Leadership Summit Committee and Advisors Announced!

We are so excited to announce our Leadership Summit Committee and Advisors! This group of dedicated members will use their expertise to shape the Summit into a valuable learning experience for all attendees. Read more about the members below.

Committee

Carrie Salisbury

Caroline Salisbury is a Los Angeles-based performer, small-business owner, and violin/viola teacher. She created StringsPop!, a music theory enrichment experience for teens and tweens, and offers innovative teacher and student workshops on Creative Music Literacy. Carrie holds a B.M. in Viola performance and now studies orchestral repertoire and pedagogy with Dr. Mick Wetzel. A Suzuki teacher of 20+ years, she directs the SMAC Los Angeles Branch. Her private students perform regularly as Crescendo Strings, an all-ages multi-level string group and as First Inversion, a premiere teen ensemble known for creating and performing their own arrangements. She is a parent to three young Suzuki string students with her husband, pianist-composer Benjamin Salisbury. 

Manuela Imparraguirre

She began her guitar studies through the Suzuki Method at the age of 8. She was selected in 2008 and 2014 to participate as student in the SAA SUZUKI CONFERENCE, in Minneapolis, USA, as part of the Latin American ensemble and the guitar ensemble. In 2010, she participated as a solist in the Guitarras del Mundo Festival. And since 2017, she has been a member of the Camerata Argentina de Guitarras, one of the most recognized guitar ensembles around the world. In 2016, she had her degree in Musical Education. She has completed more than 15 courses on the Suzuki Method. Also she has participated in Suzuki Festivals and events in Ecuador, Peru, United
States, Chile, Argentina and online. She has been providing classes through this methodology since 2016, and since 2021 she is the director of the Suzuki guitar project at the Gilardo Gilardin Conservatory of Music, in Argentina, one of the Latin America Suzuki project totally free and open to the community. Also, she gives lessons at the EstíMusical Institute (institute specilized in the Suzuki Method) and online to students from all around the world. In addition, she gave master classes at the Posadas Conservatory of Music (Argentina), the Suzuki Assosiation of Mexico camp (México – online) and the Campamento Marqués de Mancera (Chile). In march, she participated of the SAA Conference as part of the guitar ensemble and giving the talk “Experiences as a Suzuki Alumni and Teacher”. Later, she wrote the article “Sustaining the Music Learning process over time” for the Suzuki Journal. As a guitar player, she has participated in concerts in the main theaters of Argentina, such as the
Usina del Arte, the Centro Cultura Kirchner, the Teatro Argentino, the Coliseo Podestá, the Radio Nacional Argentina, among others.

Edward Kreitman

Edward Kreitman was the founder and Director of the Western Springs School of Talent Education from 1980 – 2024.  Mr. Kreitman received his undergraduate degree from Western Illinois University where he studied Suzuki Pedagogy with Doris Preucil and Almita Vamos. In 1986, he studied with Dr. Suzuki at the Talent Education Summer School in Matsumoto, Japan. Mr. Kreitman is known throughout the world as a guest clinician at Suzuki institutes and workshops and is a registered Teacher Trainer of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Mr. Kreitman is the author of Teaching from the Balance Point – A Guide for Suzuki Parents, Teachers, and Students and Teaching with an Open Heart – A Guide for Developing Conscious Musicianship. Mr. Kreitman serves on the Suzuki Association of the Americas STC advisory committee in the area of teacher development.  

Sylvia Mwila

Sylvia Mwila is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music where she earned both a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance and a Master’s degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. Ms. Mwila is the President of the Suzuki Association of Georgia, and a fully registered violin teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Currently, she teaches with the Fayette Fiddler Suzuki program, and has been a guest teacher at music programs in India, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Chile, and at Suzuki workshops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Augusta, GA, and Chattanooga, TN. In addition to her teaching, Ms. Mwila is a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (GA). 

