Anna Clair Roberts - A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart!

Stemming from a musically infused family background and given Anna’s exposure to various instruments, Anna was yet limited to achieve musical development. So she sang every opportunity she had at her church. Due to poverty, her father, a musician, worked 2 to 3 jobs to provide and this resulted in little to no time for musical training or even finance to secure private music lessons. However, at the age of 23 she started playing her first instrument~ the violin. Within 5 years Anna had completed Grades 1 through 6 in Violin practical with Trinity College, London. Along with learning the violin, she acquired voice tutoring and achieved an advanced certificate in singing from Pinnacle of Rubies. She is self-taught in guitar, cello and piano. 

Anna playing the violin

She then went on to take up pan lessons with Mr. Boucoup and did Grade 3 Pan Practical with the Department of Creative and Festival Arts. Shortly after, Anna continued her studies in music at the University of the West Indies, where she obtained a BA in Performing Arts- Music (Special) and graduated with Upper Second Class Honours in 2016. 

Anna was an assistant, teaching string instruments from 2010 to 2012. This opportunity to teach under Mrs Gunilla Tang Kai at Court Street Chamber Orchestra was the genesis of her becoming a music teacher. The love for music combined with the passion for teaching, reinforced by the belief that anyone is capable of playing an instrument is what propelled the start-up of Seraphic Strings and is still one of the contributing factors that sustain it. 

Anna conducting her students for a concert Seraphic Strings hosted..

Seraphic Strings, the first string music school, was opened in September 2012, in Central Trinidad. In April 2017, she was appointed as a full-time Music Teacher III at Moruga Secondary School and then transferred to St Georges College in 2019 till present. In both Secondary schools she has actively succeeded in preparing students for Sanfest, Best Village, String Festivals, School concerts and more.She also worked with Claxton Bay Junior Anglican School forming a choir and preparing them for competition in 2014, as well as, a band called HFC Musical Gems in Holy Faith Convent in 2016, where a concert was hosted by said band. She prepares Seraphic Strings’ students to perform in various events, concerts, string festivals and religious affiliations. 

She is driven to continuously practice and gain more knowledge, and in turn divulges what she has obtained. It gives her great pleasure to see her students develop their talents, and to see them use their skills to make themselves and others happy. Her aim is to help individuals recognize their hidden talents and hopefully inspire and make an indelible mark in their lives; she is entrusted to care for as a teacher and a mentor. With her years of experience and knowledge, she applies motivational and educational theories to propel her students closer to their desired goal, as they all work together to the advancement of a well-rounded individual creating and playing beautiful music.

Group photo of Anna and some of her assisting teachers and students at the National String Festival.

Thanks to her exceptionally loyal clientele and personal referrals, business at Seraphic Strings has been expanding. To ensure efficient and tailored teaching service to meet your needs, accredited music instructors are hired to form a close-knit “family” to provide a seamless high quality service. Students of Seraphic Strings avail of the opportunity to receive tutelage of musical string instruments, which prepare and enable them to do both practical and theory graded exams with a recognized accreditation institution (Trinity College, London) and provides rehearsals as an orchestra.

Anna holds a BA in Performing Arts- Music (Special) - Honours and an MA in Creative Design Entrepreneurship. She is truly inspirational to everyone she encounters and is a beacon for seeking potential, nurturing and developing her young musicians, enabling them to achieve their goals.