Meet Dr. Ashley Finke | Music Educator & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Ashley Finke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Ashley, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Faith in God is the value that matters most to me. This is true both personally and professionally as who I am personally affects who I am professionally. I believe we are each defined by our beliefs and these beliefs guide our decision-making, goals, careers, and everyday life. Faith, as I view it, is a foundational point in the development of people’s ideologies and understandings for personal and professional applications. Living by faith in God, for me, means living by His rules and seeking His will in my life. As a Christian, my decisions, goals, career, and everyday life are rooted in my faith which has also helped me through difficult times and failures in addition to bringing me through to success. My faith also sets the parameters for my interactions with others and how I run my business as a private music instructor and musician. It is my goal to reflect the same grace, understanding, fairness, and kindness that Jesus Christ showed to people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a private music instructor in Florida and have earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music, a Master of Arts in Music Education, and a Doctor of Music Education degree. Music education is the area in which I work now but was not the sole area in which I had envisioned myself working 10 years ago. In addition to teaching, I am pursing academic writing and curriculum writing for all levels of music learning. Through my own learning experiences, I have seen areas of music that tend to be overlooked in music education. I want to positively influence music learning for all individuals by bringing back into circulation those areas that have been overlooked in recent years. I currently offer weekly, private lessons for students ages 7-adult for violin, piano, guitar, cello, and viola. On average, lessons are 25 minutes in length, students attend 18 lessons during each fall and spring semester, and each fall and spring semester culminates in a recital where the students perform songs they have learned and mastered during the semester. I feel that a defining factor of my studio is the personalization I provide for each student. Each student has unique capabilities and interests and, while I have basic requirements of information for students to learn in order to become fluent, knowledgeable, and skilled musicians, I want each student to enjoy the experience and pursue the areas where he/she have interest. Though private lessons appear to add more cost, commitment, and time, it is well worth the investment as students will gain quality and valuable learning tailored to them individually. My teaching style is due in large part to my own schooling experience and is what I think sets me apart from the majority of music instructors and teaching methods available to instructors. I was homeschooled from kindergarten through high school, and my mom’s method of teaching was to customize learning for the student.
The individual, educator, and performer I am today is due to many years of education. While I was homeschooled, I received private music lessons and performed in a youth orchestra, in various ensembles with friends and family, and as a hired musician for events. These experiences allowed me to gain knowledge and skill as a musician and began building my knowledge base for teaching. While I had many performance opportunities and enjoyed performing, I did not envision myself solely being a performer though I was able to graduate in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a focus in violin performance from Thomas Edison State University.
I decided at 8 years old that I wanted to learn the violin. After 17 years, I have never once stopped playing or pursuing musical endeavors. I began piano lessons at 13 years old and self-learned basic guitar and cello over the years. I performed in many ensembles as a violinist and was considering a career as a performer in addition to teaching. Due to a wrist injury in 2016, I turned my focus to pursing music education and kept performing to a minimum for several years. My sister, Emily, and I established our music studio, Sister Violins, for private music lessons in 2012 and continue to operate it today. We have taught students from ages 5-adult to play violin, piano, guitar, and cello. I have always enjoyed teaching and have found it to be a very rewarding practice.
After a wrist injury in 2016, I felt God calling me to pursue a different direction for my career. In the fall of 2016, I applied for and was accepted to Liberty University’s online degree for a Master of Arts in Music Education. For the next 2 years, my time was devoted to my studies while I also maintained a small number of students in my studio and occasionally performed in my area. I graduated in May of 2018 with my Master of Arts degree. In the summer of 2020, I felt God calling me again to pursue higher education. One week before the start of classes, I applied to and was accepted to Liberty University’s online degree for Doctor of Music Education. For the next year and a half, I devoted more time to my studies in addition to teaching my students and performing occasionally. I graduated with my Doctor of Music Education degree in May of 2022.
My pursuits have always been a result of God working in my life. Only when following His guidance have I been successful and able to meet the challenges presented to me. A recent challenge while working on my doctorate is an example of some of the challenges I currently face and the faithfulness of God to see me through the challenges. One year after starting the doctorate program to the time I finished, I dealt with life threatening health issues. I had many doctor and emergency room visits and time in the hospital on top of keeping up with my studies. This time proved to be the hardest time in my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. I got through it all by God’s grace and the support and work of my family, especially my mom who helped me during this time when I was unable to do anything for myself including writing, at times. Even during this time, I never saw quitting as an option. Despite the difficulties, I feel that God rewarded my trust and faith in Him as I graduated in May of 2022 with a 4.0 GPA with my Doctor of Music Education degree.
My journey to where I am today included many challenges and direction changes mostly related to health issues and a physical injury. I saw these as positive opportunities and not as failures or letdowns as they helped to strengthen me and my faith. Even though the path to where I am now has not always been easy, I am happy with where I am now and love the work I do as I believe this is where God wants me at this moment. My time now is devoted to teaching private music lessons, writing, and performing on occasion with friends and my sister in my area.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The small town of Lake Placid in which I live has some unique experiences and scenery that would certainly contribute some fun and enjoyable moments to a week-long visit. My town is relatively isolated from neighboring towns and is at least 2 hours from any major city. This lends a comfortable and relaxed feeling to the area. In addition, the area in which I live has unique terrain comprised of hills that differs from the popular perception of the flatness of Florida and scenery of caladiums as the town is known as the “Caladium Capital of the World.” At least one day would be dedicated to driving around the area viewing the scenery. Another major attraction in my town is the murals found around town. Two days could be taken to walk around the town viewing the murals and discovering the history behind them. Depending on the time of year, we could attend one of the yearly festivals held in town to shop, listen to music, and view crafts. We could finish off our trip by visiting a local winery to sample wines and enjoy the warm Florida sunshine and nature.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, who I am personally and professionally is due to God’s guidance and grace throughout my life and who I am as a Christian. Any success in my life is a result of seeking and following God’s will for my life regardless of challenges or failures along the way. Second, my dad, mom, and sister have supported me throughout all of my endeavors and have been greatly influential in my successes personally and professionally. They have all provided suggestions, guidance, and help when I needed it most to help me move down the right path and meet the goals I have set for myself. My parents provided me with my education through homeschooling and teaching me values and principles throughout my life by which I live today and have aided me in meeting many of my personal and educational goals. Finally, each of my music instructors and orchestra conductors with whom I have worked over the years have helped me develop my musical knowledge and skills that I utilize everyday in teaching my students and performing.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SisterViolins

Other: Email: sisterviolins2@gmail.com

Image Credits
GradImages Amy Finke Emily Finke