Amy van der Linde

“My parents both taught piano,” says Amy van der Linde, whose father also taught math at Bennington College in Vermont. “When I was 6, they opened a summer piano camp in our house. I started teaching at age 9.” The camp, called Summer Sonatina, became so popular that the family moved, seven years later, into a 42-room mansion, previously a convent. “We had 26 pianos for 50 students,” she says. “Everyone practiced for one hour, three times a day.” Management of the camp and of the family household followed the Positive Discipline model of parenting, based on research by Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs. “Children need encouragement like a plant needs water,” van der Linde expounds. She shared teaching duties with her four siblings and their parents at the camp through her college years at the University of Vermont.

Afterwards, she served two years in the Peace Corps in Morocco, then worked 13 years managing a homeless shelter in Boston. She returned to teaching after a 17-year absence in 1996, when she opened a piano studio in Manhattan. “I devised games to help students learn,” she says. Van der Linde got married, and three months after the birth of daughter Darwin in 2006, the family moved to Eugene. “New York kids are stressed out,” she explains. She currently gives piano lessons in her home studio. Also a certified Positive Discipline Parenting Educator since 2009, she will offer a free introductory parenting class this fall. Find details at amyvanderlinde.com. Her own kids Darwin and Tycho are in fifth and first grade at Camas Ridge Elementary. Back in Bennington, Summer Sonatina has spawned Winter Sonata, a piano camp for adults.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!