Nicole Castleberry Clouser

Nicole Castleberry Clouser  had a rock-n-roll start playing electric bass in rock bands and her love of all music brought her to classical orchestral performance. Nicole has a passion for instilling the love of music to others through music education. 

Nicole received her BM  from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City studying with Orin O’Brien and continued with graduate studies at the Julliard School but ultimately received her MM from McGill University in Montreal.

Nicole is an active performer in the Cleveland area regularly performing with the Cleveland Pops and is devoted to teaching instrumental music at Shaker Middle School and Woodbury Elementary School in the Shaker Heights City School District.  She formerly taught at Roxboro School in Cleveland Heights, Oh. Nicole is an active Suzuki Teacher of Cello and Double Bass in Cleveland and previously held a position at The Music Settlement. Nicole formerly played double bass with orchestras of the Cleveland Opera, RED {an orchestra}, Toledo, Wheeling, Canton and Erie as well as Pittsburgh Opera and Sarasota Opera.   Before making Cleveland her home, she performed with the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Memphis, Phoenix, Albany, Fresno and Las Vegas. Nicole has also performed with many summer festivals: Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin, The National Repertory Orchestra, The National Orchestral Institute, Music Academy of the West, The Round Top Festival, Chautauqua Institute and Brevard Music Center.  Nicole studied Suzuki Double Bass pedagogy under the tutelage of Dr. Dan Swaim at Arizona State University and has traveled to several Institutes for cello and double bass teacher training.

When she is not doing musical “things” she is hanging out with her family and wielding another bow in tournament archery.