About

Hello, here’s a little about me! My name is Sam Araya, my pronouns are he/him, and I am the founder of Sam’s Cello Studio. For the last 20 years, I have been teaching cello, music theory, arranging, and composition to children and adults in private and group settings, both in-person and online. I teach a variety of music styles, including I teach many styles of music including Western Classical Music, Children’s Songs, Movie/TV Music, Musical Theater, Folk Songs, Rock, Pop, and Jazz. Most recently, I have been focusing on addressing diverse learning needs, which includes helping those with dyslexia, ASD, ADHD, and physical and intellectual disabilities.

I want to make cello learning accessible to all and am constantly making an effort to provide courses of study that can focus on the learner’s needs and are customizable for each individual. Regular practice is essential to learning a difficult instrument like cello, so I love to talk about practice habits in an open and guilt-free way.

My teaching method pulls greatly from the philosophies of the Suzuki and Kodály methods of music instruction. Both philosophies are based on the fundamental principle that music is a language in an addition to an art form and therefore special care should be taken to allow for learners to gain musical fluency. By bringing these great methods together, I aim to fill the gaps present in each to help cello learners have a comprehensive music education.

The majority of my music training is in the Western Classical Music tradition. I have a Bachelor of Music in Music from the University of California Santa Cruz, a Master of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, a Certificate in Suzuki Cello Pedagogy from the University of Denver, as well as an Artist Diploma in Cello Performance from the University of Illinois.

Currently, I live in Malmö, Sweden with my husband Andrew. When I’m not playing cello, I enjoy hiking, kayaking, vegan cooking, sewing, knitting, and visiting Disney parks!