PHILOSOPHY
Teaching the masters of tomorrow
​"I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to study with the world-class faculty at CIM. Eleven years of training Received at CIM gave me the skills and confidence to pursue a successful professional musician career."
- David Chan, Alumni Class 1991, Laureate of the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis International Competitions, Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Faculty at the Juilliard School of Music.
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Students are encouraged to perform in the Tseitlin Studio Recitals which usually happen twice a month as well as in community public concerts and to participate in regional, state, national and international competitions. We encourage students to develop their ensemble skills by playing in chamber music groups and local youth orchestras. Many students are taking the music theory classes and participating in MTAC certificate of Merit program.
At the CIM we believe in positive, confidence building way of teaching. Building the technique, developing tone and artistic expressiveness is at the core of our method.
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Since its founding in 1990, the California Institute of Music has become the center of pre-college professional education for violinists and violists in Southern California. The founders of the school are internationally renowned musicians, Irina and Michael Tseitlin. Irina Tseitlin, Artistic Director, is a concert violinist, Deutsche Grammophon Recording Artist, Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Munich, and Montreal International Competitions. Michael Tseitlin, Executive Director, is an internationally known teacher, was Artistic Director of international music festivals in Germany, Italy, Portugal and USA. The Tseitlin Studio produced top prize winners in such major international competitions as Paganini, Menuhin, Tchaikovsky, Indianapolis, Munich, Queen Elizabeth, Montreal, and Primrose among others. Their graduates held concertmaster positions at the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the London Philharmonia, the Milwaukee Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Pasha Tseitlin joined the faculty in 2013 after getting his masters from the Colburn School of Music.