Stephanie Hunt

Stephanie Hunt (cello) An active and versatile musician, Stephanie Hunt performs on both modern and baroque cello. Her current activities include performances with the Perseid String Quartet and Early Music Missouri. Stephanie has participated in numerous international music festivals, including the Nederlandse Orkest- en Ensemble-Academie, Royaumont Formations Professionnelles (France), the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, and two summers as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow. Her studies on modern cello led to a bachelor’s from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and a master’s from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Following her American studies, Stephanie moved to Europe and earned a master’s in baroque cello from the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. Her cello teachers include Viola de Hoog, Norman Fischer, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Ross Harbaugh, and Monique Bartels. She also has an MBA from SIUE and a Master’s in Data Science from Eastern University. Stephanie teaches cello in the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Suzuki program and maintains a private studio in St. Louis. Her students have participated in youth orchestras, all-suburban, all-district, and all-state festivals. She received the Suzuki Association Certificate of Achievement in 2023 and became a Suzuki Cello Teacher Trainer in 2024. 

Karyn Grove-bruce

I grew up in Alaska, and have played music since the age of eight. I completed all of the SAA Suzuki levels for violin, and viola, and am currently working on finishing the Early Childhood Education levels. I have been a Suzuki teacher for over 25 years, working with pre-natal through adult students. I have played with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Juneau Symphony, the Anchorage Civic Orchestra, the Anchorage Concert Chorus, the Anchorage Chamber Choir, and the Anchorage Opera among others. I am the founder of the Violaska chamber group, the Chameleon Ensemble, and the current Director of the Southcentral Alaska Suzuki Association (SASA). I am active with the Alaska Brain Injury Coalition (ABIC) as a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS), and I have a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Arizona, and a School Psychology (Psy.S.) degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. 

Mark Mutter

Mark Mutter is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He received his Bachelors Degree (DePauw University) and Masters Degree (The University of Michigan) in Violin Performance studying with Walter Schwede, Angel Reyes and Camilla Wicks. His orchestral career began in Hong Kong as the Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He also taught at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. Mark studied Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall, Ronda Cole, Jacquie Maurer and Geri Arnold.

Christie Felsing

Christie Felsing is Director of Teaching and Learning at the University of Hartford’s Hartt Community Division where she teaches violin in the Hartt Suzuki Program and leads the Suzuki graduate pedagogy courses. She has been active in the Suzuki Association of the Americas as a registered teacher trainer for many years, served on the SAA Board of Directors from 2004 to 2009, coordinated the 2010 SAA conference, worked as a staff member from 2014 to 2016, and served as a consultant for teacher development. Christie was assistant director at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, Iowa, for 17 years, and taught on its violin faculty from 1996 to 2014. In 2013, the Iowa String Teachers Association named her the Leopold LaFosse Studio Teacher of the Year. Christie received her Master of Music degree in Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and her Bachelor of Music degree with Vartan Manoogian and Marvin Rabin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, she completed a nine-month Suzuki internship with Doris Preucil in Iowa, and her arts administration training (AMICI) with the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

Advisors

Araceli Hackbarth

Araceli Hackbarth has been a violin teacher since 2002 and adopted Suzuki’s method in 2009. She began her own violin studies at the age of 7, under Suzuki’s philosophy. She graduated both in Physiotherapy and Musical Education, has a Master Science and a Doctorate degrees in Science and a specialization in Musical Therapy. Besides all training in Suzuki Method, she also did an internship for 50 days in 2015 at the Western Springs School of Talent Education school, guided by Edward Kreitman. She has been worked as  English to Portuguese Suzuki courses translator.
Currently, she is Director of Suzuki Center of Music Education in São Carlos (State of São Paulo—Brazil), teaches violin and viola classes and conducts the Chamber Orchestra ‘Octo-plus’,  formed by school pupils, family members and invited friends. She has been working as an interpreter for Suzuki English-Portuguese training courses. Since 2015, she is part of the board of directors of “Associação Musical Suzuki do Brasil” (AMSBrasil), being elected as its President in 2022. In 2020 she joined the Suzuki Latin America Associations Committee.

