Summit Presenters

Mary Bassett shemon

Mary Bassett Shemon enjoys a versatile career that includes performing and teaching across the Midwest. In addition to frequently performing with the Kansas City Symphony as a substitute flutist and piccoloist, she has performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Missouri Symphony. Ms. Shemon previously held the position of flute 2/piccolo with the Florida Grand Opera and the Palm Beach Symphony. An experienced teacher, Ms. Shemon maintains a robust private flute studio in the Kansas City area where she helps students of all ages discover their passion for music. She has held interim professor positions at both the University of Missouri—Kansas City and University of Kansas—Lawrence where she taught undergraduate and graduate flute students pursuing careers in performance, education, and music therapy. Her personal commitment to lifelong learning has led her to ongoing training in the Dalcroze Method and Suzuki Early Childhood Education, to supplement her dedication to the Suzuki flute method. In addition to her work as a performing artist and educator, Ms. Shemon has taken on leadership roles within two local non-profit arts organizations. As President of the Heart of America Suzuki Association, she organizes continuing education events for Suzuki teachers across 5 states, as well as an annual Winter Workshop for violin, viola, cello, flute, and early childhood students. Ms. Shemon also serves on the board of the Kansas City Flute Association. Ms. Shemon received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and her Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California. She also studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Ms. Shemon has immense gratitude for her teachers, Richard Graef, Carolyn Hoyer, Walfrid Kujala, Jennifer Nitchman, Mark Sparks, Kimberly Valerio, and Jim Walker. To enroll in lessons with Ms. Shemon please visit her website: www.MaryShemon.com

Trina Christensen

Trina Christensen has been the Director of Sistema Utah for twelve years, serving over 450 low-income students annually in West Valley City, Utah. She wants to make music education accessible to all as she helps to change the world through music. She is a past member of the Board of Directors for El Sistema USA, is a past president of the Suzuki Association of Utah, was a Director of the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute for 17 years, and is a Co-Assistant Director of the Greater Austin Suzuki Institute. Trina enjoys music administration and project management, which she excels at. She served as El Sistema USA’s National Symposium Chair for three years; before that, she served on four National Symposium Committees. She was the 2024 Conference Chair for the Suzuki Association of the Americas Biennial Conference.
Trina has won twelve Utah Best of State Awards in Music Education K-12, Employee Management and Training, Education – Seminar Training/Education, Individual Music
Instruction, and Early Childhood Music Education. She and her husband Jeremy are the proud parents of five children: Hannah, Gavin, Aiden, Collin and Kallie.

Emily connolly

Emily Connolly began violin at the age of four at the Western Springs School of Talent Education, and ever since then has been drawn to all aspects of the violin. After years of going on tours with Allegro Performing Ensemble, The Chicago Consort, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Concertmaster, she decided to fully pursue her passion in music. She went to the University of Michigan for a degree in Violin Performance, where she studied with Gabriel Bolkosky, Andrew Jennings, and Yehonatan Berick in her four years there. She became Concertmaster of the University Philharmonic Orchestra, and Concertmaster for the University Musical Society Orchestra. She has played in violin masterclasses with David Kim, David Halen, Kathleen Winkler, and Paul Kantor, and in one masterclass performing a piece for violin and voice for world famous vocalist, Renee Fleming. She also was involved in the Chamber Program at U of M, coached by Richard Aaron and Anthony Elliot. While in school, she also played with the Detroit Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, and the Dearborn Symphony Orchestras. She expanded her horizons by playing with Jazz ensembles and projects, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Baroque Orchestra, and multiple world culture music events.

Although her performing life was very rich, she decided to go back to her roots of Suzuki, and realized that is where her heart was. After graduating in 2014 with Honors, she took the summer to take Suzuki Teacher Trainings for books 1 through 5 with Edward Kreitman over the span of 3 months. Since then, she has taken Suzuki workshops with Helen Brunner, Allen Lieb, and Cathy Lee to further her education.

In January of 2015, she moved to Austin, Texas to pursue her love for teaching. She became the head violin teacher at two music studios where she implemented an entire Suzuki program including workshops, masterclasses for both teachers and students, and her own violin/viola summer camp. She also taught private violin lessons in four different public schools, and became an Orchestra teacher at Tippit Middle School for an intermediate orchestra and beginning orchestra class, where she taught the Suzuki Method as well. She performed with the Round Rock Symphony, Temple Symphony, Golden Age Orchestra, River Pointe Church Band, and more.

Emily decided to pursue her Suzuki and Violin Performance education, and got her Masters Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music in both Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. She studied with Joan Kwuon, world renowned soloist, and completed long term Suzuki Training with Kimberly Meier-Sims, completing Volumes 1-10. While at CIM, Emily was a Suzuki Teacher at the Sato Center for Suzuki Studies for both Private and Group lessons, and a Suzuki Theory Teacher. She worked in the Preparatory Division Office, and as Kimberly Meier-Sims’ Pedagogy Assistant. She also was a Suzuki teacher at the Baldwin Wallace Suzuki Program in Berea, OH.

After graduation, Emily moved back to Chicago, to where it all began; at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Her life has come full circle now being a Director at the school she first started violin at age 4. She also spends her summers at the Ithaca Suzuki Institute, as the Director of the Preludio Violin Program, along with her husband, Patrick Connolly. 

In her free time, she is a dedicated Yogi, and active fitness enthusiast. She loves exploring nature and being outside with her husband, Patrick Connolly, and their dog, Parker.

winifred crock

Winifred Crock was the Director of Orchestras at Parkway Central High School for
over twenty-five years, and has maintained a private violin studio in suburban St. Louis, Missouri for far longer. During her tenure, Parkway Central High was selected as a GRAMMY Gold Signature school, and the orchestra program garnered much acclaim. Mrs. Crock has been named the Missouri ASTA Private Studio Teacher of the Year, the Missouri ASTA Secondary String Teacher of the Year, the St. Louis Symphony Educator of the Year, and the NFHS Outstanding Music Educator of Missouri. Mrs. Crock is also the recipient of the University of Rochester’s Singer Prize for excellence in secondary teaching and the 2014 ASTA Elizabeth Green National School Educator Award. In demand as a clinician, lecturer and conductor, Mrs. Crock has lectured at numerous music conferences including Midwest, NAFME, ASTA, and SAA conferences and has been the featured string clinician at festivals and conferences in over 20 states, and abroad. In addition to music degrees from SIU Edwardsville and Kent State University, Mrs. Crock graduated from the Suzuki Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan under the tutelage of Shinichi Suzuki and is a certified Kodály instructor through the Kodály Center of America in Boston. Mrs. Crock, with Mr. William Dick and Dr. Laurie Scott, are the co-authors of Learning Together: Sequential Repertoire for Solo Strings or String Ensembles, Alfred Music. They were the recipients of the Suzuki Association of the Americas 2011 Community Learning Award for their work in developing the Suzuki Method in schools. Mrs. Crock is currently completing a beginning reading series called Pattern Play for Strings: A Sequential Introduction to Reading Music, Forrester Press. Mrs. Crock is dedicated to the betterment of music education for all children.

pamela devenport

Internationally recognized lecturer and master teacher Pamela Devenport has shared her unique blend of expertise and experience with hundreds of people in string communities throughout the world.   Her book, Cellostart, has been very successful in more than twenty countries. Well known and respected as a Suzuki cello workshop and institute teacher, Ms. Devenport has toured extensively throughout the world. She has been a guest speaker and cello faculty on many occasions, including the National Cello Institute, the American String Teachers Association, several Suzuki Association National Conferences, and the World Cello Congress. International Conferences include multiple visits to Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and Great Britain, and Korea.   There is variety in her topics:  from cello pedagogy to communication techniques, from physical anatomy to the far reaching effects of tone and sound. She is faculty, and the Chair of Cello at the School for Strings in New York City, and is also teaches the Long Term Pedagogy Seminar in Cello at the school. Ms. Devenport is a Suzuki Association of the Americas Registered Cello   Teacher Trainer, and is formerly collegiate faculty at Georgia State University.   Ms. Devenport holds a Masters Degree in Cello Performance from the Hartt School, University of Hartford, where she has been Chair of Strings of the Hartt Community Division, cello faculty of the Hartt School Collegiate Division, and developed the curriculum of Suzuki Cello Pedagogy in the graduate school.  In addition, she holds Diploma from the Professional Studies Program and Advanced Studies at the Brennan School of Energy Healing in Miami, Florida. Pamela Devenport, SAA Registered Cello Teacher Trainer, teaches long term Cello Suzuki Pedagogy at the School for Strings in New York City, NY. A very active workshop, lecturer, and institute clinician, she holds a Diploma in Professional Studies Program, and Advanced Integration Work from the Brennan School of Energy Healing, along with a Master’s Degree in Cello Performance. Ms. Devenport has previously been guest lecturer at many national and international music conferences, including Australia, Italy, England, Korea, and New Zealand. Formerly on the cello faculty of Georgia State and the Hartt School, University of Hartford. In 2007 published her first book, Cellostart, and is currently working on her second book to be released when the time is right.

