Strings Program

Private Lessons

Private Lessons are offered year-round. 30, 45, and 60 minute lessons are available. You may register throughout the year. Summer lessons are optional. Lessons are appropriate for ages 3 and up. 

Our instructors are all familiar with the Suzuki curriculum as well as many other curricula. Dr. Wang is Suzuki certified Books 1-3. See instructor bios below regarding their other extensive qualifications and teaching experiences. 

Register for Classes or Lessons


To register for private lessons please complete the Private Lesson Inquiry Form. Once the form is submitted, you will be contacted to schedule private lessons. 

We offer YES! Fund scholarships for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Please contact MAC at 785-537-4420 for more information when registering. 


String Studio Class

Studio classes are designed for students ages 13 years and up. This is a performance class where students play their ready pieces in front of each other and provide feedback to one another. This informal setting develops students' critical thinking and is for intermediate/advanced students. 

Suzuki String Program 

The Suzuki Program incorporates private lessons with group classes. Private lessons allow each child to receive individualized attention and faster pace of skill development while group lessons create a fun and social learning environment and an entirely different skill-set. Parents in this program form a strong bond with their child by attending each lesson and practicing at home with their child. Suzuki is appropriate for students ages 3 and up. The Suzuki method creates a joyful learning environment with parental support; for more about the Suzuki method, please visit: https://suzukiassociation.org/about/suzuki-method/

Suzuki Group Class

Suzuki group classes will be for the students between ages of 4-12. This class includes activities for students and parents (optional), conducted by the teacher. It is for beginner or beginner/intermediate students. The Suzuki Group classes meet on Thursdays for 10 weeks each semester. Suzuki Group may be added on to any CSPA strings registration. We will offer a remote option for class.


Group Violin @ MAC
Manhattan Arts Center's Group Violin classes are an introduction to violin for students ages 4-12. These group classes have a more informal approach and are designed for students who are not taking private lessons. MAC Group Violin meets weekly for 12 weeks each semester. Each level is designed as a one-year curriculum that runs September to May, but students may join in January. See more information about MAC Group Violin classes here.

Mandy Wang

Mandy

Sunnat Ibragimov

sunnat ibragimov

Clara Kachanes

clara Kachenes

Employment Opportunity

CSPA Cello Instructor

The Community School for the Performing Arts (CSPA) is seeking to add a cello instructor to its expanding program. CSPA Strings Division currently offers traditional private lessons, a Suzuki program including private and group lessons, and a chamber music program on the campus of Kansas State University.

Click here for a detailed job description

CSPA String Faculty


 Mandy Wang - String Division Chair, violin/viola
Clara Kachanes - violin/viola
Ryan Keith - violin/viola
Sunnat Ibragimov - cello/bass

Spring 2021 String Studio Information

Young children play the violin in our group violin class

CSPA String Faculty​ 

Mandy Wang, violin/viola
Violinist Man Wang is the first prize winner of the 2015 MTNA Kansas State and West Central competition, third prize winner of the 2015 Enkor International Chamber Music Competition, honor prize of the 2016 Misbin Memorial Chamber Music Competition. Other competitions she got top prizes include 2010 Shandong Young Artist Competition and  Golden Award of the Music Competition in Beijing. She has performed extensively
as a soloist and member of the CNU String Quartet throughout Beijing and Shandong. From 2000 to 2006, Ms. Wang was frequently invited to perform in Japan, Korea and Taiwan with the Shandong Youth Philharmonic as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster. In the summer of 2017 she performed in Aspen Music Festival under the baton of Ludovic Morlot of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and prominent British conductor Jane Glover, where she studied with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Robert Chen and Cornelia Heard. Also she was a member of the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico in its inaugural season in 2017 where she got re-invited for their consecutive seasons.
Ms. Wang’s talent for music was noticed when she was very young. She began studying the violin at the age of 5 in Shandong. In 2007, She was admitted to the Beijing Capital Normal University (CNU) as a top student. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with the most prestigious scholarships. In 2018 Man Wang received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin performance at the University of Kansas, where she studied with Dr. Véronique Mathieu and served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the university orchestra. In 2020 she received her Graduate Certificate from the University of Kansas in violin performance under the instruction of David Colwell. Currently, she is working on her Master of Music degree in viola performance studying with Boris Vayner. Since 2017 she is a faculty member at Ottawa University and performer-artist at NAVO Organization. In 2017 she joined the Community School for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, Kansas.


Sunnat Ibragimov, cello
Sunnat Ibragimov has established himself as an artist of creativity, passion and technical command. He is one of the most prominent cellists to emerge from the Central Asian republics and has studied with many of the top artists of our time. He has performed live and on radio with major soloists, chamber musicians, orchestras and conductors. He performed with orchestras (“Soloists of Uzbekistan,” Uzbek National Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Shenyang Symphony, Hays Symphony, Southeast Kansas Symphony), chamber musicians (Shmuel Ashkenasi, Borromeo String Quartet); festivals (the Orford Music Festival in Montreal, Aspen Music Festival) and has worked under such prominent conductors as Carl St. Clair, Gerard Schwarz, John Nelson, Hugh Wolff and Robert Spano. In 2017 as a cello fellow he performed with the Aspen Festival Orchestra under Joshua Weilerstein.
Born in Tashkent, he began the cello at 7 and studied at the Glière State Music School and the Uzbek State Conservatory. Ibragimov earned a Bachelor of Music from Park University’s International Center for Music, where he studied with Martin Storey and Daniel Veis, and he continued, also on full scholarship, at the University of Southern California with Andrew Shulman and Ben Hong. Recently, he finished his Masters degree at the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Hannah Collins and Mark Gibbs. Currently, Sunnat Ibragimov is on the faculty at the Pittsburg State University.

Clara Kachanes, violin/viola
Clara received a Bachelor of Music degree from Fort Hays State University in 2020. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Arts Leadership and Management through Wichita State University.
 Clara’s orchestral engagements have included the Great Bend Community Orchestra, Hays Symphony Orchestra, Fort Hays State University Sinfonietta, Hutchinson Symphony Orchestra, and Salina Symphony Orchestra. Some of Clara's other past musical engagements include Western Kansas Orchestra Festival, UMKC Honor Orchestra Festival, Regional and State Music Festival, KMEA Southwest District Festival, and Kansas Intercollegiate Orchestra. During her summers, Clara has attended High Plains Music Camp, Camp Allegro, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and the Brevard Music Festival. Her internship opportunities have included High Plains Music Camp, Western Kentucky University String Institute, and NAVO. 
Clara gained experience in administrative work during her undergraduate career as Personnel Manager and Orchestra Librarian for the Hays Symphony. Clara is  excited to expand on this knowledge by working for the Flint Hills Children’s Choir as the Administrative Director.