Instrumental Faculty

Fay Adams : Piano

Fay Swadley Adams is an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Tennessee and is President and Director of the Suzuki Piano School of Knoxville.  In 1996, she was named the Tennessee Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association.  She is a former member of the Suzuki Association Board of Directors, past-president of the Tennessee Music Teachers Association, past-director of MTNA Southern Division, and a former member of the MTNA Board of Directors.  Fay has received the YWCA Outstanding Woman in the Arts Award, a Chancellor’s Citation for Service to the University of Tennessee, first annual Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award for the UT School of Music, and the 2004 UT Spirit Award.

Gail Gebhart : Piano

Gail Gebhart is a private Suzuki piano teacher in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  In addition to maintaining an active studio, she is on the faculty of Wayne State University, accompanies extensively throughout the Detroit metro area, and performs with several local chamber ensembles.  She received a B.M. with Distinction from the University of Michigan and a M.M. in Piano Performance from Wayne State University.

 

Linda Gutterman : Piano

Linda Gutterman holds a MM degree in Piano Literature from the Univ. of TN, Knoxville, has done extensive teacher training in the Suzuki pedagogy and has an active Suzuki studio in Arlington, Virginia. She has served on the faculty of the Preparatory School of Peabody Conservatory and on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of Greater Washington. A frequent clinician forSuzuki workshops throughout the eastern United States, Ms. Gutterman directed the Greater Washington Suzuki Piano Institute from 1986-2002, and was piano co-coordinator for the 2006 SAA teacher conference.

Joan Krzywicki : Piano

Joan Krzywicki earned a BME Degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, where she carried a second major in Piano Performance. She studied there with Abbey Simon. She also has a Master’s Degree from Youngstown State University in Ohio. Joan became an official SAA Teacher Trainer in 1993. She maintains a private studio in her home and does teacher training at Temple University in Philadelphia. Joan is nationally certified by the Music Teachers National Association. She has been a guest clinician and teacher trainer at workshops and Institutes in the U.S., Canada, England, Sweden, and Argentina. In 2010 she was the Piano Coordinator for the International Conference of the SAA, and currently, Joan is serving as a Board Member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Melody Kucks : Musicianship and Piano

Melody Kucks holds a MM from GMU in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. She studied under Dr. Anna Balakerskaia and was awarded the 2010 Student Achievement Recognition Award by MTNA for academic excellence and leadership abilities. Mrs. Kucks received her BM from Covenant College where she pursued jazz piano, accompanying, and chamber music in addition to her classical studies. Ms. Kucks has been teaching Suzuki piano since 2009 at the KTC music school and now in her home studio.

 

 

Annette Lee : Piano

Annette Lee is a Suzuki piano teacher and staff accompanist at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN. Ms. Lee has held positions at the Music Institute of Chicago and DePaul University, in Chicago and is a frequent clinician at Suzuki Workshops in North America. In May of 2012, Ms. Lee was invited to teach Master Classes at the National Suzuki Conference in Minneapolis. She received her Performance Degrees from the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, IL and was a Fellowship student at the University of Michigan. Her principle teachers include Reginald Gerig, Dr. Louis Nagel, Martin Katz and Suzuki Trainers Doris Koppelman, Yasuko Joichi, Rick Mooney, Jane Reed and Mary Craig Powell.

Nancy Modell : Piano

Nancy Modell, an Ithaca College School of Music graduate in piano performance and education, studied the Suzuki approach with Sanford Reuning, Carole Bigler, and Valery Lloyd-Watts. Nancy pioneered the Suzuki Piano method in Israel in the 1980s where she taught students and trained local piano teachers in Jerusalem. Since 1992 she has been teaching in Springfield, NJ, inspiring students to reach their potential through innovative learning opportunities, including original composition, music events and field trips. Nancy studies ways to employ the Taubman Approach to enhance Suzuki Piano Pedagogy under a MTNA Teacher Enrichment Grant. She has trained piano teachers in college courses and privately, and frequently teaches ECC©. She is an Assistant Director of the New Jersey Suzuki Workshop and a VP of the MEA-NJ.

Jane Reed : Piano

Jane Kutscher Reed is a Suzuki piano teacher from Taylors, SC, with a degree in Piano Performance from the University of Findlay. In addition to her private studio teaching, she is a Suzuki Teacher Trainer, and teaches at workshops and institutes throughout the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Bermuda. Jane is a Motivational Speaker who is passionate about Nurturing Thinking minds. Visit her website:  Solutionary Insights.com, to discover how to invite learning into every aspect of daily living.  Her teaching encompasses philosophies that begin with an environment of love and empathy and develop responsible, capable and motivated children.

Rachel Zeithamel : Musicianship and Piano

Rachel (Schultz) Zeithamel earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Dalcroze Eurhythmics and also a Master of Music degree and Professional Studies in Collaborative piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music.  Mrs. Zeithamel is a former faculty member of the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, IA where she maintained a large Suzuki piano studio and created the Preucil School’s first Dalcroze Eurhythmics program. Additional previous appointments include faculty member of The Cleveland Institute of Music Eurhythmics Department, adjunct associate professor of piano at Bowling Green State University and interim director of the Suzuki Program at the Music Settlement in Cleveland, Ohio.  Currently, Rachel is serving as director of the Toledo Symphony School of Music and music director at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Charles Krigbaum : Violin/Viola

Charles Krigbaum is the founder and Director of the North Texas School of Talent Education, a Suzuki violin and viola program located in Plano, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, from the Schwob School of Music and received the Master of Music degree, summa cum laude, at the University of Texas at Arlington. Charles has completed hundreds of hours of Suzuki teacher training and has also received post-graduate training in violin pedagogy at Indiana University. Charles has taught at workshops and Institutes throughout the US, Canada, and Germany; he is also a past President of the North Texas Suzuki Association. In 2010, Charles became one of the first teachers in the country to earn the Certificate of Achievement from the SAA.

