Andrea Freng

Andrea began playing violin at age 9 in Salem, OR and was fortunate to grow up in a community with a vibrant strings program with lots of performance opportunities both locally and abroad. She played with the Salem Youth Symphony, All-City Honors orchestra, as a concerto soloist, and later continued in college in the Whitman College Symphony, in a small baroque ensemble, and with indie rock groups at coffee house performances. She majored in biology at Whitman College, but her love of violin always remained a strong part of her life and she played in community orchestras in Seattle and the surrounding area where she also began teaching adult beginners. She later attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville to complete her Masters in Nursing and then worked for over a decade as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Washington state (where she continued to play in various ensembles and as concertmaster of the Evergreen Community Orchestra). After having 2 daughters and moving with her family to Anniston, AL to be closer to her parents (who had relocated there), she found a strong band program but a lack of a strings program. She decided to further her studies in violin teaching by beginning the Suzuki Teacher Training program at the Chicago Suzuki Institute in 2023. She is excited to bring her experience and knowledge of how to teach small children to Anniston and the surrounding area. She is offering lessons for all ages.