William Skeen

I've lived in the East Bay since 2002 with my wife and two children. Since then I've kept a very intimate studio of cellists aged 7-65. Due to my travel schedule, I've been only able to work with a small number of students. I hope to expand the studio this year in order to stay home with my family!
I feel that I have been trained by two of this country's very best teachers: Alan Harris at the Cleveland Institute (now Eastman), and Ron Leonard at U.S.C. (now Colburn School.) Alan was the philosopher and scientist. He taught his pupils the nuts and bolts of technique and how to use your body, while infusing each student with a hunger to find their own approach to making musical decisions. Ron, was relentless and unforgiving, he never let a mistake slip by. This, although potentially frustrating, was exactly what I needed to build my confidence and train my ear to really listen to what was coming out of my instrument.
I try to combine these two divergent philosophies in my teaching.