Biography
“Good violin teaching builds technique; great teaching builds confidence, artistry, and love for music.
Danica Terzic is a passionate performer and educator based in Scottsdale, Arizona. As an active chamber and orchestral musician in the Phoenix metro area, she thrives on sharing her love for music—and particularly the violin—with her students. Her greatest joy is helping young musicians master the complexities of the instrument.
In addition to maintaining her private studio, Danica teaches masterclasses at local high schools and serves as an adjudicator for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) violin exams in Phoenix. She is also on the faculty at the summer festival in Europe the Music & More Summerfest.
As a performer, Danica collaborates with several prestigious local ensembles, including the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, Arizona Musicfest, and the Arizona Bach Festival. She is also the owner and a lead violinist of the Celebration Strings Quartet.
Her past teaching experience spans across international borders, including positions at South Mountain Community College, Crestmont Conservatory of Music in the Bay Area, the North Shore Music Academy in Vancouver, and the School of Music in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
A former member of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Danica has held principal roles with the Musica Nova Orchestra, Scottsdale Arts Orchestra, and the West Valley Symphony. She has performed with various orchestras across the San Francisco Bay Area and Vancouver, BC.
A pivotal moment in her career was performing alongside the St. Lawrence String Quartet, whose masterclasses further ignited her passion for chamber music.
Danica holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Zagreb's Academy of Music in her native Croatia.
Teaching Reviews
Danica cultivates the love of learning violin in her students. My daughter will begin her third year of study with Danica and she has improved quickly under Danica's instruction. Danica is patient yet demands a high standard of excellence from her students. Danica focuses on the technical elements of playing while making sure that her students play musically with expression. Danica makes learning the violin a joy for both her students and their parents!
Jennaya Robison
Mother of Elise and Co-Artistic Director of Scottsdale Musical Arts