Claire Sayers, Violin & Viola

Nashville Violin Teacher

Claire Sayers, violinist and fiddler, recently arrived in Nashville, TN to live in an area where musical passion and collaboration is abundant! She graduated with honors from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management. During college, she served as the Concertmaster of the St. Thomas Orchestra for 2 years, and won the solo for the nationally televised St. Thomas Christmas Concert on PBS in 2015. She was also selected to travel and perform at multiple exclusive university fundraising events, which she made her own violin duet arrangements for, and served as the worship leader for her campus ministry. 

While Claire enjoys classical violin, her greatest strengths and passions are fiddling and playing with bands. She has won 1st place at 4 Minnesota State Fiddle Championships, and placed both overall and divisionally at multiple national competitions around the country from 2010-2017. Her fiddling accomplishments have led to many contest judging and performance opportunities, as well as invitations to record on 2 Minneapolis Artists’ albums. In 2019-2020, she moved to Indianapolis to play violin for Cru’s (a ministry organization) Performing Artist Team. During her time there, she embarked on a 3-week Christmas tour, primarily in correctional facilities with a rock band, which she composed or arranged her own parts for. She also led worship for multiple large events both in the U.S. and overseas, and served as the music and artistic director for a recording project.

Along with performing, Claire loves teaching and fostering creativity in young people. She began teaching beginning students in 2012 primarily using the Suzuki method, and also coached intermediate and advanced students in fiddling, resulting in them placing in the top 5 or winning their divisions at fiddle competitions. She also incorporates music theory and improvisation into her lessons, as she believes that young violinists should have the freedom to explore all musical styles and find their own voice.