Rolando Freitag

Rolando Freitag is a registered Violin Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He currently teaches at the Orlando Suzuki Music School where he offers Suzuki Teacher Training courses as well as individual and group lessons, and serves as director for the Florida Music Institute. He has extensive experience working with students of all ages and ability levels, and has taught lessons, workshops, and teacher training courses throughout the Americas. Mr. Freitag earned his M.M. in Violin Performance from Penn State University, and his B.M. in Violin Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. In addition, he has completed the Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization from the University of Pennsylvania, and holds the Certificate of Achievement from the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Annette Lee

Annette Lee has been a Suzuki teacher since 1988. She received her BM in piano performance from Wheaton Conservatory and her MM in piano performance from the University of Michigan, where she was a fellowship student under Louis Nagle and Martin Katz. Her Suzuki training has been with Yasuko Joichi, Doris Koppelman, Jane Kutscher Reed, Rick Mooney, Fay Adams and Mary Craig Powell. In 2015, she became a registered Teacher Trainer in Piano. Ms. Lee has taught at the Music Institute of Chicago and DePaul University and is currently on faculty at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. At MacPhail, she is a Suzuki teacher, is a staff accompanist for the Suzuki Department and hosts Teacher Training for Piano. In 2022, Ms. Lee established a Fellowship Program in which she trains young, aspiring piano teachers in the Suzuki Method. She is a frequent clinician at Suzuki Institutes, having taught in Stevens Point, WI, Blue Lake Institute, MI, Mt. Royal Academy,  Calgary, Suzuki Piano Program in Saskatoon, the Wheaton Preparatory Department, IL,  the Preucil School in IA, the Chicago Suzuki Institute, the Levine School in Washington, D.C. , the Memphis Institute and at the Colorado Suzuki Institute. Most recently, Ms. Lee was selected as the only representative of the SAA to teach a master class during the International Teacher Trainers Convention in Matsumoto, Japan.

Morgan Lee Gerstmar

Morgan Lee Gerstmar (she/her) is the director of Los Angeles Suzuki Institute, a Suzuki violin teacher, and web designer based in the Pasadena area of Los Angeles, California. She holds degrees and certificates in various disciplines ranging from Music, Neuroscience and Web Design from University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts, New England Conservatory, and Santa Monica College. Morgan is passionate about educating the next generation of musicians, in her own studio and across Southern California, and working with teacher colleagues to enhance their business and marketing skills.

Debbie hammond

With more than 20 years teaching experience, Debbie brings together the Suzuki philosophy of teaching with her own flair and love of all music. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan. Her primary teachers are Geri Arnold, Dr. Robert Skelton, Mark Fewer and Yehonatan Berick. Debbie began her pedagogy training with Robert Culver at the University of Michigan. Debbie continued her training in Suzuki pedagogy with noted trainers Edmund Sprunger, Mark Mutter, Thomas Wermuth, Dorothy & Sharon Jones, Alice Joy Lewis, Carol Dallinger & Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin.  Debbie is a frequent guest clinician and adjudicator for festivals and workshops throughout Ontario. Debbie is currently serving the greater Suzuki community as the Chair of the Suzuki Association of Ontario and the Treasurer of Suzuki Music/Musique Canada. She is also the proud Suzuki parent of two wonderful girls!

Mary Halvorsen Waldo

MM—New England Conservatory of Music; 
BA Music—College of St. Scholastica

Recorder Teacher Trainer, registered with Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and European Suzuki Association (ESA).  Teacher Trainer at multiple Suzuki Institutes and Festivals throughout the Americas, and the UK.  Former faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music, and The Saint Paul Conservatory of Music: initiated Suzuki Recorder at both (and Flute, at MacPhail).  Former faculty at Whitewater Early Music Festival.  Former Music Co-Director for Twin Cities (MN) Recorder Guild; Cathedral Music School Recorder Instructor with “Homeless No More,” and Logan Elementary School, after school, Columbia, SC.

