Teaching Philosophy: “I believe that a successful music student is a musician who learns to be his or her own teacher. The classroom can give a student a solid grounding in basic music skills and instill discipline and an appreciation for the finer points of flute playing. I believe that music performance is one of the most amazing phenomena that one can experience. Each student is unique and so must be the approach to each student’s needs, in a kind and encouraging learning environment.”

Ilona has over twenty-five years of teaching experience. Her former students include accomplished professional flute players who have performed worldwide, as well as orchestra artists in the Latvian National Opera orchestra and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, flute teachers, and music enthusiasts.

In 2006, her student Alexandra Conza won third place in the Junior Soloist Competition at the Kentucky Flute Festival and Solo Competition. Ilona has also presented clinics and performances at Berk Recital Hall, Berklee College of Music, Boston; conducted master classes and performances at El Sistema in Somerville, MA; and taught at the Boston Center for Adult Education and Groton Hill Music School. She served as a Visiting Professor in the Jazz Department at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music from 2015 to 2016 in Riga, Latvia.

For many years, Ilona has performed and taught at the International Latvian Young Musicians’ Master Classes in Latvia, where she provided private flute lessons, improvisation lessons, and coaching for chamber music groups and flute ensembles. She was the Music Director of the Willow Flute Ensemble and the Amber Flute Quartet for 10 years. In 2010, Ilona received a Teaching Certificate of Excellence from the Latvian Academy of Music and the Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy.

Currently, she teaches at the Berklee Summer Program Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive, Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, MA, and prepares private flute students for the ABRSM exam.

Photo © Juris Zolbergs