Teri einfeldt

Teri Einfeldt is the Co-Chair of the String Department at The Hartt School Community Division of The University of Hartford, where she maintains a studio of students from ages 4 to 18. In her role as adjunct professor at The Hartt School, she instructs Master of Music candidates in Suzuki pedagogy. For more than thirty years, Ms. Einfeldt has been shaping these components into a program which is now considered a national model for teaching the Suzuki method within a university setting. In an effort to provide year-round opportunities in the greater Hartford area, in 1988 Ms. Einfeldt founded the Hartt Suzuki Institute, a weeklong summer workshop for children as well as teachers. Born and raised in Kingston, New York, Ms. Einfeldt began her study of violin at the age of 7 in the public schools. As a child and growing musician, she enjoyed playing chamber music and participating in orchestra. While at Ithaca College, she studied violin with Thomas Michalak, and began Suzuki training with Sanford Reuning, one of a small group of educators who pioneered the Suzuki method in the United States. A Suzuki Association of the Americas registered teacher trainer, Ms. Einfeldt is a frequent clinician at weekend string workshops and summer Suzuki Institutes throughout the United States and Canada. She has participated and presented at several international conferences of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, at the Pan Pacific Suzuki Conference in Sydney, Australia, and at Suzuki World Conferences in Turin, Italy and Matsumoto, Japan. In addition to her busy teaching, training, and lecturing schedule, Ms. Einfeldt continues to be an active performer. A devoted chamber musician, she also plays frequently with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She is the former Assistant Concert-mistress of both the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. Not surprisingly, Ms. Einfeldt has designed the Hartt Suzuki program to offer ample opportunities for students to participate in the orchestra and chamber music activities that she has always loved. She delights in beginning young quartets and developing them through high school. In July 2011, Teri ended her position as chair of the Suzuki Association of America after being a board member for several years. She continues to be an active member of the Association. She has also served as Chair of the Teacher Development Committee and the Suzuki Principles in Action (SPA) Committee.

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.

Caroline fraser

Caroline Fraser is from Scotland. She has a B.Mus from Edinburgh University and teaching diplomas LRAM (piano) and ARCM (violin) from the Royal Academy of Music, London. She has an MMus with Kodaly Emphasis from Holy Names University (HNU) in California. Caroline is an ESA and SAA piano teacher trainer and has given training courses and workshops throughout the Americas, in Europe, Asia and Australia. She currently lives in California and Peru and is passionate about spreading the Suzuki philosophy, most especially throughout Latin America.

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.

nora friedman

Nora Friedman is the Suzuki Program Director at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. She attended Wesleyan University, where she received her B.A. in Latin American Studies, and holds a Masters in Performance from Montclair State University and Brooklyn College, jointly. She has studied with Roberta Guaspari, Anna Pelekh, Perry Elliot, Masao Kawasaki and Weigang Li. In her 20+ years as a violin teacher, Nora has founded in-school violin programs in the South Bronx and Bed Stuy and has served on the violin faculties at the Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, the Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, the Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, and Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. Nora has completed training in Suzuki Violin Core Units 1-7 & 9-10 and numerous supplementary and enrichment courses, including, Suzuki Principles in Action, Practicum, Supplemental Repertoire: Violin Books 6 – 8, Developing the Bow Arm from Pre-Twinkle through Book 10, Teaching with an Open Heart, Left Hand Pitfalls, and Establishing the Bow Arm. Her mentors include Edward Kreitman, Edmund Sprunger, Allen Lieb, Linda Fiore, Nancy Jackson, Catheryn Lee, Charles Krigbaum, Teri Einfeldt, Danny Gee Cordova, Julie Lyons-Lieberman, Amelia Gold, and Dorothy Roffman, to name a few. Her passions include old-time fiddle, improvisation, and keeping the musician’s body and mind healthy. At BKCM, Nora is a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees, most recently working on creating a more equitable hiring practices at BKCM, and diversifying teaching repertoire. 

Daniel gee cordova

Daniel Gee Cordova is founder and director of the Austin Suzuki Music School. He has studied the Suzuki Method in Violin, Viola and Suzuki Early Childhood Education extensively with a broad scope of teachers. He holds degrees from the Crane School of Music – SUNY Potsdam and the University of Texas at Austin. In May 2012, Daniel was awarded the Suzuki Association of the America (SAA) Certificate of Achievement, a recognition given to teachers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to excellence in their teaching. Since 2020, Daniel has been a registered Teacher Trainer of the SAA working to provide professional development to teachers wanting to learn and teach the Suzuki Method in the Western Hemisphere.

Daniel is an active clinician giving presentations at National Conferences as well as guest teacher at workshops around the country. He has presented his work at numerous conferences including at the Suzuki Association of the Americas, American String Teachers Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association. Daniel has also been featured as guest conductor for Texas Region orchestras. In the summers, Daniel serves a Director for the Greater Austin Suzuki Institute and has been on faculty for Suzuki Institutes around the country including the Los Angeles Suzuki Institute, Oregon Suzuki Institute, the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute, the Ozark Suzuki Institute, Acadiana Suzuki Institute, Ithaca Suzuki Institute, Northern California Suzuki Institute, Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, Ithaca Suzuki Institute, and the Chicago Suzuki Institute.

Mr. Gee Cordova currently serves as Orchestra Director at Chisholm Trail Middle School in Round Rock ISD, a position that he had previously held from 2009-2019, infusing the Suzuki approach to students within the public school system. Daniel performs equally on violin and viola, serving as Assistant Principal Violist with the Austin Opera since 2014. Outside of teaching and performing, Daniel enjoys spending time with his husband Jerry and their son Liam who is embarking on his journey as a Suzuki cello student.

daphne gerling

Daphne Gerling enjoys an active career teaching, performing, and writing about the viola. She is Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of North Texas, and President-Elect of the American Viola Society. As a board member of the AVS, she spearheads collaborations with partner organizations such as the SAA, ASTA, and VSA. She was the coordinator of the 2024 AVS Festival and Primrose International Viola Competition, and also served on the boards of the International Viola Society, and the Brazilian Viola Society.  From Amsterdam to Vietnam, and New Zealand to Costa Rica, Daphne’s travels as a performer and teacher have taken her to 38 universities around the United States, and to 16 countries overseas. She completed long-term Suzuki teacher training in Books 1-4 with Teri Einfeldt, and books 5-9 with Elizabeth Stuen-Walker, and will host the inaugural North Texas Suzuki Institute at UNT in July 2025. Praised by the Strad for her “enterprising programming,” her debut recording, “Encircling”, is released on the Acis label. It features lesser-known works by female composers active at the time of  the 1919 Coolidge competition, and was presented as a featured recital at the International Viola Congresses in Thailand in 2023 and Brazil in 2024. Dr. Gerling studied viola, vocal performance, and historical musicology at Oberlin, CIM, and Rice. Her website is www.daphnegerling.com.

