoy it. It’s been great
for me.”
If you want to get involved with Patel Conservatory summer camps and classes,
see what’s available and register now at patelconservatory.org.
/www.patelconservatory.com