**Discounts available for most of Western Washington.

Electric Six-string Violinist - A New Era for the Violin!

K-12

• View Geoffrey Castle Clip
• Datasheet

The Violin ROCKS!!

Violinist Geoffrey Castle puts the violin back on center stage with virtuoso showmanship and a 21st century style.   This dynamic performance will forever change students’ misconceptions of what is possible on a violin, while giving them a new perspective on the dynamic history of the ORIGINAL lead instrument.

Empower students to dream big and to fearlessly act upon big ideas. 

Geoffrey Castle uses his unique abilities and experiences to communicate to students a message of self-motivation and using education as an avenue to achieving one’s dreams.  Students become empowered to have big dreams and to have the courage to act upon big ideas.

Experience the evolution of this classical instrument to the era of the 21st century.

Though originating in Italy, there are traditions of playing the violin from all over the world.  Geoffrey brings students on a journey that exploring the different cultures from which various genres of music have been sourced throughout history, including Celtic, Middle-Eastern, Bluegrass, Classical, and Rock genres.  The difference between an electric and an acoustic violin, and the difference between a fiddle and a violin are discussed.

Suitable for all ages, and designed for maximum entertainment!  

This presentation combines musical performance and opportunities for student interaction and participation to engage and inspire!

In addition to school assemblies, workshops and small classroom presentations are also available.  All presentations emphasize self motivation and the use of school and education as a resource to achieving goals and dreams:

Workshops:

With the school orchestra: in a one class period workshop Geoffrey walks students through the different equipment he uses to make his music.   He also discusses techniques and practice strategies for students who want to move into improvised and/or electric music on string instruments. This presentation is designed to be an informal question-and-answer session, with lots of opportunities for student interaction.

Classroom Presentation:

Through a show-and-tell and question-and-answer format, students learn what it is like to be a professional musician, and how education enables Geoffrey to be a successful musician and composer.

Credits:

"Don't mess with the fiddle man"  Bruce Springsteen
"One of the finest musicians I have ever had the pleasure to play with"  Alan White (YES, the drummer for John Lennon!)
Geoffrey also played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in North Carolina with members of Tower of Power, Yes, The Hooters, Queen, and Debbie Gibson.

Testimonials

Please check out the following recommendations, fan letters, and newspaper articles:

• Fairmount Elementary Official Letter
• Grace 1st Grade
• Beckman Class Thank You
• Crystal Springs Letter
• Geoffrey Castle inspires with his music - Woodinville Weekly, March 1, 2010

It was a magnificent session; I couldn’t have asked for anything better!  To begin with, he is a wonderful musician. The music he played was appealing, his performance level impressed my students, and of course they were fascinated by the foot pedals and all the sounds he was creating. He taught them the basics of improvisation on the spot, and they enjoyed trying some improvisation on their own instruments. (The instructional part of me was also pleased to hear him reinforce the importance of solidifying basic technique—like scales and metronome practice—and listening skills, too!)

Most important, though, was the way he interacted with the students on a deep and genuine level. They all felt personally touched by his presence, and their enthusiasm was contagious! When reflecting on his visit afterwards, the word “inspiration” came up over and over. Here are just two of the many comments I received:
“He opened the door for us to be creative and to try something new”; “He made us realize if we apply creativity and imagination, we can produce very unique and beautiful things”. What greater gift can there be than to give young people the desire and confidence to express themselves in music? Geoffrey’s visit was a gift to all of us!
Nancie Linn Shaw
Newport High School
Bellevue, WA

This was an AMAZING SHOW! Geoffrey kept the students spellbound with his Violin and the information he gave about countries around the world. The students and staff want him back! A music teacher from another school has her students here and came to watch the show. She could not believe what she experienced during the concert! Way to go Academic Entertainment.
Debbie Wells
Butte Elementary School
Palmer, AK

Fantastic show.  Tons of energy.  Extremely talented musician who tied in his performance with our Career Day.  Had good messages of encouragement for our students.  I HIGHLY recommend this show!!!!!
Laura Kostrzebski
Old Bridge ES
Woodbridge, VA

I was fortunate enough to be a substitute at Harrison Elementary last week and was amazed at your mad skills with the electric violin! I was already familiar with the process as I am a fan of Zoe Keating as well, but you blew me away! If I had not known what instrument you were playing, I would have thought Jimi himself was playing the last number. I have no doubt you inspired a lot of young minds on that day-keep sharing your gifts.
Zach Netzley
Harrison Elementary School
Warsaw, IN

This was the first time for many of our students to experince string or violin music.  The students really enjoyed the assembly and Geoffrey really conected with them.  The staff were impressed and all I heard after the assemlby was how great it was!
Thank you!
Joel Garrison
Park Place Middle School
Monroe, WA

Students and staff alike loved the program!
Michelle Romeo
Brick Mill Elementary
Middletown, DE

Hi!  You performed for my kindergarten class today.  You were AWESOME, and my kids loved the performance!  Thank you also for continuing to play until we could leave the building- you helped make a stressful situation bearable!  My kids talked about you and the violin all afternoon.  My daughter has played the violin since she was 7 and my son started cello at age 4- both Suzuki students and I love string instruments but I have never experienced music like yours.  I am looking forwrard to getting your CDs!  Thanks again.
Margie Owen
Loganville-Springfield ES
Dallastown, PA

Just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know that the students as well as the music teachers and administration of Baldwin Middle School truly enjoyed your performance and work shops. The students were inspired by your assembly and have been asking the teachers to show them how to do more with their instruments. Thank you for your wonderful program, we can't wait to have you back again!
Robin Sciortino
Baldwin Middle School
Baldwin, NY

We had an outstanding assembly today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King that featured Geoffrey Castle an accomplished 6 string violinist who graduated from T.C. Williams High School featured in the movie “Remember the Titans”. His message was through various musical pieces that were diverse and representative of his message of embracing differences and dreaming big.
John R. Kniseley II, Principal
Hazen HS
Renton, WA

Geoffrey Castle was amazing!  We thoroughly enjoyed having him perform at Cranbury School.  The students and teachers were amazed by his musical talent.  His electric violin show was truly exhilarating.  What a wonderful experience and we are so glad we had him as part of our enrichment program.
Laura Dufort - Enrichment Coor.
Cranbury School
Norwalk, CT

Thanks so much for all your help!  Everything went really well.  The kids loved the performance and everyone on the faculty really seemed pleased, especially our Principal. Everyone was astounded by Geoffrey’s performance!  Thanks again for everything!
Dot Stranix, Athletic Director
Bishop Shanahan HS
Downingtown, PA

Thank you for sending us Geoffrey. He did a great job and really connected well with our students. He is an amazing musician.
Tom Morris, Associate Principal
Camas High School
Camas, WA

Let me tell you that I would HIGHLY recommend Geoffrey Castle as a school assembly to anyone. While he still has the time to do these, take advantage! His lessons for the kids whether it's type of music (classical, modern, fiddle, etc.), geographical (S. African music, Celtic, Turkish, etc.), or life lessons - the kids listened, the kids learned, the kids (as well as teachers) had a great time. The music teachers LOVED it since it opened up so many teaching avenues for them.
Linda
Crystal Springs Elementary School
Bothell, WA