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.

tamara gonzalez

Tamara Gonzalez began her musical studies at the age of four in the Washington DC area. At age nine, Tamara moved to Puerto Rico with her family and began studying at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music Preparatory Program, and was admitted into the FOSJA summer festival and continued participating for the following six summers. During her time living in Puerto Rico, Tamara studied with Jaime Medina, and served as Concertmaster for the Advanced Orchestra for two years. In 1999, at the age of 15, Tamara graduated early from the Preparatory Program and began studying in the P.R. Conservatory of Music, with Henry Hutchinson. In the summer of 1999, Tamara attended Interlochen Arts Camp for the first time and was a member of WYSO. She also began her viola studies at Interlochen that summer and continued to attend Interlochen through the summer of 2001, when she was awarded the Emerson Scholar for Puerto Rico. Also in 2001, Mrs. Gonzalez won first place at the Puerto Rico Conservatory Concerto Competition and first place at the FOSJA Concerto Competition. In the fall of 2001, Tamara began her studies at DePaul University with Joseph Genualdi and later with Robert Waters. She served as Concertmaster for the DePaul Chamber Orchestra through-out her time at DePaul and graduated in 2005 with a BM in Violin Performance. Tamara returned to DePaul and in 2010 obtained an M.M with Honors in Violin Performance, studying with Olga Kaler.

Tamara Gonzalez enjoys an active career as a free-lance violinist and violin/viola instructor in the Chicago area. She has received Suzuki Teacher Training through Suzuki Violin Book 10, and has taken Violin Practicum and Suzuki Principles in Action. She has also taken Viola Book 6 with William Preucil and plans to continue her Viola Suzuki Training. Tamara is an adjudicator in training with the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music Development Program and anticipates admission into the College of Adjudicators in late 2015. She has taught at DePaul Community Music, Smiling Strings, Lane Technical and Vernon Hills High Schools, Sherwood Community Music School and Music Institute of Chicago. The Chicago Suzuki Institute invited her to join their faculty for the 2014 camp.

Tamara served as Suzuki Department Head for Sherwood Community Music School from 2011-2014. She has had success instructing Suzuki students as young three years old, as well as working on advanced concerti with her high school students. Tamara is an active performer, and has played as a member of the Sphinx Festival Orchestra, Chicago Classical Symphony, Rockford Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta. She currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and is a faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music and a member of the Stone Arch Collective.

christine goodner

Christine Goodner is a dynamic and highly trained Suzuki teacher and the director of Brookside Suzuki Strings, a violin & viola studio in Hillsboro, OR. She also teaches Suzuki Early Childhood Education Classes in Hillsboro & Portland through Da Capo Suzuki Early Childhood Education. In both of the programs, Christine is passionate about helping her students develop their skills to the best of their ability, while gaining a life long love of music. Christine grew up in a musical family started her violin studies at the age of 2 1/2, as a Suzuki student herself (studying with Betty Haag, and added the Viola in high school & college. She has a 4 year degree in Early Childhood Education and extensive teacher training through the SAA, including long term teacher training with Martha Shackford. She has also completed training with: Ellie Albers LeRoux, Susan Kempter, Yuko Honda, Sue Baer and Sharon Jones. Christine has been teaching for over 18 years, and spent a decade teaching at the Valley Catholic Music School in Beaverton, OR. There her students were consistently awarded scholarships in the school’s scholarship competition and top marks in the OMEA Solo & Ensemble competition. Christine is currently serving as President of the Oregon Suzuki Association. She has a passion for parent education, life long learning & building the Suzuki Community. She has had articles published in the American Suzuki Journal and is the author of the Suzuki licensed book Beyond the Music Lesson: Habits of Successful Suzuki Families (available on Amazon) Christine blogs at www.SuzukiTriangle.com More information about Christine and her studio can be found on her website at link

sally gross

A native of the Chicago area, Sally Gross is currently Cello Director at the Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northern Illinois University where she studied with Marc Johnson, and a Masters of Music in Suzuki Pedagogy from Ithaca College where she worked with Carey Beth Hockett and Sandy and Joan Reuning. Before returning to the Chicago area in 2004, Sally taught at the Suzuki String School of Guelph in Ontario where she was also Artistic Coordinator. She has been a teacher trainer since 1990. As a dual citizen of the US and Canada, Sally has a keen interest in expanding Dr. Suzuki’s vision in both countries through her leadership, teacher training, and guest clinician appearances.

karyn grove-bruce

Karyn Grove-Bruce Psy.S. received her bachelor’s in Music Performance from the University of Arizona studying with Jeffrey Showell on viola. She also holds a School Psychology degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and has worked as a school psychologist in Louisiana, California and Alaska. Karyn is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) and works with adults and children of all ages experiencing brain injury in a private clinic Head to Toe Holistic Healthcare in Anchorage, Alaska. Karyn has been a director of the Suzuki Association of Southcentral Alaska in Anchorage since 1998. She has completed training in all of the Suzuki Violin and Viola books in addition to SECE through level three. Karyn is dedicated to lifelong learning and has taken over 40 Suzuki training courses with as many teachers as she can, including Pat D’Ercole, Ann Montzka-Smelser, William Preucil, Elizabeth Stuen-Walker, Vera McCoy-Sulentic, Mark Bjork, Allen Lieb, Joanne Melvin, Nancy Lokken, Charles Krigbaum, Joseph Kaminsky, Daina Volodka Staggs, Joanne Bath, Julia Hardie, Wan Tsai Chen, Danette Warren Schuh, Rita Hauck, Sharon Jones, Kiersten Wartberg, and Chenoa Murphy. She has also completed both the violin and viola certificates of achievement for level one. Karyn founded the group SuperStrings in 2013 to give a venue for school-aged string players without access to an orchestra to gain experience. She founded the group Violaska in 2018 which meets monthly to give violists of all ages and abilities the chance to read viola ensemble music together. Karyn plays violin and viola with various groups including the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Opera, Juneau Symphony, Anchorage Civic Orchestra, Alaska Chamber Singers and the Anchorage Concert Chorus Orchestra. She is also a founding member of the Chameleon Ensemble chamber group. Karyn currently maintains a private studio in Anchorage, Alaska and teaches Suzuki Early Childhood Education, Viola and Violin to about 30 students in addition to her clinic work.

beth guerriero

Elizabeth M. Guerriero, Ph.D. (Penn State University, ‘11) is the founder of Beth G Consulting, LLC a firm specializing in Interim Executive Directing, Fundraising, Strategic
Planning and Educational Consulting. She currently serves as Interim Executive Director of the Philadelphia Sinfonia. Previously Dr. Guerriero led the College of Performing Arts at Rowan University as Executive Director of Integrative Arts. In 2019, Dr. Guerriero was a Finalist for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Ovation Award for Inspiration and Outstanding Leadership in Music Education. Dr. Guerriero has served as Director of Education for City University of New York’s Harmony Program, working with over 500 students in low-income communities across the city of New York, such artists as the Canadian Brass, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera and Joshua Bell. Her education includes a Ph.D. in music education from Penn State University; a master’s degree in music from the University of Denver; a bachelor’s degree in music from Hartt School, University of Hartford; and a Certificate in Fundraising & Development from Villanova University. Outside of work, she travels extensively, loves to cook, the outdoors, and spending time with her family and two precocious cats. Beth G Consulting is truly a dream realized as it allows her to contribute to the nonprofit and community ecosystem of our world.

