Owner Victoria Gorpin said she was born into a family of professional musicians. She came to America when she was 18 years old then earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Southern Methodist University followed by a master’s degree in music education from Columbia University in New York.
In 2005, she started teaching music from her home.
Gorpin opened Edelweiss School of Music in 2015 and said she chose the business name because of her love for “The Sound of Music.”
“I’ve probably watched it over 50 times,” she said.
Since day one, Gorpin said her goal has been to create a diverse learning environment featuring an international body of teachers who offer a wide instructional variety of musical styles and instruments.
Gorpin is from Moldova, and she employs teachers from Peru, Mauritius, Syria, China, Spain, Chile, Greece, India, Dominican Republic, Korea and America.
“We have multicultural students from all over,” Gorpin said. “Their first language might not be English, and they feel more comfortable with a teacher who speaks their language. We’ve been able to match them with a teacher.”
Gorpin said the business offers classes for violin, piano, voice, guitar, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, saxophone, drums and ukulele.
Student ages range from 5-68 years old. And their skills and abilities are varied.
“It means a lot to us when we see students who are differently abled improve in their speech, rhythm and coordination,” Gorpin said. “And [we love] how they love their teacher and feel safe with another adult, not just their parents.”
Gorpin said she only hires teachers who have decades of industry experience or those who have a master’s degree in music education.
“I always pick the best teachers because we want to provide quality at our school—that has never changed,” she said.
Edelweiss School of Music
4140 Legacy Drive, Ste. 300, Plano
972-618-3520
https://edelweisssom.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 1-7 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., closed Sun.