SAA Board of Directors (2018—2022): SAA Recorder Committee, and International Suzuki Association (ISA) Recorder Committee; <em>American Recorder Society</em> (ARS) former Board member and magazine Education Editor

Amelia Seyssel

Amelia Seyssel is a Suzuki Voice Teacher Trainer living in Poughkeepsie, NY. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance and Literature from Mills College, CA, as well as post-graduate work with various teachers through Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard Evening Division. Her professional performances have focused on Art Song repertoire from English, French, and Spanish language composers, including a professional level CD (La Música Resuena) focusing on Spanish-language Art Song from both Spain and Latin America. Her Suzuki credentials include a Diploma from the European Suzuki Association, and a Certificate from Suzuki Voice Founder Dr. Päivi Kukkamäki. She is co-author of SAA’s Voice Teacher Training Syllabus, first established in April 2022. In the course of her Suzuki Voice teacher training studies, Ms. Seyssel acquired extensive international Suzuki experience in Finland, Australia, Mexico, USA, and Japan (including the 16th World Convention in 2013). Her international teaching experience includes Faculty positions at two international conferences focusing on the growth and development of both students and teachers. Ms. Seyssel was also Small Instrument Co-Coordinator for the SAA 2020 Minneapolis Conference (planned, but not executed).

Genevieve schirm-joyce

Geneviève began her Suzuki journey at the age of 2 with Suzuki cello teacher Jo-Anne Goyder in Waterloo, Ontario. After her formative years of study, including summers at various institutes around North America, Geneviève attended Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied with renowned cellist Paul Pulford, and obtained an Honours Bachelor of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in French, and a Diploma in Chamber Music. Geneviève went on to study with Carol Tarr at the University of Denver where she received her Master of Music Degree in Suzuki Pedagogy in June 2009. Geneviève lives in Waterloo, Ontario and is a founding teacher and director at Suzuki Talent Education of Waterloo (STEW) and continues to run a large cello studio. She has been invited to teach at various institutes and workshops across the country.  As a parent, her three children study with Suzuki teachers in cello, violin and viola. Geneviève is the cello director for the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki institute, which runs every August in Waterloo, Ontario. She is also the treasurer for the Suzuki Association of Ontario (SAO), as well as the interim co-chair of the newly incorporated Suzuki Music/Musique Canada.  She continues to perform locally, including being the principal cellist of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and the Waterloo Chamber Players.

Wendy Stern

Flutist Wendy Stern is a SAA Registered Teacher Trainer and a recently appointed a Teacher Trainer for the Asian Region Suzuki Association. An active clinician, she has been the invited guest at numerous institutes and workshops in North and South America, England, Australia, New Zealand, and most recently, Taiwan. After receiving her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, Wendy immersed herself in Suzuki pedagogy, and her mentors include Rebecca Paluzzi, David Gerry and Suzuki Flute School founder Toshio Takahash. Presently she teaches at the Brooklyn Conservatory, The Lucy Moses School and the Green Meadow Waldorf School. Wendy is an in-demand freelance musician, playing regularly with the most prestigious ensembles in the New York/ New Jersey area and has recorded CDs for CRI, VAl, lnnova, MPR, and Windham Hill.

Marla Majett

Marla Majett is a Suzuki cello teacher in Atlanta, Georgia who has devoted her life to making music accessible to children of all ages & backgrounds for 30 years. This effort is most reflected through her role as Executive Director of the Kulea Music Institute. She was raised in a musical family that includes four generations of jazz musicians, and began her musical studies at a young age through the Suzuki Method. 

A deeply committed educator, Ms. Majett was one of the founding members of the Suzuki Association of Georgia and recently served as its president. She was also the Co-Chair for the SAA’s Advisory Committee on Race and was the contributing editor to the American Suzuki Journal, Summer 2020 – an edition which championed the accomplishments and contributions of people of African descent in the Suzuki movement. She is currently on the editorial committee for the American String Teachers journal, and has also been a member of the ASTA Studio Committee. 

As one with a profound interest in American music history & research, Ms. Majett is pursuing her masters degree in Archival Studies. She also enjoys performing with the Colour of Music Festival Virtuosi and collaborating with Ballethnic Dance Company. She is honored to work with the SAA for the upcoming Leadership Conference.