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. She is currently also on the board of directors of SAA.

mary halverson waldo

Recorder Teacher Trainer, Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and European Suzuki Association (ESA). She attended New England Conservatory of Music, MM – Performance of Early Music; College of St. Scholastica BA, Music, and is an SAA registered teacher of Recorder, Flute, and Violin. Guest faculty at Institutes, Festivals, and Workshops throughout the Americas, and the UK.  Former faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music (Minneapolis) where she initiated Suzuki Recorder and Flute, and The Saint Paul Conservatory of Music. Currently teaching recorder and flute in her home studio in St Paul, MN, she was Recorder Instructor for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Music School, with under-resourced children at “Homeless No More,” and Logan Elementary School after-school programs, Columbia, SC. Board of Directors member for SAA (2018—2022): SAA Recorder Committee, and International Suzuki Association (ISA) Recorder Committee; former American Recorder Society Board member, and Education Column Editor for American Recorder magazine. Currently playing with the new Fayrwether Friends Recorder Quartet, she has performed with North Carolina Baroque Orchestra and Trinity Cathedral Choirs (South Carolina), Piccolo Spoleto, Bach Society of Minnesota, Just Bach (Madison, WI),  and numerous other chamber groups throughout the USA.

debbie hammond

Violinist Debbie Hammond began her studies at the age of four in London, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto and a Master of Music in Performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Debbie has completed Suzuki Pedagogy training with several noted trainers including Edmund Sprunger, Alice Joy Lewis, Mark Mutter, Thomas Wermuth and Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin. Her principal violin teachers include Patrick Burroughs, Geri Arnold, Dr. Robert Skelton, Mark Fewer & Yehonatan Berick. Debbie is the director of the Hammond Suzuki Studio, a private Suzuki violin program in the Bells Corners area of Ottawa (Canada). The Hammond Suzuki Studio program features not only private lessons, but a developed group class program rich in supplementary musical styles, ensemble development and performance opportunities. Prior to establishing the Hammond Suzuki Studio in 2014, Debbie was a faculty member of the Suzuki String School of Guelph (2007-2010) and the National Capital Suzuki School of Music (2010-2014). Before Debbie focussed her career on Suzuki pedagogy, Debbie was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (200-2002). She also served as the Assistant Concertmaster of Orchestra Toronto (2004-2005) and the Cambridge Community Orchestra (2007-2010). Debbie was also a regular member of the Jackson and Battle Creek Symphony Orchestras in Michigan. In Canada, Debbie has performed with both the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra London Canada. Equally at ease with beginning and advanced level students, Debbie is becoming a frequent guest clinician, chamber coach and adjudicator at festivals and workshops. Debbie is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with so many violinists in cities across the province. Debbie is proud to serve as the Chair of the Suzuki Association of Ontario Board and the Interim secretary of the newly incorporated Suzuki Music/Musique Canada. Debbie is the parent of two very energetic girls.

stephanie hunt

Stephanie Hunt teaches cello in the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Suzuki program. Her students have participated in youth orchestras, all-suburban, all-district, and all-state festivals. She received the Suzuki Association of the Americas Certificate of Achievement in 2023 and became a Teacher Trainer in 2024. An active and versatile musician, Stephanie 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 B.Mus. summa cum laude from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and a M.Mus. from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Following her American studies, Stephanie moved to Europe and earned both a B.Mus. Honours and M.Mus. in baroque cello from the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. Her teachers include Viola de Hoog, Norman Fischer, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Ross Harbaugh, and Monique Bartels. She also has an MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a master’s in data science from Eastern University.

james hutchins

James Hutchins lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wonderful and gorgeous wife and his fabulous and entertaining son. He grew up in the Suzuki Method, has been a Suzuki teacher for over 25 years and is a proud Suzuki dad. James is a registered teacher trainer who has taught at workshops, institutes and classes around the world, including South Korea, Iceland, Peru, Lithuania, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Belize, Bermuda, the Bahamas and throughout the States.He also taught Suzuki pedagogy at East Carolina University in 2021-22. In 2018, James was a guest Clinician at the 67th Suzuki Method Summer School in Matsumoto, Japan. His studio has performed for former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House, at the National Zoo, the U.S. Capitol,the Maryland State Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Aquarium and on the Millennium Stage and with the National Symphony at The Kennedy Center. They have also played the National Anthem for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Wizards and Nationals. James also had the honor of performing for Dr. and Mrs. Suzuki at their home in Japan.

manuela iparraguirre

She has completed more than 15 courses on the Suzuki Method and the application of this methodology in the classical guitar learning. 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 Gilardi Conservatory of Music, in Argentina, one of the Latin America Suzuki project totally free and open to the community. In addition to the courses on the Suzuki Method, she has completed a Postgraduate Degree in Early Childhood Education, a Specialization in Inclusive Education (FLACSO) and the Harvard University online course “Introduction to Family Engagement in Education”. In 2018, she gave master classes to students from the Posadas Conservatory of Music, in Misiones, Argentina, during a national tour of the Camerata Argentina de Guitarras. Also, in 2021, she participated giving lesson in the Suzuki Assosiation of Mexico camp. This year, she gave master class lessons during the Campamento Marqués de Mancera, in Chile. And then she was in charge of Suzuki Guitar Festival organized in La Plata, Argentina, where participated more than one hundred people from different parts of her country and Perú. In march, she participated of the SAA Conference giving the talk “Experiences as a Suzuki Alumni and Teacher” and as part of the guitar ensemble. Later, she wrote the article “Sustaining the Music Learning process over time” for the Suzuki Journal. Currently, she works teaching guitar to children and adults at the Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory of Music, the EstíMusicalMusic Institute (institute specilized in the Suzuki Method) and online to students from all around the world.

sachiko isihara

Now in her 27th year as Executive Director of the Suzuki School of Newton, Sachiko Isihara is a pianist earning her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance at New England Conservatory and a Master’s in Piano Performance at Juilliard. She has been a member of SAA since 1986. Her Suzuki training includes being a Kenkyusei in Matsumoto in 1993 and a long term apprenticeship with Colette Daltier in France. Sachiko has completed European Suzuki Level 5. In 2008, she became an SAA Suzuki Piano Teacher Trainer. In 2009 Sachiko became the director of Suzuki By the Green Piano Institute held in Newton, MA. Recently selected by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women as one of their Commonwealth Heroines of 2020, she was recognized for her leadership and volunteerism for the betterment of her community. In 2018, 2019, and 2022 Sachiko received the Steinway Top Teacher award, and in 2018 also received the Milestone Award from the National Guild for Community Arts Education. Sachiko leads a team of twenty Suzuki teachers at the Suzuki School of Newton, was responsible for implementing a full-day, arts integrated Suzuki Preschool in 2009, and is a frequent clinician at the annual MA Suzuki Festival. She regularly holds and sponsors teacher training and student workshops and collaborative Suzuki events in the Massachusetts area. She recruits and nurtures new faculty to follow the journey of teacher training and appreciates our globally changing world as a moment of opportunity. In 2023, Sachiko was appointed to the Suzuki Training Committee as an advisory committee for the Suzuki Teacher Development Program of the Suzuki Association of the Americas encompassing North, Center and South Americas. In April 2024, she was invited by Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts to attend the Joint Meeting of Congress in the US Capitol to hear the address by His Excellency Kishida Fumio, the Prime Minister of Japan.

yumi kendall

Yumi Kendall is a distinguished cellist, classical music ambassador, and changemaker, whose voice and vision are paving the way for future generations.

Since 2004, Yumi has been a dedicated and deeply active member of The Philadelphia Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello. She won the position at age 22, during her final year of studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she now serves on the cello performance faculty. Over the past two decades, as a performer and pedagogue, Yumi has inspired, informed, and connected countless people as a passionate proponent of classical music. More recently, as a speaker, podcaster, and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) degree program, she has catalyzed conversations to help people and organizations thrive.

Yumi discovered the joy and connective power of music at a young age. She began studying cello at age five following the Suzuki approach; in fact, her grandfather was violinist and pedagogue John Kendall, known for introducing Suzuki education to the United States and training teachers from around the world. Together with her violinist brother Nick Kendall—a member of the Grammy- and Emmy-winning ensemble Time for Three—Yumi’s childhood was steeped in delightful music-making experiences. The energy of her early Suzuki days remains an ongoing source of inspiration as Yumi continues her journey as a performer and educator. 

