Mrs. Hannah Smith Grooms

About Me

Mrs. Grooms grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia and started playing violin at age 6 through Lynchburg City Schools' String Program. In middle and high school, she participated in Junior and Senior Regional Orchestra, Spring String Thing, marching band, indoor percussion, A'cappella choir, and the Lynchburg Symphony Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings programs.

Mrs. Grooms graduated from James Madison University in 2021 with her bachelors degree in music education after student teaching at Charlottesville High School and Walker Upper Elementary School (also in Charlottesville).

Mrs. Grooms and her husband of 3 months live in Richmond City with their puppy, Penny, and their cat, Virginia. When she's not teaching, she enjoys watching movies, taking walks, taking photos, and listening to Taylor Swift.

My Professional Vision

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an orchestra teacher. I remember my high school band and orchestra room being the safest place in the whole school—emotionally and physically. I want to recreate that kind of environment in my own classroom—the kind where the teacher meets you (the student) exactly where you are, baggage and all, and recognizing that sometimes we want to put our baggage down, and other times, we can’t. I want you to know that you are welcome in my room exactly the way you show up on any given day. You don’t have to put up a façade around me. (I say these things because those things made all the difference, and I remember the hard days where my music family was there to support me more than I remember the easy days where the sun shone and the birds sang.)

I believe that teachers and students can share roles of learner and educator (and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know everything—but I want to)! One of my biggest strengths and passions is connection. Community is absolutely huge to me, and I intend to craft a close-knit community of parents, students, alumni, and area musicians who are here to support US as a program. I extend grace while still having high expectations and firm boundaries with my students, and love encouraging others. One of my favorite parts about orchestra is music selection, and I intend to pick sets of diverse music that showcases folx of all different races, nationalities, and belief systems. I also love finding new ways to develop technique outside of traditional method books and exercises. I believe that all students, when they leave my program, should have experience with traditional string orchestra repertoire and modern music.