ABOUT US

Meet Mimi Butler

Mimi Butler is an internationally known private studio teacher. Butler taught 30 - 40 violin and viola students privately in her Haddonfield, New Jersey music studio for 35 years. She also offered string chamber music, music theory lessons, and ten hour teaching courses for future teachers.


Mimi Butler is the author/publisher of "The Next-Gen Private Music Studio” (published in January, 2020.)


For twenty years, Mimi sold three private music studio handbooks that she authored called, “The Complete Guide to the Private Music Studio.” Butler has been conducting private music studio clinics throughout the country and in Canada since 1999.


Butler is Vice Chair of “The Symphony in C” board of directors and leads the educational volunteer committee. The new youth orchestra and annual summer day camp has been thriving due to this committee. The Symphony in C is one of three training orchestras in the country.


Since 2010, Butler has commercial real estate in Pennsylvania that she owns and manages. Mimi currently lives in Cherry Hill with her husband Steve and cat Tippy.
HIGHER COGNITIVE SCORES
String students scored significantly higher in cognitive abilities testing than non-music peers in Hamilton, OH state testing.*
BETTER READING & MATH
String students also scored higher in reading, math and citizenship of the Ohio Proficiency Test than non-music peers.*
GRADE LEVEL OR HIGHER
68% of string students scored grade level or higher on all four sections of the COGAT test compared to 58% of non-music students.*
* Hamilton, OH OPT & COGAT testing -  Michael D. Wallick, Ohio City Schools

Mimi Butler calls herself a ‘volunteer-holic’. When she attended middle school, someone asked her to go door to door to raise money for a disease. She knew then that a great part of her life would be to always give back.


Mimi’s parents were extremely active with Einstein hospital, Philadelphia. Originally, they were involved only with the Philadelphia Psychiatric hospital, later named Belmont Comprehensive Center. Her mother volunteered weekly at this hospital for the psychiatric needs of children and adults. When Mimi was a teenager, she joined her mother at weekend events. She even remembers winning a basket of wine at a luncheon before age 21. Read More

Teacher Testimonials

"I had students stopping me in the hall to tell me how valuable they found your information.  Your presentations were lively, good humored, inspiring, and information-packed all at once.  Throughout the two sessions, you had the rapt attention of graduate students and undergrads."

Dr. Gerald Fischbach

 "It was great to see you the other week & watch how you teach! I learn so much each time (for me & for my teaching)."

Teresa P.

"...a valuable reference for any teacher that teaches privately, regardless of the size of the studio. The information covered in this book is worthwhile towards improving all teaching situations."

Roberta Warfield

The smartest business move I made this month was to invest in Mimi Butler's teacher mentoring program. Mimi's business savvy, years of experience and natural enthusiasm for her clients made it easy for me to implement new strategies that were immediatelyhelpful in building my music studio business."
Diane R.

Author Mimi Butler meeting with music teachers at NJMEA

Stepping Up To Make a Difference...

In its 10 years, Symphony in C's summer camp for South Jersey middle and high school musicians has provided training to more than 500 students. For two weeks each summer, the whine of violins, the clanging of cymbals, and the sounds of tinny horns have filled the halls of Rutgers-Camden.

But this year, that rehearsal music sounds a little sweeter, and the coordinators and campers are relishing in it a bit more, knowing that the camp, two weeks of intensive training in orchestra and band instruments, almost didn't happen.

"In April, we were looking at each other saying, 'This isn't going to work,' " said Pamela Brant, director of Symphony in C. "Arts have experienced a severe decline in funding opportunities. When the economy tanked, there was less funding available for grant-making, larger companies refocused and decided to give to other areas, and camp was going to be a casualty of that."

The trouble started for the camp when Campbell Soup Co., the primary sponsor for nine years, notified Symphony in C that it would no longer be able to sponsor the camp because of a decision to support initiatives to end hunger and childhood obesity.

Organizers reached out to Cooper University Hospital and L-3 Communications, which came through with gifts but not nearly enough to provide scholarships and busing to all Camden participants, as had been done for the previous nine years.

Mimi Butler, a Haddonfield resident and private music teacher, heard about the camp's financial woes through one of her students. Butler, who had run her own Summer Strings camp for three years and seen it shut down for similar financial reasons, decided to do something.

She recruited friends in the community and formed a committee to save the music. The group met at Ponzio's in Cherry Hill and pooled music and media contacts.

Instead of going after larger corporate donations, the group launched a "Sponsor a Camper" initiative. For $300, you could sponsor two weeks of camp, or you could pay $150 for one week. The group held a fund-raiser at Wamsley Violin in Haddonfield featuring music from former campers.

By May, the group had raised $17,000, well over the $10,000 goal and enough to expand enrollment to 75 students.

 Julia Terruso, Inquirer Staff Writer Posted: August 11, 2013
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