Angelica Cortez

Executive Director
angelica@suzukiassociation.org

Angelica Cortez (she/her) is a Los Angeles-born arts leader and educator committed to music, community, and learning. She has served as Executive Director of the SAA for two years and teaches at the University of Southern California, as part of its Arts Leadership program. Prior to this position, she served as Interim President and CEO of El Sistema USA, where she collaborated with member organizations across the country that provide music and youth development programming to young people who often face barriers in accessing music education. She started her career with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, Gustavo Dudamel’s signature program offering free music education and academic support to students around the country. Angelica was selected as a Sphinx LEAD (Leaders in Excellence, Arts, & Diversity) fellow, a two-year leadership program designed to evolve the industry landscape by empowering the next generation of executive leaders. She is an active speaker, educator, and consultant. Outside of her work and healthy obsession with music, she loves writing, cooking, running, reading, and people.


Laura Yasuda

Director, Operations
laura@suzukiassociation.org

Erin Rushforth

Learning Manager
erin@suzukiassociation.org
720-562-2955

Contact Erin regarding training courses, institutes, festivals, scholarships, auditions, Certificate of Achievement, Teacher Trainer applications, the Suzuki Training Committee, and related policies. Cute dog videos also welcome.

Erin Rushforth is a violinist with an eye for detail and a penchant for planning. Erin stepped into her role as Learning Manager in 2023 and brings with her a deep commitment to Suzuki education, a love of people and languages, and abundant leadership experience. Erin was a Suzuki kid and studied in high school with Mary West of the MacPhail Center for Music. At Brigham Young University, she earned a BA and MA in French, before embarking on her Suzuki pedagogy studies. Erin taught violin privately for two decades, while continuing her Suzuki training, as well as coaching and teaching in public and private schools. In 2019, Erin became Director of the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute. She helped form the Institute Leadership Team, where she worked to foster a collaborative, inclusive community for Suzuki Institute directors and to build bridges of communication within the SAA community. Erin enjoys the continuation of that effort in her current role and is thrilled to help shape the future of Suzuki education. Apart from her work, she loves hiking, running, clean comedy, travel, new beginnings, and her family.

Dalanie Harris

Marketing & Event Manager
dalanie@suzukiassociation.org
720-562-2952

Contact Dalanie about all things related to marketing, business membership, and events!

Dalanie Harris is a double bassist from Los Angeles, CA. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Harris is a fierce advocate for equity and cultural inclusivity in classical music spaces. In November 2018, Harris co-founded Classically Black Podcast, which brings listeners into the world of classical music through the eyes of Black classical musicians. Harris has presented at conferences promoting equity and inclusion for Black musicians across the country, including SphinxConnect, the YOLA National Symposium, and the El Sistema USA National Symposium.

Dyane Protzmann Rogelstad

Membership Associate
dyane@suzukiassociation.org
303-444-0948

Contact Dyane regarding SAA membership, renewals, profile support, general info, or just to say hello. We love to hear from you!

Dyane is pleased to serve the SAA team as Membership Associate. She is overjoyed to be able to support the organization which has supported her for most of her lifetime. Dyane completed long-term Suzuki Piano training in San Diego and has been actively teaching and pursuing ongoing professional development since 1982. She currently lives in Colorado and enjoys water sports and visiting with her three grandchildren.

Dr. Andrew J. Braddock

Editor, American Suzuki Journal
andy@suzukiassociation.org

Violist Andrew Braddock enjoys a varied musical career as a performer, teacher, and scholar. He is currently the editor of theAmerican Suzuki Journal, a quarterly publication of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He is the former editor of theJournal of the American Viola Society (2017–2021) for which he contributed feature articles, interviews, and New Music reviews. In addition to writing for the ASJ and JAVS, his writings have appeared in The Strad and the Journal of the British Music Society. Dr. Braddock’s main areas of scholarship are string pedagogy and the analysis of viola music. Recent publications have focused on the pedagogy of fundamental bow strokes, intermediate viola repertoire sequences, and the viola music of HansWerner Henze. In addition to written media, he seeks new avenues of scholarship, including a project on Instagram that leads students through the steps of creating their own edition of theBach Cello Suites based on the source manuscripts.A passionate educator, he has given masterclasses at Vanderbilt University, the Chinese CultureUniversity in Taipei, Taiwan,Bowling Green State University,and many others. He teaches atWestern Kentucky University (WKU) and is the co-director of theWKUString Academy. In the summers, he teaches at the Indiana University Summer String Academy and directs theHilltopString Festival and theWKU Summer String Institute.His creative teaching led him to co-foundBridging Cultures with Music, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports various pedagogical and outreach programs in his community and abroad. His performing career has recently taken him to the Sejong Center in Seoul, South Korea, theNational Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, and the International Viola Congress in Rotterdam. Heis the principal violist of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and he regularly plays with theNashville Symphony and the Nashville Opera. He holds degrees from Indiana University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Kentucky. His principal teachers are Atar Arad, Kathryn Plummer, and John Graham.He plays a viola made by Giovanni Pistucci, ca. 1920.Visit his personal website for his recordings, research, and arrangements for viola: andybraddock.com