Member Directory

Ms. Martha D. Shackford

Violin, Viola, Suzuki in the Schools Teacher · Teacher Trainer SAA Member

Martha Shackford has just moved to Bradenton, Florida, from Portland, Oregon. She is a violin teacher trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and offers apprenticeship courses in violin and viola for area teachers who are interested in studying the Suzuki Approach. She has also developed a course for parents of Suzuki students which she has presented locally and at various other locations. Martha has had private studios in Pennsylvania; Arkansas; Washington DC area; and Iowa. She has taught in inner city public schools, conducted youth orchestras, directed and founded a Suzuki School at the University of Arkansas, served on the board of directors of many organizations, been involved in several Latin American Suzuki projects, writes for professional journals, and travels extensively doing Suzuki workshops and summer institutes. Martha particularly enjoys reading, knitting, movies, meditating, socializing, hiking, and traveling. Her greatest passion is in finding ways to develop community. In Portland, Oregon, she founded a non-profit called the Portland Suzuki Project, which is a center for teachers and families focusing on bringing the Suzuki Approach to children whose families can’t afford private lesson tuition. Although she currently resides in Florida, she is still president of The Portland Suzuki Project.