She is forever thankful to her mentors along the way, including John Kendall, Nancy Hair, Carol Tarr, Alice Vierra, David Hardy, David Soyer, and Peter Wiley.

edward kreitman

Edward Kreitman was the founder and Director of the Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School from 1980 to 2024. Currently, he is the Director of the Kreitman Suzuki Studio in Atlanta, the Director of the Atlanta Suzuki Institute, and teaches Suzuki Pedagogy at the University of Georgia in Athens. 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 has served the Suzuki Teacher’s Association in many capacities including a member of the Board of Directors, Violin Committee, Teacher Development team and as Coordinator for several National Suzuki Teacher Conferences. Recently he served on the SAA team which developed the Every Child Can! introductory course. Edward Kreitman enjoys an international reputation as a guest clinician at Suzuki institutes and workshops. Edward Kreitman has presented Keynote addresses at the National Suzuki Conferences for the New Zealand Suzuki Association, the Suzuki Association of the Americas, The European Suzuki Association, The British Suzuki Association, and the Brazilian Suzuki Association. Mr. Kreitman has taught at International Suzuki Conferences in Melbourne, Australia and Matsumoto, Japan. Mr. Kreitman is a registered Teacher Trainer of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and 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. In 2008, Mr. Kreitman was honored with the Suzuki Chair Award at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Mr. Kreitman was the 2019 recipient of the IL ASTA Outstanding Studio Teacher Award.

charles krigbaum

Charles Krigbaum is the founder and Co-Director of the North Texas School of Talent Education, a private Suzuki violin and viola program serving the North Dallas community. In 2010, Charles became one of the first teachers in the country to earn the Certificate of Achievement from the Suzuki Association of the Americas, an award given to teachers who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to lifelong learning and excellence in their teaching. In 2014, Charles became a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He has taught at workshops and Institutes throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, England, and Germany; he is also past President of the North Texas Suzuki Association, a Chapter Affiliate of the SAA. Charles is a violinist, violist, teacher, Teacher Trainer, successful small business owner, public speaker, and is skilled at inspiring others to have the courage to make a difference.

zara lawler

Ground-breaking flutist Zara Lawler, “an engaging, fluent, mellifluous soloist,” (Houston Chronicle) made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony and her recital debut at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall. In 2021, she created Symmetrical Lives, a music and dance film of the Bach Suite in B Minor, with violinist Maja Cerar and choreographer C. Neil Parsons, which was premiered as part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar from Home and premiered as a live staged performance in NYC in 2022. Her other activities during the pandemic have included the world premiere of HOWL, a spoken word and dance piece with DoubleTake Dance as part of the Higher Ground Premieres in New York City, a series of Farm Concerts— performances for “safe audiences” of farm animals and plants, and Symmetrical Lives, an innovative music/dance video of J. S. Bach’s Suite in B Minor, created with violinist Maja Cerar and choreographer C. Neil Parsons. Past highlights include the US premiere of Il Cerchio Tagliato dei Suoni, Salvatore Sciarrino’s work for 104 flutists, directed by Lawler at the Guggenheim Museum, a Flute Jamboree directed by Lawler at the Kennedy Center, and tours of Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan and Ohio with her flute and marimba duo Lawler + Fadoul. Lawler + Fadoul returned to the Kennedy Center
in 2016 and 2019 for performances of their family show Break it Down! Their new theatrical concert Clickable, featuring music of persuasion, was incubated and premiered at Nancy manocherian’s the cell theater in NYC in November 2016, and was released as an album on Parma Recordings in 2020. Their debut album, Prelude
Cocktail, featured world premieres by Katherine Hoover and Roshanne Etezady. Zara Lawler’s solo show, The Flute on its Feet, was featured at the Orlando Fringe Festival in May 2019. For many years, Lawler has integrated dance and theater into her performances, with the innovative ensemble Tales & Scales, in collaboration with choreographer C. Neil Parsons, and in large-scale choreographies for flutes including E Pluribus Flutum, Lawler’s work for sixty dancing flutists. Lawler has given solo
recitals in New York, Santa Barbara, Hong Kong, and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Utah, Indianapolis, and Oregon Symphonies, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and in venues including the Kennedy Center, the Kravis Center, and Lincoln Center. She has won many competitions including the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition and Artists’ International, and studied at the Juilliard School with Carol Wincenc and Sam Baron. Her summer festival credits include Marlboro, Tanglewood, Banff (Canada), Bach Aria Festival, and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). She teaches at Manhattan School of Music Precollege and Silver Music, and has a blog on practice techniques at www.thepracticenotebook.com, and more about her work can be found at www.zaralawler.com.

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.

ching-yi lin

Violinist Ching-Yi Lin’s recent performances and masterclasses have taken her to the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Norway, the Shenyang and Xi’an Conservatories in China, Northwestern University, and the University of British Columbia. She’s also performed in New York on the Museum of Modern Art’s Summer Garden Series and at Carnegie Hall, in Taiwan at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and at the Sejong Center in South Korea. Her new album on MSR Classics features sonatas for violin and piano by Ives, Bolcom, and Corigliano. In reviewing the album, Gramophone noted the “panache and warmth” of Ms. Lin’s playing and described the interpretations as “a series of tender, lively, and challenging conversations.” A dedicated and creative teacher, Ching-Yi Lin is Professor of Violin at Western Kentucky University and also serves on the faculty at the Indiana University Summer String Academy and the WKU Summer String Institute. Previously, she served on the faculty of theSommersymfoni i Kristiansandin Norway and the University of North Texas Summer String Institute. As a board member for the Daraja Music Initiative, a non-profit organization in Moshi, Tanzania, Ching-Yi initiated a beginning strings program for students of the Majengo Primary School in 2016. Over 60 string instruments were donated from across the United States for this endeavor. The program offers college music majors an international opportunity to teach, inspire, and make an impact in a global classroom setting. In 2013, Ms. Lin was presented with the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service in Washington, DC, recognizing her work in bringing music into the lives of young people throughout her community. And in 2017, Ching-Yi received a Sisterhood grant from Western Kentucky University to direct student teachers and volunteers in teaching the violin to refugee children in Bowling Green, KY. Dr. Lin holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and she undertook additional studies at the Vienna Conservatory. Her teachers include Fredell Lack, Nelli Shkolnikova, and Mauricio Fuks. Ching-Yi plays on a violin made in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. www.chingyilin.com

april losey

April Losey is a registered SAA Viola Teacher Trainer and maintains an active private studio in Redlands, California. April grew up as a Suzuki student in Alberta, Canada and has been an active Suzuki teacher for over twenty years. She has taken extensive teacher training in both violin and viola, continuing to be passionate about finding ways to inspire children to learn. Ms. Losey holds a M.M. in Viola Performance from Arizona State University, a B.A. in Music and a B.S. in Communications (Public Relations) from Washington Adventist University, and has studied privately with Donald McInnes. In addition to freelancing throughout the Los Angeles area, April is a member of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra and San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra. April directed the Los Angeles Suzuki Institute from 2015-2022. In her spare time April makes handmade artisan jewelry, and works on her historic house (which was built the same year Dr. Suzuki was born). www.aprillosey.com

marla majett

Marla Majett is a freelance cellist and teacher in the Atlanta, Georgia devoted to using music as a way to enrich lives and bring people together. This effort is most reflected through her role as Executive Director of the Kulea Music Institute. She has an active cello studio in Atlanta and hosts annual cello workshops and recitals.  Her students perform in a wide variety of outreach initiatives and public venues around Georgia.  As an advocate of the Suzuki Method, Ms. Majett was one of the founding members of the Suzuki Association of Georgia and currently serves as its president.  She has also served as the Co-Chair for the Suzuki Association of the Americas’ 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. Ms. Majett regularly performs with the Colour of Music Virtuosi, Sage String Quartet and can also be found in jam sessions around Atlanta playing fiddle music. Ms. Majett holds a dual bachelor’s degree in music and history from Furman University. She also enjoys gardening, yoga and learning to cook with her new husband.

raymond mallari

Highly sought after as an educator and performer, Mr. Mallari earned his degrees at West Chester University and Suzuki training at the Pennsylvania Suzuki Institute. His
previous orchestral experience includes Temple University Symphony, West Chester University, ChescoPOPS, Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra, Pottstown
Symphony, and many others. Currently, he is a member of Kennett Symphony and Berks Sinfonietta. His previous chamber and solo experience includes entries in the
Music Teachers National Association Solo and Ensemble Competitions plus completion of a chamber certification with ChamberART, Spain. As an educator, Mr. Mallari held positions in numerous music institutes over the past 20 years. These included Taylors Music West Chester, The MusicWorkshop Berwyn, Music&Arts, Community Music School Trappe, West Chester Friends School, Montgomery School, West Chester Music Academy, and Ursinus College. He has guest lectured, coached, and conducted with multiple school districts. Mr. Mallari has held Board of Director positions with the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County and Greater Philadelphia Suzuki Association. Students under Mr. Mallari’s studio frequently participates in Select Strings, Honors Strings, Youth Orchestras, and others. High School graduates of his studio have attended Kutztown University, University of DE, PennState, University of Pittsburgh, and Elizabethtown College. Outside of music, he is currently attempting yoga, attempting a 5K, & attempting to navigate the huge grocery store, Wegmans.

