About Us
Discover the story behind The String Friends series — created to make teaching violin engaging, fun and accessible for every student.
Hi! We’re Emily and Andre, the creators of The String Friends series.
As parents and musicians, we wanted to create a beginner violin programme that really connected with young children — one that made learning music feel fun, achievable and exciting.
We began developing our ideas and teaching approach in our own studio, The Violin Club. As we watched our students enthusiastically embrace the characters, activities and music, we realised we had created something that could help other teachers too.
That’s how The String Friends series came to life: three books, supported by videos, original audio and practical teaching resources, designed to give teachers everything they need to guide a young violinist from their very first lesson.
About The Creators
Emily grew up surrounded by inspiring music teachers. She studied music at Victoria University in Wellington and continued to explore her passion for music pedagogy, including attending the Starling-DeLay Symposium for Violin Teaching at New York’s Juilliard — twice!
Andre has always been obsessed with sound — mixing beats, spinning vinyl as a DJ, and later working as a music engineer and producer in the studio and on live radio.
The String Friends series brings together Emily’s love of teaching violin with Andre’s love of making everything sound beautiful. Together, we’ve crafted a series of music and resources that progressively guide young violinists through essential violin skills, while keeping their curiosity alive and gently expanding their listening horizons.
Our invitation is simple: Watch. Listen. Play. Enjoy.
Emily & Andre Upston
The Violin Club
Our Mission & Vision
Our Mission
To help violin teachers give young beginners a strong and enjoyable start to learning the violin.
Through beautifully designed books, original music, videos and practical teaching resources, we give teachers the tools to build essential skills, support practice at home and keep young violinists curious, confident and engaged.
Our Vision
To see more young violinists discover a lasting love of music through positive, engaging and creative learning.
We imagine a world where a child’s first experiences with the violin build not only musical skills, but curiosity, confidence and a desire to keep playing.
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