Tina Lee Hadari began her journey at NMS in 2008. In addition to teaching students, and coaching several chamber music groups, Tina has led seven cohorts of NMS teaching artists in Teaching Artistry Lab. These workshops explore the evolving role of arts educators, focusing on equity, culturally responsive teaching, and fostering student voice while developing reflective and inclusive teaching practices. In September of 2024, Tina stepped into the role of conductor for the Greater New Haven Concert Orchestra at NMS saying:
“Nothing brings me more joy than making music with young people! Playing in a youth orchestra saved my life when I was a teenager, as it was the first place where I truly felt like I belonged. It taught me what it means to contribute to a collective purpose and helped me develop compassion, patience, and the courage to lead… I’m thrilled for the opportunity to recreate these experiences for the young musicians in the Concert Orchestra, and I look forward to our work together as the creators of connection, cultivators of curiosity, and champions of courage.”
Honored by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame for her work in the performing arts, Tina is a passionate advocate for the power of music to transform lives. A prize-winning chamber musician and violinist, she has performed in renowned venues like Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Konzerthaus, as well as community spaces, classrooms, and shelters—bringing music to people from all walks of life.
As the founder of Music Haven, Tina anchored a string quartet in New Haven’s lowest-income neighborhoods, providing tuition-free instruction to young musicians. She has since led national arts programs, built innovative music curricula, and regularly mentors emerging teaching artists at NMS.
We’ve asked Tina a few questions about her experience as an educator and mentor. Enjoy!
When I immigrated to the U.S. at the age of five, my family first settled in South Bend, Indiana. Like many other public schools across the country, my school introduced me to the joys of playing "Hot Cross Buns" on a 50 cent plastic recorder in a cacophonous chorus with other 1st graders. But in 3rd grade, we were all given the choice of enrolling in a beginning string orchestra class. My plan was to try to nab a cello, because my older sister had started playing the cello the previous year. I was so excited that I was caught running in the hallway to the orchestra classroom on the first day. My vice-principal demanded that I return all the way back to my classroom so she could watch me walk slowly and safely. When I got to the orchestra room, the six cellos had all been taken! The teacher handed me a violin to my utter disappointment; but when I discovered that we get all the juicy melodies, I decided to stick with it. But truth be told, I can still be found secretly fooling around on the cello from time to time, and I love playing viola, because it's got the thick, sultry, chocolatey sound that initially drew me to the cello.
Equity has always been at the forefront of my mind throughout my teaching career. My first teaching job in East Harlem kind of accidentally fell in my lap while I was freelancing in New York. I was 23, and I had no interest in teaching, let alone classroom teaching. But my friend agreed to go on tour with a Broadway show for six months and needed me to sub for her, teaching group violin classes to 4th and 5th graders in two elementary schools in East Harlem. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and while my first week was a disaster, I realized after a couple of months that I LOVED the job -- the kids, the learning community, and the sense of purpose and meaning you derive from being a part of providing access to opportunities that haven't traditionally been available to a community. My friend never came back, and I continued to teach in East Harlem for two years until I came to Yale for grad school. My love of teaching and my commitment to equity is what led me to found Music Haven in 2006, create an El Sistema-inspired music program at Brass City Charter School in 2016, serve as National Program Director for ArtistYear in 2019, and now teach at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford.
Playing the violin has always given me a way to communicate feelings and ideas when I haven't been able to find words to effectively convey the stuff going on inside me, and I refuse to believe that is an experience that should only be accessible to those with privilege and support.
The biggest lesson I've learned through the years is that equity work involves so much more than removing financial barriers. Yes, a lot of money helps, but people fall into the trap of thinking that if you make a program tuition-free that students will show up and that you can then easily carve a path to success for them. But financial hurdles are usually only the beginning. Equity work involves being aware of all the systemic, structural, and cultural barriers that can impede a student's success AND also looking for the assets and strengths that can catalyze a student's success.
True equity work involves being willing to dive deep into a student's life -- their family, their community, their beliefs and values -- and learning how to support that student to be the best versions of themselves they can be. Sometimes that means letting go of our assumptions of what good teaching is, what authentic learning looks like, and what being a successful musician or even a successful human being means.
Every single one of my students, whether they study with me in an ensemble or private lesson setting, knows my mantra: "Better posture, better sound." I probably say it ten times an hour when I'm going around adjusting bow hand fingers or asking students to soften their knees or relax their shoulders and sink into their back. Better posture leads to better sound, which leads students to enjoy playing their instrument and practicing more.
Moving organically with a string instrument is no easy feat, but I always tell my students that we need to breathe and move to make music come alive. I make it a priority to incorporate kinesthetic learning into my teaching -- breathing, moving, singing, and dancing to feel metric hierarchy and connecting pitches to lower and higher parts of the body are such powerful ways to help musicians find their voice and figure out what and how they want to communicate through their instruments.
Differentiation is so important to engaging students and advancing equity. But I confess that for a long time I used to be resistant to the concept, because I thought it meant lowering my standards and oversimplifying material. Not to mention that it takes a lot of extra time and energy! Sleuthing out where your students are (both in their capabilities and their interests) is challenging work.
But when I figured out that differentiation is really about figuring out how students think and learn so that you can help them reach successful outcomes more quickly, it made it so much easier for me to want to invest my time and energy. I also realized I was already differentiating instinctually (like re-writing music to meet students where they are) without knowing that I was doing it.
Now I think a lot about process and product differentiation. I try to always start by thinking about the end goal/ skill that I want the student to master so that we can figure out the different ways to show mastery of that skill. For instance, if the skill I'm trying to get my student to master is successfully executing different dynamics, I can differentiate by content by letting the student demonstrate dynamic contrast in a Sabrina Carpenter song I've transcribed for them rather than in "Song of the Wind". Or I can differentiate by process by asking a student to experiment with the volume control on their car stereo and write down which volume levels correspond to the different Italian dynamic markings. Or I can differentiate by product by letting the student choose between acting out the different dynamic markings or making a drawing or even making a dance that demonstrates their understanding.
Once I realized that differentiation makes things more creative and fun for both the student AND for me, it's been such an easier sell!
I love how NMS fiercely supports great teaching artistry, because they understand that it takes a lot of thought and work to prioritize joyful learning for everyone who walks through its doors!
