About Our Teachers

Sound Sprouts and Suzuki Sprouts with Christine Faught

Christine has 30 years of experience teaching Suzuki classes and private lessons and directing youth orchestras from New York, Texas, and has recently returned to her roots in Washington. We are so grateful to have her traveling from Port Orchard to Sequim and Port Angeles to offer Suzuki group classes and early music classes. Suzuki group classes have not been available in Port Angeles for decades. Christine also offers private lessons to 3-6 year old students which pair perfectly with her Suzuki Sprouts classes and are in extremely short supply in Port Angeles.

Sequim Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Strings: Sara Baldwin

Sara has 25 years of experience as a public school orchestra director, and over 30 years as a studio teacher for violin, viola, cello, and music theory. Sara has been teaching beginner, intermediate, and advanced students in Sequim since 2022.

Port Angeles Beginners: Jesse Ahmann

Jesse is an eminently skilled cellist and bass player who regularly performs as a professional musician with multiple groups across multiple genres of music and has 15 years of experience teaching orchestra kids in school, camp, and private lessons. He also is very skilled at composition and adaptation of music and will be able to bring the kids’ favorite music to life in our classrooms. We are so happy to welcome Jesse to our teaching staff in 2025 teaching beginner students in Port Angeles.

About Our Classes

• Peninsula Community Youth Orchestra is for children 3+. Children entering the “Beginner” program generally start between 6 and 8 and should be able to read. Children who are not able to read yet should join our Sprouts classes. High school students are likely ready for our parent organization, the Sequim Community Orchestra. Older beginners (under 18) may join with permission of the teacher.
• Students switching instruments may join the beginner class mid-year or mid-term if there is room, otherwise students should plan to start in the Fall and continue with regular attendance through May to be able to progress with their class and graduate into the intermediate class.
• All of our classes are for groups of students studying violin, viola, cello, or bass.
• Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced classes are held Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Toddler classes are offered Monday or Friday depending on the town. Please see our class calendar for more details.
• Sequim classes are located at Swisher Hall in Sequim, WA, which is near Carrie Blake Park and the soccer fields.
• Port Angeles classes are located at First United Methodist Church on 7th Street near the Masonic Lodge.

Join our mailing list

Register Now!

For more information about registration, email registrar@sequimcommunityorchestra.org.

Material to look through before registration

• Read our Student Handbook (Sequim)
• Read our Student Handbook (Port Angeles)
• Behavior and Attendance Policies
• Instrument Care Handbook (Covers loan for most violins and violas)
• Cellos and Expensive Instrument Loan Policy

How does our program fit in with other Peninsula music programs?

The Peninsula Community Youth Orchestra is designed to serve students that have traditionally had less opportunities to learn string instruments. The Sequim Community Orchestra’s mission specifically calls out the Sequim area as it’s school district does not have an orchestra program. We also see many students join our classes from Chimacum. In Port Angeles, the school orchestra program begins in fourth grade, so students younger than grade 4 do not have a group program they can participate in. Homeschool students also may lack a program that they can participate in.

We assume that students will graduate from our program after a few years, and enter another orchestra that their skills are suited to, such as the Sequim Community Orchestra. Once students have mastered their instrument, they may choose to audition for the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra. This does not typically occur until high school, and generally requires a private teacher.

The PCYO highly recommends private lessons in addition to our classes, especially as students demonstrate continued interest in their studies. Violins, violas, cellos, and basses are difficult instruments that take many years to master. A private teacher is an excellent way to find weaknesses and conquer them and find strengths and bolster them. Please talk to your PCYO teacher to find a private teacher suitable to their needs as they have a list of excellent instructors. Port Angeles and Sequim both have a very healthy complement of extremely well-vetted private teachers that we are happy to refer students to.

The SCO and PCYO collaborate with Olympic Strings as our educational mission is very closely aligned with theirs. Olympic Strings provide summer string programs for students on the Olympic Peninsula and we highly recommend their programs as additions to ours when our classes are not in session.

The musical environment of the Olympic Peninsula is very vibrant and lively and several groups are actively engaged in expanding the after school experience for students across the Peninsula. Expect more information on expansions of opportunities for string students soon.