Ryan is our twelve-years-old son, we are from Shanghai, China. He started playing the cello at the age of nine. Before he met Mr. Adrian, he had never studied formally and systematically, and it was intermittent, and he did not follow a good teacher regularly.

Since we came to Spain, we were lucky enough to meet Mr. Adrian and Ryan started to learn cello from him. He began to study the cello formally and systematically. He has a good musical memory and a good sense of rhythm. He started learning drums at the age of five. He participated in the category of IPEAEC competition in 2019 and won the Award o Excellence in the Amateur Drum Set Children Group. He likes various types of music, and has a perfect switching cognition system for classical music and modern music.

Ryan loves the cello very much. After a year of studying with Mr. Adrian, he has not only improved a lot in technique, but also found a balanced sitting position and now uses natural arm gestures. He alos learned how to process and percieve music. This is a very important year with a lot of changes, it has laid to a very good and solid foundation on his way of expressing himself through de cello.

Thanks a lot dear Mr. Adrian.

Cassie and Hans Dong,
Shanghai 20 june 2023

Adrian is an excellent teacher for whatever level the student is at. He can give the necessary information about the basic topics, not only instrumental but also musical, and about the more complex topics and doubts, which makes the student feel eager to learn more and more things every day. Adrian is a great professional who gives his all for the students and for their progress in the musical world.

Without a doubt Adrian is one of the most influential and inspiring teachers I have ever had and thanks to him I have arrived where I am today.

Jordi Albelda ( 1st Prize Cello Competition Dotzauer 2011) Leipzig, 16 de junio 2023

We have known Professor Adrian van Dongen for about five years. A fellow pianist, who also brought his daughter, recommended him to us.

We, father and mother, are also musicians. At that time, when we took our son, we were moved that perhaps this teacher would be able to strengthen him and help him abandon the thought of giving up the cello. It was with patience and wisdom that he succeeded.

Joan always comes out of his classes serene and this attracts our attention because he is a very, very active kid, rider, who needs the strong experiences of the bike…

We started to know also his videos. We found him to be an eternal searcher of the beautiful sound. He knows deeply the technique but he doesn’t stay there and makes love the music. He serves the music. He starts from a great human quality, he is humble and at the same time he transmits a great security to the student because he looks for the most natural way to the anatomy, without forcing, achieving the maximum sound that each moment requires.

We like his warm and very respectful treatment. He is a teacher of the old times, vocational, who is dedicated body and soul.

He has accompanied us, outside of his class, to choose bows, change instruments… traveling for that purpose.

He is rigorous with the small details, that if it would be better to change this string… that if the soul could change its placement… that to correct that thumb he would look for a rubber with a specific shape… Each lesson is a trickle of wisdom.

Adrian is a musician full of light and this is transmitted in his way of speaking, using a language that always seeks the best, kindness and exquisiteness with much respect.

As parents, we have always wanted to give a humanistic and integral formation (music, sports, nature, morals, Christian faith…) We believe with joy that Adrian can also transmit these values apart from the musical ones being a reference and we trust that he will be one of the fundamental people in his life. We know he is in good hands. Thank you.

Francisca Ortí Viñes & Chang Rok Moon, June 30, 2020

Having studied music (cello and piano) in Buenos Aires (my hometown) and having received training in Suzuki method in both instruments, I am currently completing a degree in Cello Pedagogy at the Escuela Superior de Música de Alto Rendimiento in Valencia, with Adrián van Dongen as cello teacher.

His classes are excellent both musically and pedagogically. His human warmth and sensitivity make the classes flow in a very natural and enjoyable way, as well as nurturing. His level of excellence as a cellist and pedagogue allows the classes to be very productive and efficient.

I have nothing but words of gratitude for having found Adrian in my path. Our weekly meetings enrich me enormously as a musician and as a teacher.

Rocío García Juanatey, Valladolid June 28, 2023

My first lessons with Adrian were almost a kind of revelation. He told me for the first time about the whole-body-approach, which changed my understanding of the cello physically. He showed me the cello’s capacity to create sonorous colors. He told me about music, and the expressive capacity of the cello. And all of this came together in order to connect body and mind to transmit a musical idea, which was different for each piece. Adrian challenges the general teaching of the cello:

His method unites technique and music in a perfectly balanced whole. His deep knowledge of the instrument and its repertoire makes him a versatile teacher, capable of leading his students to interpretative excellence and bringing out the best qualities in each of them.

Adrian defies dogma in teaching because instead of imposing his own criteria, he prefers to guide his students in the search for their own interpretative personality.

Albert Espina, Castellón 12/09/2019

Everything I can say about Adrian, my cello teacher, is brilliant. He is the definition of excellence, perseverance, understanding and dedication. He is always there for us, helping us in every way he can and more, encouraging us to be better musicians and above all, better people.

Until I met him, I didn’t even consider the option of becoming a teacher, and thanks to him I have a model to follow at a teaching and interpretative level, through his dynamic classes and support in auditions, in which he always looks for the best version of ourselves.

I am proud to say that he is my teacher.

Carla Calvo Valencia, ESMAR student 05/04/2022

Adrian van Dongen is exceptional as a teacher and on a personal level. His passion and dedication to music are reflected in every class. His ability to convey knowledge and techniques clearly and accurately is impressive. Thanks to him, I have experienced great progress. I highly recommend his classes to anyone interested in learning this wonderful instrument. His technique, based on good gesture management, studying from sound, and improving from this premise, makes him a teacher with highly refined and effective skills, qualities, and technique.

Lucas Sanchez Faura, 12/062021