The High-Vibrating World of Music

A look inside Traverse City’s first violin shop

By Deb Dent | Aug. 5, 2023

Karine Pierson has been in love with music ever since she was a little girl. According to her mom, she started to play the violin, along with several other stringed instruments, at 18 months.

“For strings,” Pierson says, “you need to develop the ear very young; it’s the same part of the brain that learns language, and that part ‘turns off’ at puberty.”

Now, all grown up, she is the proud owner of TC Violin Company, the first and only violin shop in the region and a female-owned business to boot. “I have always found it really strange that there was no strings shop in northern Michigan, considering our affinity for the arts and our proximity to Interlochen,” Pierson says. “The area, with its stunning natural beauty, just goes so well with the high-vibrating world of music.” 

Finding a Natural Harmony

Pierson grew up in Flushing, Michigan, but visited Up North frequently with her family over the years. She had her very first student at the age of 14 and has been teaching music ever since. After completing her double-major in string instrument music education and vocal performance, she found fulfillment in her years working as an orchestra director.

“I just love to serve children and to be that person to open the door for them to this world of music,” she says.

Pierson went on to be a touring musician for about a decade, performing approximately 265 shows per year. Eventually her family decided to move north and put down roots in Traverse City. “It has always been my happy place, so I was thrilled when we got the opportunity to relocate here permanently from the Detroit area six years ago. We came here to work on our original music in our band, The Lofteez, and to experience the beautiful scenery and enjoy a collaborative, not competitive culture.”

Then the pandemic hit, shutting down most of Pierson’s performance opportunities. She decided to take a job teaching privately at Vokey Music, where she worked for two years. When she heard that the owner wanted to change careers, she jumped at the chance to buy it from her.

“We had to act fast, because the large unit next door had become vacant, and I saw the opportunity to manifest everything all at once; a music studio, violin store, and nonprofit to start a scholarship fund.”

Growing on a Major Scale

And so MiMusic Education Studio was born. The studio offers in-person and online lessons, while the nonprofit side works to provide scholarship opportunities for students who need help paying for lesson costs and instrument rentals. The Traverse City Violin Company is a small community shop located within the studio, and as Pierson says, “It’s our perfect home. Someday I hope to buy this building.”

According to Pierson, her studio is a newer concept; a place where you can purchase new or used stringed instruments, have those same instruments repaired or restored (along with piano tuning), and take music lessons. A full-service, one-stop violin shop, if you will.

She says that she is shocked at the amount of media attention that her little store has been receiving since opening their doors in June. She tells us that string players have been “coming out of the woodwork” to get help with various issues with their instruments that previously they would have had to take the two-hour trek down to Grand Rapids to get.

Most of the instruments Pierson sells in her shop are student and step-up models, but she also offers a few higher-end instruments that are there on consignment. She acquires her acoustic instruments from all over, but most of them come from Mark Schwartz Violins out of Interlochen and Maple Leaf Strings in Cleveland, Ohio.

“However, what I am most excited about in our inventory is the electric instruments room, which features instruments made by Cauldron Music, very special unique high-end instruments handmade here in Traverse City by Caul Bluhm, a local luthier,” Pierson says. She adds, “‘Luthier” is the word for a string instrument repair specialist or maker; I think it’s because back in the day they used to work on lutes.”

Conducting a Symphony of Students

In addition to the instruments for sale, Pierson offers a variety of music lessons at her studio as well—and not just for string players but also for pianists and singers. Customizing the lessons to each individual student to make it a more personal experience for them is something that Pierson takes very seriously.

“It’s very important to me to have more of a Montessori-based situation where kids are able to choose the instrument that speaks to them,” she explains. “I think the ultimate development as a musician is where you start to compose your own music and songs, as well as commitment and consistency when the going gets tough. So we encourage that to the nines.”

She also has a pretty acclaimed and extensive list of 12 instructors to teach those lessons, such as Drew Hale, recent winner of the iHeart Country Radio’s Emerging Artists Program spearheaded by Lainey Wilson; Mallory Ramage, the lead singer from One Hot Robot; and Steve Stargardt, a seasoned and respected jazz pianist.

“I like my instructors to have a bit of ‘star quality’ and performance experience, because what we do here is so much more than music lessons; it’s more like young artist coaching,” Pierson shares.

She adds that the studio currently serves over 200 students. “From young students and their parents to college students to retirees, I have seen a very diverse crowd. It is so exciting and special to be able to serve the string community like this.”

Reminiscing about her time as a teenager when she would drive around Traverse City, dreaming about growing up and owning a music store here someday, Pierson says, “Who says that dreams don’t come true?”

For more information on the TC Violin Company, as well as MiMusic Education, visit mimusic.education.