Biography
Violinist Maia Schmidt is a well-rounded musician as a performer and educator. A passionate violin teacher, Maia approaches teaching holistically, with an emphasis not only on the technical foundation but also the well-being of the student outside of music. Maia believes that giving clear expectations of excellence with a gentle and loving approach is vital in creating balanced students through music.
Alongside her extensive performing schedule, Maia teaches students of all levels and ages. Maia is on faculty at the Peabody Preparatory of Music and the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore as well as BridgeMusik and the Elizabeth Faidley Violin Studio in New York City where she was the recipient of Ms. Faidley’s Teaching Assistantship. Maia’s love for teaching began early in her career when she taught violin at the Paterson Music Project, an El-Sistema inspired program in Paterson, NJ in 2013 and later completed Suzuki Book 1 and Book 2 training.
Maia has had extensive solo performance experiences at numerous venues in New York City, including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Lincoln Center, as well as performances at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Salzburg Cathedral, and the famed Esterhazy Castle’s Haydnsaal. Maia gave her orchestral debut at the age of 13 with the Manhattan String Orchestra and performed with the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, she gave her New York City solo recital debut as part of the 92Y Young Concert Artists Series. She has worked with artists such as Nathan Cole, Ray Chen, David Kim, Ani Kavafian, Kurt Nikkanen, Stefan Jackiw, Eric Wyrick, the Jupiter String Quartet, among others. As a chamber musician, Maia has worked with members of the Arianna, Brooklyn Rider, Orion, Jupiter, and American String Quartets.
Maia graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree, studying with Peter Winograd and the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Music degree in violin performance and violin pedagogy, studying with Qing Li and Rebecca Henry. She is also an honored inductee of the Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society.
Maia performs with a Hill bow gifted to her by the late Eleftherious Eleftherakis, former assistant conductor of the MIT Symphony Orchestra.
In her free time, Maia enjoys traveling, reading, and petting dogs.