Katrin Meidell

Violist Katrin Meidell, DMA, enjoys a prolific career as a performer, pedagogue, and lecturer. Her diverse abilities have taken her across the USA, to Canada, Finland, Austria, Poland, Brazil, the Netherlands, Thailand, and New Zealand. She has been published in American String Teacher and the Journal of the American Viola Society (AVS). She was highly involved in the AVS for eight years— first as a volunteer, then a board member— culminating in her organizing and hosting the 2022 American Viola Society Festival & 47^th International Viola Congress. In July 2024 she began her tenure as Secretary for the AVS. She is a music reviewer for American String Teacher and as a nationally-recognized specialist in string players’ health, serves on the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Health and Wellness Committee. She is a Karen Tuttle Coordination pedagogue, with recent master class engagements at International Viola Congresses (Thailand and Netherlands), the Poznań International Viola Forum (Poland), Florida State University, University of Alabama, Boston University, the University of North Texas, and many more. Dr. Meidell is Associate Professor of Viola at the Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University, in Georgia.

leslie mizrahi

Leslie has run the Suzuki Piano program since 2005, the same year her training began. Leslie has registered up to book 7, SECE strategies 1, 2 and 3 plus several practicum and enrichment courses; mostly with Ms.Carolilne Fraser.Her training also includes Kodály, Orff and Dlacroze pedagogies. Her school, “Instituto Suzuki Vive la Música” is celebrating its XV anniversary in May 2025. Leslie has been President of the Mexican Suzuki Association feom 2017 rheough 2021. Her students have participated in diverse Festivals and Encuentros: Peru, Costa Rica, USA and Mexico; some have continued their musical studies professionally, both in the classical and the popular segments. Leslie has taught piano master classes in several cities in Mexico and Peru. Leslie was the Director of the 1st Suzuki Convention of the Americas, Cancun, May 2019. During the COVID 19 pandemic, May through June 2020, she offered 120 hours of pro bono piano mentoring one on one, to 20 piano teachers in Mexico. She actually is serving in her second 3 year period at the SAA board of directors. She is the chair of the Countries’ committee.

Nancy modell

As a teacher trainer and private studio director, Nancy Modell enhances classic Suzuki piano pedagogy with a curriculum that nurtures original musical composition. She also promotes the Taubman Approach, which gives pianists transformative tools for physical health and musical expressivity. Nancy graduated from Ithaca College School of Music earning degrees in piano performance and education. She studied the international Suzuki Approach with Sanford Reuning, Carole Bigler, and Valery Lloyd-Watts. Established in Springfield, NJ since 1992, Nancy Modell’s Suzuki Piano Studio embraces Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy that ‘Every Child Can!’, Nancy and her studio community strive to foster an anti-racist and equitable music studio culture. Her students are exposed to diverse genres and composers, expanding their musical horizons beyond the Suzuki repertoire. She encourages musicians to explore composers from underrepresented backgrounds (women, BIPOC, etc.) and music from their cultural heritage. Students of all levels compose original music at Nancy Modell’s Suzuki Piano Studio.  Through these practices, the studio becomes a safe space for young musicians and their families to practice creativity, curiosity, compassion, and community-building in a musical setting—values that they can apply in their lives beyond the studio. Nancy embarked on her journey as a Suzuki teacher trainer by introducing the Suzuki Piano method in Israel in the 1980s and training local piano teachers in her Jerusalem studio. Since then, hundreds of Suzuki teachers have begun or continued their training under Nancy’s mentorship.  Nancy remains committed to advancing the Suzuki Approach and is dedicated to expanding access to training for prospective teachers whose identities will diversify and nurture the Suzuki community. Nancy has been honored to serve as a clinician at various international, national, and local teacher forums and workshops. She has trained Suzuki piano teachers privately, at institutes, and universities. Nancy has presented her approach to teaching original composition at the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy (2023), the Suzuki Association of the Americas (2014, 2016, 2024), 1era Convención Suzuki de las Américas in Mexico (2019), National Association for Music Education (2016), the New Jersey Music Teachers Association (2017), the New Jersey Education Association (2017), the Taubman Festival (2018), the Piano Teachers Congress of New York (2019), the Piano Teachers Forum of NJ (2017), the Piano Pedagogy Summer Institute (2024), and 4º Encuentro Mexicano Del Método Suzuki in Puebla (2024). She currently serves on the SAA Board of Directors, is Piano Coordinator and Teacher Enrichment Advisor for the New Jersey Suzuki Workshop, Chair of the Piano Teachers Forum of NJ’s Composer Showcase, Chair of the Music Educators Association of NJ’s Composers’ Corner and served as a past MEA-NJ President.

mark mutter

Mark Mutter is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He received his Bachelor and Master of 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, Teri Einfeldt, Jacquie Maurer and Geri Arnold. He is the Executive Director of the Suzuki Music Academy of Michigan formerly known as Suzuki Royal Oak Institute of Music. He oversees 10 teachers that teach over 150 students. He has been a clinician at Workshops and Institutes throughout the U.S. and Asia. Mark has led the SMA Tour Group on concert tours throughout Europe and Canada as well as two performances in Carnegie Hall. He is presently on the conducting staff of the Civic Youth Ensembles, the Detroit Symphonies youth orchestra program. He conducts the Concert Orchestra and Pizzicato String Ensemble.

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 Suzuki workshops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Augusta, GA, and Chattanooga, TN. In addition to her teaching, Ms. Mwila is also a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. While studying with Ms. Mwila her students have successfully made Georgia’s all-state orchestra program, won concertmaster positions in all-county and local youth orchestra programs, won local talent shows, earned top marks in ABRSM exams and local competitions, and been selected for honors recitals at Suzuki Institutes.

alice ann o’neill

Dr. Alice Ann M. O’Neill has enjoyed being a cellist for 46 years and continues to perform chamber music and solo concerts regularly. She also spent many happy years performing in professional orchestras and opera orchestras in Boston, Miami, Baltimore/Washington, Illinois/Iowa and in Ohio. She finds joy making music and continues to work on her lifetime goal of performing every work for cello. Her passion for playing the cello is rivaled only by her love of training Suzuki Cello Teachers and teaching cello Suzuki families at the Cincinnati Cello School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She mentors many teachers on-line and in-person to help deepen their playing and teaching abilities. Dr. O’Neill also trains Suzuki Cello Teachers at institutes and workshops throughout the US and Canada. Her cello students have appeared on NPR’s “From the Top,” and won top prizes at the St. Paul’s String Quartet and Fischoff chamber music competitions. Several of her cello students have continued their studies at schools such as Rice University-Shepherd School of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Catholic University of America, Aspen Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, Indiana University, Harvard University, and the Juilliard School in New York City. She is a Catholic nun and member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.

