A conversation with Mr. Elias
Why do you think teaching music is important?
We've got to think about future generations and we need
to have good teachers; that is the bottom line. In order
to be a good music teacher you have to be a good performer,
you have to know how to play your instrument before you
can teach it.
Why is it important to teach music to kids?
If kids get exposed to music and see it as a subject this
gives them much more time for them to become proficient
in the instrument. It will also help them improve in other
subjects.
Why do you teach?
I've always enjoyed teaching violin. My main influence was
my orchestra director at my undergrad. He showed me how
to make others excited about music and I model myself after
him. Anything I do in teaching I want my students to do
their best, to the best of their abilities.
What was learning music like in El Salvador?
We don't have a university school of music, we have a nationally
funded conservatory, the National Center of Arts in San
Salvador, to cover first grade through high school. When
I started at age 5, it was the first year the Suzuki method
was used. My mother wanted me to learn the piano but there
were no piano lessons for little kids, so I ended up with
the violin. Being in a small country like El Salvador there's
a lot of opportunity. We got a good education. I was the
youngest member to enter the El Salvador Symphony at age
16. While the pay was not good, it was enough for a young
single person. My first purchase was my own car. In order
to continue my music studies after high school, I had to
go abroad.
How did you meet your wife?
(Carlos is married to Andrea Arese-Elias, an adjunct
professor of piano at Mesa State.)
We met in Cincinnati, she was getting her doctorate and
I was getting my master's. She was my piano teacher. We
started to make music together. It was important that we
had the musical element in common.
Written by Rachel Alexander, Mass Communications Student
