Member Directory

Crystal Dawn Plohman

Violin Teacher SAA Member

Crystal Plohman is no stranger to the wide world of fiddling styles or to the Suzuki Method. Raised in the Suzuki program as one of the first students of the late Alison Rhyles and the Brandon University Suzuki program, Crystal went on to follow in her father’s footsteps as champion Canadian fiddler. She is the only person to place as a top finalist (top 4) in both the Canadian and American Grand Masters Championships, as well as the Canadian Open Fiddling Championships. After successfully competing for 15 years across Canada and the US, Crystal moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1994 after an invitation from Mark O’Connor to be his assistant in his fiddle program at Vanderbilt University. Crystal later went on to serve as Director of the Fiddling program and created the International Fiddle School. She has worked with Chet Atkins and other country greats and performed in several countries including Ireland, Japan, and China. Crystal is most widely known for her work with children and teachers in her clinic program, “Connecting the Strings” which has been presented at hundreds of schools and educator conferences across the country. She has served as the fiddle instructor at many weekend workshops and summer Suzuki institutes including Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis, Baltimore and Colorado.