Salam Khorshid

I have been a violin teacher since 2005. I worked with children as young as 5 years old and adults in their 50s. I have a bachelor’s degree in music from the Damascus Conservatory in Syria, where I studied classical music. I also founded several choirs for children and adults for non-musicians as part of psychological support programs for marginalized communities. I realized my passion for teaching when I was a student at the conservatory because I believed that everyone should have the chance to be exposed to any form of music. Although trained as a classical musician, I developed an interest in other genres like Jazz, Rock, Oriental music, and more. I started playing the keyboard and learning music theory when I was 6. At 11, I picked up the violin and began my journey as a musician. Since then, I have trained with many great musicians and participated in several orchestras and workshops with musicians from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the USA, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, and Canada. After 5 years as a conservatory student, I graduated as a classical violinist. I was lucky enough to study under Professor Evgeny Loginov, who played a significant role in shaping me to become the teacher I am today. A good teacher can recognize that each student needs a unique approach that matches their skills, interests, and goals. Even though students have their preferences, a skilled teacher should be able to work on their preferences and introduce them to other styles of music. Because I worked with a wide range of ages, I can adapt my teaching methods according to the age group I am working with. With young learners, lessons are more playful and upbeat, and the older the students are, the more we can work on ways to express themselves through the music they are playing. I left my home country, Syria, after the war and resettled in Canada in 2016. Since then, I have remained in touch with many of my students by helping and advising them online. Many have continued their professional music studies at the Damascus Conservatory, and others have resumed their individual musical pursuits in Europe and other parts of the world. Since I arrived in Toronto, I received the Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship grant from the Toronto Arts Council to work with Linda Eyman, the director of the Toronto Singing Studio. I studied singing and choir conducting with her and participated in her choir performances as a singer and an assistant conductor. I also passed the sixth-level singing exam at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto and co-conducted Nai, the Syrian children’s choir, for over a year. Between 2016 and 2017, I played violin with Orchestra Toronto and worked with violinist Corey Gemmelle for some time. I teach violin privately and am a violin teacher at the On the Off Beat Music School. I previously taught at Elite Music Academy. Also, I founded and established Nawa Choir, a community choir for woman-identified Arabic-speaking women.