My name is Alex Cardon, and I have been teaching elementary school music students for 12 years.  I also stay very active teaching private violin lessons, and performing with the Sierra Vista Symphony, the Southern Arizona Symphony, and the Tucson Repertory Orchestra.  I also play violin at weddings and special events.  

Defining Moment in Education

When I started on violin at the age of 8, I did not know how necessary it was to practice.  In 8^th grade I was very lucky to have an amazing orchestra teacher.  One day after noticing I was struggling in class, she asked me to play a piece of music she placed on the stand.  I will never forget the look on her face when I told her that I had no idea what any of the symbols meant!  She sat in disbelief realizing that I was just “playing what sounded good”.  I told her I got frustrated not playing, so I just started playing whatever seemed to fit with what the other students were doing.  That started a process where she taught me how to read music better than I ever thought was possible, and a few years later I was auditioning for my first symphony. 

Going through the very long process of learning an instrument I realized that just one teacher can help put a student on a path they never thought was possible.     

Core Educational Belief

Playing an instrument or singing with a group can be one of the most rewarding experiences for students.  Music helps students grow in ways they did not know were possible.  I believe that every student has something to gain from studying music.  Things like new cognitive and listening skills.  I am very honored to be able to help all our young musicians at Innovation Academy.

Professional Experience

Studied Music Education and Violin at New Mexico State University, Texas A & M Corpus Christi, and The University of Arizona. I began teaching Violin lessons over 15 years ago.  While attending the University of Arizona, I taught in TUSD as an Oma Artist.  After graduating college, I began my first full-time teaching position in general music and orchestra in Sahuarita.  I have over 20 years’ experience performing with different symphony orchestras. I have performed symphony concerts in China, Brazil, and Japan.