VIRTUAL WOODWIND ACADEMY

Virtual Woodwind Academy was founded in the summer of 2020 by educators and best friends Ana Nelson (clarinet/sax) and Amanda Dame (flute) to bring conservatory-level education to adult amateur musicians. We believe that making music brings joy, fosters creativity, creates community, and that everyone deserves the opportunity to study music at the professional level.

Over the past 3 years we worked with and surveyed HUNDREDS of adult learners! We engineered the Virtual Woodwind Academy to bring exactly what our people asked for. Over the three month program, we cover practice skills (including tuning, timing, technique), music theory and interpretation, and jazz improv for classical musicians.

Check out more on the official Virtual Woodwind Academy site here!

“Ana and Amanda have created a virtual academy that offers one of the best all-inclusive woodwind experiences in the country. They are both high-profile performers and educators who are masters of their craft. All serious musicians should SERIOUSLY take advantage of the opportunity to participate in one of these camps.” - Christian Howes, founder of Creative Strings Academy

CONTACT US with any questions!

virtualwoodwinds@gmail.com

TESTIMONIALS

Testimonials

“Ana Nelson is a remarkably thoughtful and talented musician who is highly accomplished as a performer and teacher. I am positive that her work with her newly launched summer program would provide students with a steady source of positive energy and musical leadership. Congratulations Ana as well to all the students that will be working with you!” -Richard Hawkins, Professor of Clarinet, Oberlin Conservatory of Music

“[Ana Nelson’s] playing showed emotional maturity, technical accuracy, harmonic sophistication, depth of understanding, beauty, range, thematic consistency, and someone whose playing moved us, inspires us, and you've got to have an original sound with a lot of feeling. You know who I'm talkin' about: on the clarinet, Ana Nelson." - Wynton Marsalis, director of Jazz at Lincoln Center

“Amanda has a warm, patient and supportive style of relating with students that was evident and is admirable.” -Clinician at the Sheppard Pratt School

“My daughter blossomed, gained more confidence and learned more advanced music under [Ana’s] teachings!!” -Angela, parent of student

“My students and I really enjoyed [Amanda’s] flute playing and your engaging activities. Her lessons were well planned out and intentional, I have many takeaways that I will incorporate within my own instructional practices. My students absolutely LOVED her flute playing.” -Alex Cooper, teacher partner at YAMD Teaching Artist Institute Residency

“If you want to study with a nationally recognized instructor don’t move to New York; Ana Nelson is right here. Her jazz chops were praised by Wynton Marsalis, she is the horn coach for the IU Soul Revue, and she is a doctoral student in clarinet at the IU Jacobs School of Music.” -Michael Squires M.P.A., Phd, student

“Amanda maintained a calm, pleasant and nurturing rapport with the students, which helped develop a trusting, safe environment. As a result, the students were more motivated to be engaged and ask questions and participate”. -Mary Gresock, Wolf Trap Teaching Artist

“Amanda is a patient and kind teacher who allows for her students to grow at their own pace. Her instruction is based on her own learning and practice. A truly wonderful flautist/flutist!” —Luke, student