lynne oliverius

Lynne Oliverius Development Director-Arts Focus Grant Writer Cello, Violin and Piano teacher Lynne has a deep commitment to the Suzuki method as is evidenced in her 40 years of joyfully raising up musicians of all ages.  She currently maintains a studio of 35 students, directs two orchestras at the local Waldorf School and performs with her group Encore Strings as well as in area orchestras. Experienced as a non-profit development director and grant writer, Lynne has guided organizations in their quest to build stronger connections with community, advance awareness and create funding streams.  She has led boards through transitional times as well as times of stability and managed growth and been the “feet on the ground” person in the area of development, ready with ideas and the will to see them implemented while working in concert with others to complete the task. Lynne served as the development director for these organizations on the central coast of California—Civic Ballet, Canzona Vocal Ensemble and the Youth Arts Foundation. In Illinois she founded and directed development in her three Suzuki music schools (300 students per week and 8 staff) and the youth symphony as well as procuring grants for several elementary schools.  Her grant writing has secured funding for arts organizations through the following successful grants—Fender Music Foundation, PRG Corporation-Los Angeles, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, Central Coast Wine Classic, Windward Winery, Central Coast Funds for Children, Loews, Wal-Mart, Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Midwest Fine Arts Grants, Target, Illinois Power, matching grants and servant grants.  She was the director of the Sylvan Learning Center, Peru, Il and secured grants for the reading and testing programs.  Board appointments have included president of Symphony of the Vines, leading them from steering committee to complete 501c3, CASA vice president (court appointed special advocates), United Way, Carnegie Library Board and Canzona Ensemble.  She chaired the vendor booths and displays at the 1992 SAA National Conference recruiting, contracting and organizing the participants. Lynne has been involved with the Suzuki movement since its inception here in the United States. The Talent Education tour group from Japan came to Pekin, Illinois in 1976 when she was in high school and several performers and chaperones stayed in the family home. She attended workshops with Bill Starr and John Kendall and was the first teacher trained in a 4 year program at Western Illinois University under Dr. Tanya Carey and Almita Vamos.  Lynne served as assistant to Dr. Carey and traveled to Germany for the International Conference to work with Dr. Suzuki and Vaclav Adamira. In the initial Suzuki organizational years she wrote articles for the SAA journals and documents on business practices for the teacher trainer packets.  She was a workshop clinician and a speaker at SAA conferences and named a Shar Distinguished Young Teacher and Business and Professional Women’s Organization Young Careerist. Her education includes a Masters of Arts Leadership 2008 from the University of Illinois, Springfield, IL, and a Bachelor of Arts Liberal Arts and Sciences, Music Education Business 1981 from Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.  Lynne has honored the rich history of the Suzuki Association of the Americas from its beginning in the United States and is so proud to have been an active participant. She anticipates a time of renewed energy and unique creative growth as we strive to send our message of good hearts and kind people throughout the world.  Music and our instruments are the vehicles we use to convey this message and we have so much to share with others. She is highly honored to be appointed to the Board of Directors for the Suzuki Association of the Americas for a 3 year term and will continually work to enrich the lives of our members, students, families and those that are yet to be welcomed into our Suzuki world.

alicia randisi-hooker

Alicia Randisi-Hooker has been active as a cellist and Suzuki teacher for more than 30 years. She completed long term Suzuki training with Annette Costanzi (UK), and has taken many additional units of teacher training including ECC, ECM, Practicum and Group Class Techniques. She served as ensembles coordinator at the 2004 SAA conference in Minneapolis and as president of the Greater Knoxville Suzuki String Association, now the Knoxville Area Suzuki Cooperative. Alicia enjoys teaching at SAA Institutes,workshops and summer programs around the US, and is a faculty member at the annual Tennessee Cello Workshop. For ten years, she was Artistic Director and chief cello teacher at the Academy of Children’s Music in suburban Philadelphia, maintaining private studios in Pennsylvania and Texas prior to moving to Tennessee, where she presently directs Cello LEAP Studio.(www.celloleap.com) She engages in community outreach through concerts, recitals, workshops, and as an adjunct professor at Maryville College. Alicia performs regularly with the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Symphony Orchestras and pursues her passion for chamber music as cellist of the piano trio, Trillium, in residence at Maryville College, and which performs all over the East Coast, and midwest . She is a past president of the Tuesday Morning Music Club whose mission is to promote the performance of chamber music, and provide scholarship assistance to aspiring young musicians through its affiliation with the National Federation of Music Clubs. She resides in Knoxville, TN with her husband and their two cats, and is the proud mother of two wonderful young adults.

marylou roberts

MaryLou Roberts, SAA and ESA Teacher Trainer, is from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she maintains an active Suzuki guitar studio. Her students were selected to perform for several SAA Conferences, including the International Ensembles concert, master classes with Scott Tennant, Berta Rojas, Connie Sheu, as well as the Kaleidoscope Concert in 2012. She has served on the SAA Board of Directors, the Teacher Development Advisory Committee and is currently chair of the ISA Guitar Committee. Formative studies with John Holmquist and Gilbert Biberian created a love for musical structure, and ensemble development. Group classes include ensemble playing as well as the musical aspects of the repertoire.  She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and a Masters degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was Valedictorian and elected to the Society of Pi Kappa Lambda in 1986. 

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. 

laurie scott

Laurie Scott is Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, she serves as the director of The University of Texas String Project and the Musical Lives string program at UT Elementary School. Previous to this appointment, Dr. Scott served as professor of violin and viola and director of music education studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. As a university professor she has received both the Teaching Excellence Award from the School of Music and from the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin.

A former middle and high school orchestra director, she now mentors young professionals toward successful lives as string educators. In every facet of her teaching Dr. Scott serves as an advocate for inclusive and diverse music classrooms, adult music learners, and access to quality music instruction for all children. She is a registered teacher trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas, continues to maintain a private violin studio, and works weekly with the students in the Musical Lives orchestra program at UT Elementary School. Her former students have become exemplary string educators, professional studio and symphony musicians, and passionate arts advocates.

She is co-author of the books Mastery for Strings, and From the Stage to the Studio: How Fine Performers become Great Teachers… Laurie Scott along with William Dick and Winifred Crock, are the co-authors of Learning Together: Sequential Repertoire for Solo Strings or String Ensembles and received a Creating Learning Community award for their work related to Suzuki in the Schools. In 2020 Dr. Scott was recognized by alumni as one of the “Texas Ten” most influential and inspiring professors at UT Austin and most recently received the Marvin J. Rabin national award for Community Service from the American String Teachers Association.

geneviève schirm-joyce

Geneviève 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.

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).

elizabeth shuhan

Elizabeth Shuhan is a lecturer in music education at Ithaca College where she has also lectured in flute performance studies, chamber music and music theory. She is also a visiting lecturer of flute at Cornell University, and on the flute faculty and the director of education at Opus Ithaca School of Music. In the summer, Ms. Shuhan is a faculty artist teacher at Luzerne Music Center in the Adirondacks. As the current principal flutist with the Fort Smith Symphony (AR), she has recorded three CDs for the Naxos label. Ms. Shuhan performs regularly with Opera Ithaca, the Shuhan Trio, the Ithaca Flute Duo and is an active freelance artist in Central New York. Ms. Shuhan has also performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Shuhan was previously on the flute faculty at the Hochstein School of Music in Canandaigua, NY. Prior to moving to New York, Ms. Shuhan was the director of the University of Arkansas Suzuki Music School, served as visiting assistant professor of flute at the University of Arkansas and was an active chamber musician and adjudicator in Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. She has also held positions in the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Meridien (MS) Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Shuhan is a past winner of the NFA Professional Performer’s competitions, a finalist in the National MTNA competitions, a finalist in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions and won first prize in the Mid-South Flute Society Competition. She holds degrees from the University of Arkansas and the University of Southern Mississippi and has received Suzuki flute teacher training from Toshio Takahashi, Kenichi Ueda, Pandora Bryce, David Gerry, Sarah Hanley and Kim Lorimer. Ms. Shuhan has recorded for Albany Records, Naxos and PBS and is a Burkart Flute and Piccolo Artist.

