Rick Flores began his career in music at the age of 15 by becoming a member of the Midland-Odessa Symphony in Odessa, Texas. After graduating high school, he went on to accept scholarships in violin from the University of North Texas, West Texas State University, and is a graduate of New Mexico State University. Mr. Flores has performed as a violinist with many symphonies in Texas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, including The Amarillo Symphony, the El Paso Symphony, Dona Anna Lyric Opera, and the Tacoma Symphony.
Mr. Flores has been instructing violin for over 25 years, and has had many great successes. Many of his students have gone on to attend prestigious colleges and music conservatories across the country. Many of his students win scholarships to the schools of their choice. Several have won violin competitions and have performed as soloists with orchestras.
Mr. Flores has an acute understanding of violin instruction and has a true passion for teaching which guides him in his practice. He trains students to become successful musicians. He is patient and caring in his approach.
Accepting students from age 5 to adults, Mr. Flores has a wide range of students. He believes that every person who wants to learn the violin deserves an opportunity to do so.
You can contact Rick by:
Phone: (360) 865-3055
Email: maestroflores@live.com
Or by filling out the form below
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Testimonials
I have studied violin with Ricardo Flores for about half a year now. I'm 53, so probably one of his oldest students.
I've had three other teachers before, and I must say that in the time I have been taking private lessons with Rick, my playing has improved at a much greater pace than it has with any of my previous teachers. As a teacher myself (I teach Art and Design at Woodinville high school), I know how tricky it is to not overwhelm students with too much information, and getting them to focus on what is necessary to their development right now.
Rick has been great at figuring out exactly where I am at with my playing, what technical issues I need to focus on,
and what pieces specifically will address that. He's incredibly patient with me as I fumble through it, and is amazingly sharp at spotting the tiny little bad habits of technique it's so easy
to fall into with the violin. In short, he's a great violin teacher, and I have found my lessons with him to be most rewarding.
Joe Shlichta
My son William has been taking viola lessons with Rick for over a year and loves him as his teacher. Rick combines rigorous teaching with inspirational stories and a sense of humor. He teaches not only the technique but also a deeper understanding of the music, which is very important in keeping my son engaged and interested. I also really appreciated him always setting the right expectations, motivating my son to continuously make advancements, and helping him stay focused in his practice. He is an excellent teacher and I would strongly recommend him to anyone. He also makes violins himself!
Jianying Wang
I've known Rick for many years. He was my daughter's viola teacher and sold us her first Viola! He is so knowledgeable and patient with her as she suffered thru anxiety all her pre-teen and teen years. He is very in tune with the kiddos. He is dependable and goes above and beyond for the kids. Because of all this, it inspired my daughter to pursue a degree in teaching and helping kids learn. She is now a ISD teacher and she even taught music yesterday at Discovery Elementary!
Denise Wong
Mr. Rick has been my violin teacher for a while, even if we have stopped taking private lessons with him i have continued to pursue my passion for the violin. he has been an amazing teacher and somebody who i still look up to, in life with musical passion my life goal is to be a violin player, just like Mr, Rick! I really recommend him if you want your child to start having violin lessons.
Josephine Stubleski
Rick Flores was the fourth music teacher to give private violin lessons to our daughter, Megan, and he was by far the best. He taught her for over 5 years, from her junior high through high school years.
Rick’s knowledge of the violin, his ability to teach Megan new skills, and his ability to develop a rapport with and motivate her were all very impressive.
He raised her level of skill playing the violin to an entirely new level that we didn't know she would be able to achieve. During her senior year of high school, she won the annual concerto competition at Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra that she was involved in. Rick had prepared her and helped her to become successful in a once in a lifetime experience to play a solo violin concerto with the Cascade Youth Symphony performance at Benaroya Hall.
Through Rick’s coaching, Megan decided she wanted to pursue music in college. She worked closely with Rick and was accepted into one of the top collegiate orchestra programs in the country at the University of North Texas.
We have always been very thankful to have found such a skilled teacher as Rick who was able to bring out the best in our daughter.
