Arda Cabaoglu Virtanen, DMA

TEACHING & PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE

Alongside his work as a conceptual performance artist and trumpeter, Arda Cabaoglu Virtanen maintains an active and selective pedagogical practice for dedicated students, young professionals, and interdisciplinary artists. His teaching integrates technical development, artistic identity, performance psychology, and long-term musical growth.

Rather than focusing on short-term technical fixes, his mentorship approach treats performance as a holistic artistic act, where sound, body, perception, and presence are cultivated together over time.

Teaching Philosophy

Cabaoglu Virtanen’s pedagogy is shaped by his background in long-duration performance, contemporary music, artistic research, and historically informed practice. He works with students not only on instrumental mastery, but on interpretive depth, artistic individuality, and sustainable performance development.

Areas of mentorship include:

• Trumpet performance (all levels, including advanced)

• Artistic identity and interpretation

• Contemporary and experimental repertoire

• Performance endurance and mental focus

• Audition and competition preparation

• Long-term artistic development

His teaching emphasizes deep listening, conceptual awareness, and individualized methodology rather than standardized instruction.

Who He Works With

He works with:

• Conservatory and university students

• Young professionals and performers

• Composers writing for trumpet

• Interdisciplinary and contemporary artists

• Highly motivated beginners with long-term goals

Lessons are tailored to each student’s artistic direction, technical needs, and professional aspirations.

Academic & Institutional Teaching

Cabaoglu Virtanen has taught internationally across the United States, Europe, and Turkey in conservatory, university, and private studio contexts.

Selected roles include:

• Trumpet Instructor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA)

• Faculty, Istanbul National Conservatory

• Assistant Professor of Music, Istanbul Conservatory

• Faculty Member, Camp Encore Coda (USA)

His pedagogical work is closely connected to his artistic practice, research collaborations, and contemporary performance projects, including interdisciplinary work as a Visiting Artist at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.

Private Lessons & Mentorship (Active Studio)

Cabaoglu Virtanen offers a limited number of private lessons and long-term mentorship opportunities for serious students seeking intensive and individualized guidance.

Lessons may focus on:

• Technique and sound development

• Repertoire and interpretation

• Contemporary music performance

• Audition and competition preparation

• Artistic direction and career development

Sessions are available online and in-person (Finland / USA, and international scheduling possible).

Selected Student Feedback

TEACHiNG AS A TRUMPET INSTRUCTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER 2013-2015

Here are comments by his students about Arda Cabaoglu's teaching at Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester:

"Arda is fantastic at helping me to improve my tone. He holds me to his own very high and specific standards. He explains his theories of not only technical playing but the thought process that I should have when playing. This is very helpful."

 "Arda is fantastic at introducing new concepts and ideas of how to think about trumpet technique. His application to the music is very simple and his excitement about music is contagious."

"There was a large focus on technique and improving tone which really helped me to play well. Arda incorporated many metaphors that were helpful in understanding the more abstract concepts. He is caring and very easy to relate to. I enjoyed my lessons as they were time to improve, but they were also lower stress. They were fun, but through his teachings, I have improved a lot."            

"Arda is a really great teacher. He has examples for every technique one could imagine and his creativity helps me to implement the techniques he tells me to. He is very exciting and working with such an accomplished teacher is inspiring. His lessons are always creative and fun instead of intimidating or scary. I really like his teaching style and have found that I have improved greatly."        

"Very descriptive, imaginative ways of describing new material Focus on technique and understanding of procedures"  

"Very passionate about the trumpet in all respects, and incredibly knowledgeable. He shares this with his students and is a very creative and engaging teacher."         
"Wonderfully knowledgable about music and our instrument. Assigns great repertoire and exercises, and sucessfully digs deep into the topics."

"Arda is very knowledgeable and overall a good teacher. He is clearly passionate and willing to provide extra help. The concepts he tries to teach are very helpful."

"Excellent teacher and musician. He really wants to pass on all that he has learned from a variety of sources, and does a good job."          

"Arda's major strengths lie in his ability to see what each individual student needs, and designing lessons plans around that student. This creates the best possible result for each individual player."          

"I think that Arda's major strength is his strong knowledge of the finesse points of trumpet playing, and his work to find the individual strengths and weaknesses of each of his students. This allows him to design each student's lessons and curriculum around the areas they need the most improvement on!"

Ben Stovall, a former trumpet student at RPI, describes Arda's teaching as:

"Arda is one of the best and most impactful teachers I have had so far in my trumpet playing career, from the many I have had from across the country. The breadth knowledge he has acquired from studying with some of the best trumpet players in the world is just simply inspiring. His deep technical and musical insights have helped me to greatly strengthen and further solidify my foundation on the instrument and to tighten up many facets of my playing, including tone, accuracy, phasing, and mental focus. Additionally, he was very flexible and was able to treat each of his students accordingly based on their playing need. He was always a pleasure to work with and I was excited for every lesson. He truly wanted me to be successful and he always had my best interests in mind." 

Artistic Lineage & Training Context

His pedagogical approach is informed by training at the Eastman School of Music, Malmö Academy of Music, and extensive international performance and research experience bridging contemporary practice, historical performance, and artistic research.

Lesson Inquiries

A limited number of dedicated students, performers, and composers are accepted each year for individualized lessons and long-term artistic mentorship. Inquiries are welcome via the contact form with a brief introduction and goals.