Daily Virtuoso

For many years, Nathan has had a passion for helping as many people as possible around the world to solve their violin challenges and reach new levels of coordination, facility, and ease on the instrument. Nathan has taught for decades in a variety of formats – both virtual and in person – and has been longing to spend more time focused on the repertoire he loves most, while using that great music to help students open all kinds of new possibilities in their playing. As Nathan’s children have gotten older, he’s been looking for ways to share his teaching in the most impactful way while still having the time to devote to his family. Hence, Daily Virtuoso! It’s designed to let you focus on what matters most in your violin life.

While learners of all levels are welcome, Daily Virtuoso is designed for intermediate, advanced and professional-level players who already have a commitment to daily practice. Daily Virtuoso focuses on great works from the violin repertoire that require a familiarity with all standard (and some more specialized) techniques on the violin, and is most useful to players who are comfortable with all core elements of violin or viola technique.

Throughout the assignments, Nathan will offer suggestions on how to scale down the workflow so that you can meet the program where you are. You can choose to focus only on certain elements of each quarter’s curriculum, or you can opt to do the most you can with all of the ideas presented. You get to keep the lessons and videos for as long as you maintain your Daily Virtuoso membership, so you can come back to the pieces again and again – you might surprise yourself with how quickly you’re able to improve!

While learning online is not for everyone, many students have relied on online learning as their primary source of instruction. The majority of Nathan’s teaching over the last 10+ years has been online. If you are uncomfortable with Zoom, navigating the internet, or researching and implementing solutions to your tech challenges, or if you know that the best way for you to learn is by having a teacher standing in the same room with you, then Daily Virtuoso is probably not for you.

Daily Virtuoso runs on an ongoing basis, with quarterly repertoire arcs. The kickoff session for the second quarter of 2024 is on April 1st.

Daily Virtuoso is an entirely online experience. The course material includes pre-recorded videos and PDF downloads that are accessible through the natesviolin.com website. There are also live sessions that take place on Zoom and a community forum on Discord.

If you’ve taken any online course before, most likely you have everything you need already. If you are new to the online format, here’s what you will need: A strong internet connection; familiarity with using the internet (accessing a web browser, checking email, logging into websites with a username and password); basic familiarity with Zoom (joining a meeting and connecting your computer audio); the ability to Google things – looking up solutions to your tech challenges first before asking for help. If that level of technology usage feels out of reach for you, then Daily Virtuoso may not be the right fit.

Each quarter’s meeting schedule is decided in advance and published on the Daily Virtuoso course page, as well as in the participant handbook. Live calls are scheduled according to Nathan’s availability, but we do try to vary the days and times to accommodate a variety of time zones.

As long as you are a member of Daily Virtuoso, you have access to new and archived course materials, replay recordings of Practice Squads and live sessions, and everything in our growing Virtuoso Vault.

We encourage you to approach the repertoire with an open mind, or “growth mindset.” The tools and techniques presented each week can translate to any music you might want to learn. You might even find yourself enjoying the work after giving it a try for a few months. Will you be going over audition strategies? The Daily Virtuoso is not focused on audition repertoire. Nathan, being an auditioning orchestral leader himself, may bring in some concepts from his experience on both sides of the audition screen, but the musical selections will come from the masterworks of the solo violin literature. That said, you can apply Nathan’s approach to any music you’d like to learn, be it chamber music, audition repertoire, or that folder of orchestral music you need to have ready for rehearsal next week!

The primary purpose of Practice Squads is to build community. This is a designated time to come together and connect about your Daily Virtuoso experience in a facilitated small group setting. The Practice Squad coaches are all alumni of the VMC program who have worked closely with Nathan for many years and are very familiar with his teaching style. We currently have four practice squad coaches, and each coach’s squad meets once a month. You are welcome to attend as many of the different coaching squads as you would like to! The Practice Squad coaches are all professional musicians who have studied extensively with Nathan and have a deep understanding of his approach, as well as their own decades of experience. As an added bonus, Nathan drops in on at least one practice squad a month! These surprise visits are opportunities for you to connect and work with Nathan in a more intimate setting. Practice Squads, like all Daily Virtuoso content, are recorded.

We all get behind from time to time, so you’ll be in good company. We recommend that when you fall behind, you simply pick up wherever you are and keep going. You have access to the lessons and videos for as long as you maintain your Daily Virtuoso membership, so anything you missed this time around, you can pick up the next time! Nathan’s rule of thumb here: if the workload is too intense, reduce it. You can choose to work on less repertoire now and come back to this quarter’s materials when you have more time. Even if you’re right in step with the pace of Nathan’s curriculum, you’ll likely gain more and more insights the more you return to the repertoire.

Most Daily Virtuosi (including Nathan!) have very busy professional and personal lives, yet they share a dedication to making time for the violin in whatever way fits their schedule. While we love seeing participants join the live sessions, everything is recorded and organized to fit around any schedule.

Each week, Nathan releases approximately one hour of video content on the current quarter’s repertoire. There are two live calls with Nathan each month: a workout session digging into various techniques and topics relevant to the curriculum, and a Hot Seat Studio Class, in which participants get to ask for feedback from Nathan. Nathan also recommends spending one hour a day practicing for every piece you choose to work on if your goal is to fully learn the piece from scratch. It’s an entirely personal decision as far as how much to take on. Whether it’s all three pieces from front to back or a few phrases from one particular bucketlist piece, the key to Daily Virtuoso is the “daily” aspect – finding some version of consistency that makes sense for your life.

Not to worry, everything is recorded!

Nathan does not teach privately. The only way to work with Nathan currently is through the Daily Virtuoso.

The cost for annual members is $3,000. The cost for monthly members is $275/month. You can cancel anytime on the monthly plan.

Considering that a year of weekly private lessons with an experienced teacher in the US would cost at least $5,000, Daily Virtuoso offers an enormous amount of value for the cost. Not only do you get many more hours of instruction (via pre-recorded videos) than you would get in private lessons, ranging from in-depth repertoire lessons to a wide range of technical and mindset fundamentals, Daily Virtuoso offers robust community features that will keep you motivated and inspired.

If what you need in order to get better career performances is greater stability, reliability, and confidence in your playing, then this program will deliver on that – as long as you put in the consistent effort. Daily Virtuoso will provide you with exposure to all the tools and techniques you need to succeed as a violinist, as well as the mindset to incorporate them in a lasting way. However, the Daily Virtuoso can not practice for you! You’ll need to engage with the content in a meaningful way to reap its rewards.

Annual members can request a refund within the first 14 days of each yearly billing cycle. Monthly members are not eligible for refunds upon cancellation. Should you decide that the Daily Virtuoso is not for you, you may cancel your membership at any time through the Account Page in the course website. Simply click “My Account,” then select “Subscriptions.” That’s where you can deactivate your subscription. Please note, once you have canceled your subscription, you lose access to all course materials.

Daily Virtuoso is open for enrollment every quarter. If you can’t join us this time, we hope to see you in the future!

We are not currently offering scholarships for Daily Virtuoso, but the program is open for enrollment every quarter. Should your budget change, we hope you’ll join us then!