NAOMI BLANKENSHIP WILKES

Piano and Violin

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Naomi Blankenship Wilkes

Naomi has been playing piano and violin for eleven years and teaching for the past five years. She has taught three year olds to retired adults, and every age in between! She started playing at age 12 and quickly grew to love music as a way to create beauty for herself and others. After finding that she loved teaching, she decided to pursue a Minor in Music at Western Washington University (WWU) to further her musical studies, which she completed in Spring 2017. Naomi also majored in Chinese and minored in TESOL, so she specializes in teaching students from an ESL background. Naomi plays many different musical styles on both instruments, including classical, sacred, fiddle, and modern. Her goal is to be a guide for the student to help them reach their goals by both challenging and encouraging them. She loves performing and teaching students of all ages, inspiring them to love and enjoy music for themselves and share it with others.

In the summer of 2019 Naomi married the love of her life, Zach Wilkes, and moved to Bellingham. Naomi now teaches in both Mt Vernon and Bellingham. While she enjoys teaching and performing, what Naomi loves most is to sit down at a piano or take up a violin and just play, delighting in God’s gift of music and giving it back to Him in praise.

Piano Education

As a piano student, Naomi participated in adjudication, Master Lessons, and competition. At WWU she studied under Dr. Milica Jelaca Jovanovic and played in piano recitals and Master classes with WWU professors. Piano compositions she has played include Prelude in D Major, Opus 23, No. 4 by Rachmaninoff, Piano Sonata Opus 10 No. 1 by Beethoven, Opus 118 No. 2 & 3 by Brahms, and a piano duet of Uranus by Holst.

Violin Education

Naomi took violin lessons through high school and played in Fidalgo Youth Symphony for five years. At WWU, Naomi studied under Professor Walter Schwede and played in his Master classes. Violin compositions she has played include Maleguena, Op 21, No. 1 by Sarasate, Autumn from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Op 71 No. 1 for two violins and piano by Moskowski, and the Double Violin Concerto by Bach. Naomi played violin as a member of the WWU Symphony from 2015-2017, including works such as Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture Fantasy, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, and The Firebird by Stravinsky. She has also played in various quartets and ensembles.