kamila simba-torres

Kamilah Simba-Torres grew up as a “Suzuki kid” and currently runs the Simba School of Music in Fresno, Ca. She graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Music Education from the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific. She took her first training class from Cathryn Lee in 1994 and her second in 95-96 with Judy Bossuat-Gaelic. She taught for ten years in the public school systems including Stockton, Golden Plains and Sanger Unified in Central Valley. Teaching assignments included orchestra, band, choir, general music, guitar, and piano to grade levels K-12. Many of her student performing groups traveled as far as New York City and went to competitions where they received top ratings. In addition to teaching in the public schools, K.C. Simba-Torres has been a counselor and instructor for 20+ years at summer music camps in the states of Washington and California. She has also been a clinician and adjudicator for various Valley music festivals. She currently runs two music businesses in Fresno. The Simba School of Music L.L.C. where she has a studio of about 45 students on violin, viola, and ‘cello. Her students perform numerous times throughout the year in the community and in L.A. and S.F. Her second business is called Arpeggio Strings which is a booking agency for live musicians in the Fresno and Central Valley area. Mrs. Simba-Torres plays professionally with numerous groups and has played for the Sequoia Symphony for over 30 years, the last 27 as principal second violin. Simba-Torres performs as a freelance musician for various churches and light opera organizations throughout the San Joaquin Valley. She has also played for the Bakersfield, Stockton, Merced, and Fresno Philharmonic Orchestras. K.C. met her husband in their high school band class and they have two children. Hasina (20) plays the ‘cello, piano and saxophone and is currently attending the University of the Pacific at the Conservatory of Music studying Music Therapy, Music Performance, and Psychology. Her brother Xavion (16) plays the violin/viola, piano, and bass guitar and attends University High School. Both have been/are raised with the Suzuki Method. They reside in Fresno and spend the summers going to institutes.

kyra sovronsky

Kyra Sovronsky is a trumpet performer and educator based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the first registered Suzuki Trumpet teacher in the state. Since 2018, she has served as Brass Vice President on the Board of the Suzuki Association of Utah and in 2023 joined the SAA Suzuki Training Committee. Kyra has presented masterclasses about Suzuki Trumpet at institutions such as the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Utah State University. As Principal Trumpet of the Ballet West Orchestra and a regular performer with the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera, she maintains an active performance career. In addition to her large private teaching studio, Kyra is an adjunct faculty member at Weber State University and Westminster University. Kyra holds a Master of Music from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Music from Boston University.

wendy stern

Flutist WENDY STERN is a registered teacher trainer and an adjunct professor of flute at Montclair State University. She received her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and started her training in Suzuki pedagogy in 1996 with Rebecca Paluzzi. Since then, she has worked with most of the other North American teacher trainers and studied with Suzuki Flute School founder Toshio Takahashi in Matsumoto, Japan. Wendy is an active clinician and has taught at numerous institutes and workshops throughout Canada, the United States and in England, Australia, and New Zealand. She has also performed and given workshops at National Flute Association Conventions in New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Georgia, California, Illinois , Washington, DC., and Minnesota. An avid proponent of newly composed chamber music, she has recently premiered and recorded works by Lei Liang and John Deak with The Cicada Chamber Ensemble (with members of the New York Philharmonic) and Cynthia Folio with Ensemble Triolet. As a long-time member of the dynamic and innovative chamber ensemble Flute Force, Wendy has premiered and recorded chamber music works for Joseph Schwantner, Robert Dick, Elizabeth Brown, Katherine Hoover, and Amanda Harberg. She 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.

bruce walker

Bruce Walker is an Associate Professor of Music at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, WA, Music Director for the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra, Past President of the Washington chapter for the American String Teachers Association, on the Board of Directors for the Suzuki Association of the Americas, College/University representative for the Washington Music Educators Association, and the 2021 Music Educator of the Year by the Washington Music Educators Association. Previously, he held the position of Music Director for the Yakima Youth Symphony and Oregon East Symphony Youth Orchestras. During the summer months, Mr. Walker works throughout the United States and Canada at various Suzuki institutes, music camps, festivals, and retreats. Internationally, he has also worked with the Youth Excellence on Stage Academy in collaboration with American Voices, a non-profit, cultural exchange organization. Through this organization, he has conducted orchestras and taught cello in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. As a conductor, Mr. Walker participated in many workshops and music festivals across the United States such as the Marrowstone Music Festival, Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians, various workshops sponsored by the Conductor’s Guild, Astoria Music Festival, Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop, and the University of Oregon Orchestral Conducting Institute. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Central Washington University Symphony, Oregon East Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Portland Columbia Symphony, and the Musicians of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. Memorable for his unique style of positive student engagement, analogies, and his knowledge of the orchestral repertoire, Mr. Walker is also in high demand as an adjudicator and guest conductor for many All-State and Honors Orchestras throughout the United States, most recently conducting All-State Orchestras in Oregon, Alabama, and Georgia. Upcoming engagements for the 2023-2024 season include guest conducting concerts with the Walla Walla Symphony and the Olympia Symphony, working with and adjudicating various school and honor orchestras throughout the Pacific Northwest and New Mexico, and being a clinician for the 2024 American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Walker earned Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Cello Performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a Master of Music degree from Central Washington University focusing on Orchestral Conducting and Cello Performance. In the fall of 2019, he began his Doctor of Music Arts degree in Music Education through Boston University. When not in the classroom, on the podium working with ensembles, or teaching cello lessons, he enjoys hiking and traveling around the Pacific Northwest, enjoying time outside around a BBQ pit and smoker sampling new culinary creations, or shopping for and admiring argyle socks.

danette warren

Danette Warren is the Director of Dolce Music Academy, home of Dolce Strings and Dolce Babies, where she teaches violin, viola and Suzuki Early Childhood classes. She also co-directs the Dolce Strings Touring Ensemble. She is an SAA Registered SECE Teacher Trainer. As one of the teachers who taught SECE classes at the 16th World Convention in Japan, she also had the privilege of speaking and presenting the SECE curriculum in depth. She is also the Director of the new Houston Suzuki Institute. A sought-after clinician at institutes, workshops, festivals and schools, she has been teaching for over 30 years, and has held positions such as President of the Houston Area Suzuki Strings Association (now Southeast Texas Suzuki Association), and state board member of Texas Music Teachers Association. She has received the Houston Music Teachers Association President’s “Bravo” award and was also awarded “Teacher of the Year”. She has been published in the American Suzuki Journal, contributed a video to Parents and Partners Online, and has presented at numerous SAA Conferences and Leadership Retreats. She was also the SECE Coordinator for the 2018 SAA Conference. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Indiana University, where she studied violin with Tadeusz Wronski and Josef Gingold. She has had the great privilege of studying SECE with the creators of the curriculum, Dorothy Jones and Sharon Jones. She also co-directs McKenzie’s Fiddle and Suzuki Workshop, performs with the Möbius Chamber Ensemble and as a freelance violinist and violist in the greater Houston area.

kerri williams

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, mezzo-soprano Kerri Laurence Williams is a vocal and violin soloist, piano accompanist, a music educator, church musician, choral and string ensemble director, and published songwriter/arranger.  Her piano and violin studies began at the Chicago Conservatory of Music with H. Aylsa Crane. She continued piano with Claire Despres Oppenheim. She studied voice with James Tolliver, Rita McKinley Pride, and Rochelle Ellis. She studied violin with Charles Parker and Barbara Creider. Kerri completed a B. A. in Music and a B. S. in Elementary Education from then named Oakwood College, a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Chestnut Hill College, a Master of Voice Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College, and a M.A. in Creative Arts Therapy and Counseling, Music Therapy from Drexel University. She has been trained in various music educational methodologies, including Kindermusik, Orff-Schulwerk, Dalcroze Eurythmics, and Suzuki instruction (violin, piano).  Currently, Kerri is completing a D.M.A. in Music Education from Boston University. Kerri performs internationally as a soloist and as a member of Singing City of Philadelphia, and is the leader of Ujima Strings, a student ensemble. She is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (and the Greater Philadelphia Suzuki Association), and serves on the board of the SAA and the GPSA. Other memberships include the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, and the American Music Therapy Association. Kerri is the music educator for Hillside, Sharon Temple, and Jessie R. Wagner Seventh-day Adventist Schools, and is an adjunct music instructor at the Pine Forge Academy. She maintains a private studio where she teaches piano, violin/viola, guitar and voice for preschoolers through adults. She is the Music Director at the Grace Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist church. In her spare time, Kerri is working on publishing and recording projects of her compositions and arrangements. A teacher at heart, Kerri loves performing, but her proudest accomplishment is enabling and sharing in the successes of the many students and mentees who now perform as active and professional musicians in their own right.