Triangle Youth Music is proud to offer free after-school violin classes to two elementary schools in Siler City.
Both Virginia Cross Elementary School and Siler City Elementary Schools are Title I schools, with over 89% of the students receiving free and reduced lunch 90% identifying as Black and/or Latino.
This program is in partnership with Chatham County Schools in keeping with our goal of increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in our programs. We are grateful to the music teachers at each school, Courtney Benton and Tracey Harvel, as well as the school and Chatham County administrative staff for their support. The Triangle Youth Music violin teachers Deborah Wood and Miriam Bryant, are local Chatham residents who each offer over 20 years of string education experience.
Chatham County String Program Instructor
Miriam Bryant has been teaching and leading others in musical activities for over 30 years. She earned a Master’s of Arts in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and held K-12 Music Educator certification 2005-2018. Mrs. Bryant taught in the public-school sector for 8 years as a music educator at the high school level in strings, chorus, music theory, and music appreciation classes. Additionally, she taught elementary music in typical and atypical blended pre-K classes and in special needs class settings of varying abilities. Mrs. Bryant also taught fiddle with the Chatham County Junior Appalachian Music organization for several years and lead various children and adult choirs at her church Currently, Mrs. Bryant teaches private lessons in violin, piano and voice in Lee and Chatham County. In addition, Miriam is a violin instructor at the elementary school level for the Chatham County Schools strings program. She is a continuing in her seventeenth year as a member and violin section leader of the Lee County Community Orchestra and performs regularly at churches and community events. Professional organizations include membership in the Music Educators National Conference and the American String Teacher’s Association.
“Ms. Miriam” bases her teaching methods on the pedagogy of Suzuki, Bornoff, Kodaly, and student led processes to develop technique, intonation, and tone. In addition to teaching and playing music, Ms. Miriam enjoys cooking, knitting, birding, hiking and being a Mimi to her grandsons.
Chatham County String Program Instructor
Deborah’s love of music began at a very young age. At 18 months she regularly
requested to hear the music of Antonio Vivaldi so it was only natural that at age 5
she began violin lessons. As she grew, she also added piano, viola, clarinet, and
some voice to her musical toolbox performing in orchestras, bands, and choirs.
She earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from West Texas A&M
University and a Master of Music Education degree from the University of North
Texas. As an adult she has performed in many church and community events as a
soloist and as a member of various-sized ensembles.
Deborah began her career as a public school orchestra director in her native
Texas. She primarily taught in middle schools where her orchestras consistently
earned top ratings at concert and sight-reading festivals, including being named as
a top-ten Texas middle school orchestra for three years. When her husband, Kerry
responded to God’s call to ministry and their family moved to Ohio, Deborah
shifted her focus to teaching private strings lessons. As a private teacher, Deborah
taught the love of string playing to many students aged 4 through 70. She
prepared these students for studio recitals, solo & ensemble festivals, and other
performance and competition opportunities.
In early 2023, a surprise opportunity brought Deborah and Kerry to beautiful
North Carolina where they now reside in the heart of Chatham County. Deborah
is thrilled to be sharing the love of playing a stringed instrument with another
generation as she teaches violin students at Virginia Cross Elementary through the
Chatham County String Program sponsored by Triangle Youth Music.
Deborah and Kerry have three grown children, two sons-in-law, and two beautiful
granddaughters who reside in Florida and Ohio. In her free time, Deborah enjoys
various needle arts, cooking, sharing music with others, deepening her relationship
with Jesus Christ, and, especially, spending time with her husband!
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
And never miss an update! Get information on upcoming events, programs, and registrations!