Violin teacher says boys have disappeared from music studies

Long-serving violin teacher Tiiu Peäske told ERR that boys are disappearing from music education, saying no boys have studied violin in her class for years.

Peäske, a violin teacher at the Tallinn Music and Ballet School, is among five teachers across Estonia receiving the Cultural Endowment’s recognition award for music educators at the start of the school year.

Speaking on ERR’s Vikerhommik programme, Peäske said the award came as a major surprise. She said she did not regard it as hers alone, dedicating it to all violin teachers, accompanists and students.

During her long career, Peäske has also received the president’s education award, a scholarship from the Riho Päts Music Fund, Tallinn Music High School’s achievement of the academic year award for mentoring classical star Katarina Maria Kits, and the Order of the White Star, fifth class.

Asked whether any of the awards was especially important to her, Peäske replied that they were all dear to her. Her students, she said, were dearest of all.

Peäske will turn 80 in November. She remains active as a teacher and does not plan to retire, although she may reduce her workload somewhat.

“The students give me energy and give meaning to life. They are dear to me. They are my companions,” she said.

Hundreds of students have studied under Peäske. She said it was not always possible to tell immediately whether a first-grade child had talent. Some children made little progress in their first years before suddenly improving, while others continued to struggle.

Learning to play an instrument requires considerable effort, Peäske stressed, and it may not suit every child. She said children had so many clubs and activities that they might not have time to concentrate deeply on any one of them. The violin, she added, required longer practice from the beginning.

Peäske helps students draw strength from their progress, as not everything comes easily at first. She said it was especially rewarding to see their persistence finally produce results. Parents often remember their children’s first achievements with fondness years later.

For a teacher, however, listening to a student compete can be highly stressful. Peäske said teachers become nervous and emotionally involved, while some find competitions so difficult that they leave rather than risk affecting the student with negative energy.

“There have not been any boys studying in my class for years,” Peäske said, adding that so few boys apply for admission that there are almost none to choose from.