Tim Zeithamel : Viola

Tim Zeithamel has been the Associate Principal Violist of the Toledo Symphony since 2008.  A native of Iowa City, IA, and graduate of the Preucil School of Music, he received a B.A. from the University of Iowa, and a M.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music.  His major teachers include William Preucil, Sr., Christine Rutledge, and Mark Jackobs.  In addition to being on faculty at the University of Toledo, Mr. Zeithamel is a founding faculty member of the Toledo Symphony School of Music where he maintains a large Suzuki studio teaching viola and violin.

 

Renata Bratt : Cello

Renata’s arrangements and books are published by Mel Bay, Alfred and Strings. She is chair of  ASTA’s Eclectic Styles Committee and teaches cello and beginning string orchestra in Santa Cruz, California. She has taught classical styles, jazz improvisation and fiddling at international string workshops including Alasdair Fraser’s camps, SHISSF, New Directions Cello Festival, Wintergrass, Mandolin Symposium, ASTA, MENC and Suzuki institutes. Renata has played back-up with luminaries such as Darol Anger, Liz Carroll, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Lyle Lovett, and Dionne Warwick. Rolling Stone dubbed her an “ace performer” for her work with alternative rocker Cindy Lee Berryhill’s Garage Orchestra. She received her Ph.D. in Music from UC San Diego and is a former president of the Suzuki Music Association of California.

Andrea French : Cello

Andrea French received her Masters degree from the University of Northern Colorado and her Bachelors degree from Bowling Green State University, both in cello performance. She received her long-term Suzuki training in cello with Carol Tarr at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver, and has taught Suzuki group cello and violin classes with Longmont Suzuki Strings and Denver Talent Education. She has been a chamber music coach for CelloFest at the University of Denver. She has played with the Fort Collins, Greeley, and Cheyenne Symphonies.  Ms. French currently teaches at Macphail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN. She serves as president of the board for the Suzuki Association of Minnesota.

Scott Walker : Cello and Irish Ensemble

Scott Walker graduated from E. Carolina Univ. in ’69.  Since then has been teaching strings in public and private schools maintaining a private studio in the Greensboro NC area. In the 80s he taught music at the “New Garden Friends School”, began training to become a Suzuki  Teacher, had two children and established “The Enchanted Workshop”, a Suzuki related mail order buisiness. He is soon to finish 12 years of teaching at the “Greensboro Day School”.  He began exploring  Irish music in the 90’s, and has developed materials for young fiddlers and celloers. He established The Walker Family Band Music Workshop, a fiddle camp, held in Blowing Rock, N.C., and established a student group, the “Walker Street Fiddlers”. Looking forward to more!

 

Meredith Wells : Musicianship and Cello

Meredith Blecha currently serves as Assistant Professor of Cello at Oklahoma State University.  She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where she served as the teaching assistant to Distinguished Professor Alan Harris. Additionally, she holds both a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Cello Performance from Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music where her teachers included Janos Starker and Helga Winold. Dr. Blecha has been a recipient of a number of awards including the E.H. Claus and the Eva Heinitz Memorial Cello Scholarships.  Festival appearances include the Taos School of Music, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, and the Artur Balsam Ensemble Classes.

Pandora Bryce : Flute

Pandora Bryce is a flutist and music educator who has been involved in Suzuki flute since its early days in the Americas.  She teaches flute at the University of Toronto, and is active as a Teacher Trainer, a role that has taken her to many countries, most recently Mexico and Australia.  In 2003, “Dr. Pandora” received her Doctorate after undertaking research into lifelong engagement in music-making.  She loves to write about music and learning, and has published over fifty articles in journals and magazines.  Recorded performances include film, radio, and many CDs on the Solitudes and Avalon labels.

 

 

Mary Beth Norris : Flute and Penny Whistle

Mary Beth Norris has been studying and practicing the Suzuki philosophy since ’81. Mary Beth has been a leader in classical music education throughout northwestern Colorado and is the founder and past director of the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra. On the international scene, Norris is recognized for her creation of the Penny Whistle School, an innovative pre-flute pedagogy methodology.  Activities for Mary Beth and her flute students include performances with the ’98 Winter Olympics Suzuki International Gala Concerts, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Denver Young Artist Orchestra, All State Band and Orchestra, Strings Music Festival, and Steamboat Symphony Orchestra.

Kelly Williamson : Flute

Kelly Williamson earned a BMus in performance with Distinction from McGill University, and a MMus from l’Universite de Montreal. She studied privately in Matsumoto with Toshio Takahashi, founder of the Suzuki Flute School.  A registered teacher trainer with the SAA, Kelly is invited to teach at workshops all over the world, most lately in Peru, Argentina, England, and Mexico.  She serves on several SAA committees, is the SAA representative to the ISA flute committee, and contributes articles to the American Suzuki Journal.  An active freelance musician in her current home of Cambridge, Ontario, she has appeared in local arts events and plays with area orchestras.  With guitarist Mariette Stephenson, she performs regularly as Duo Calixa.

Virginia Dixon : Bass

Virginia Dixon is a Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the European Suzuki Association and a member of the SAA Bass committee and has trained bass teacher in from 20 countries on three continents.  She has been on the board of directors of the International Society of Bassists and edits their “Child’s Play” column.  She is on the faculty of the Suzuki School of Elgin and Elmhurst colleges. She holds 2 performance degrees from Indiana Univ, has done doctoral work at SUNY Stony Brook, and has studied with Julius Levine, Murray Grodner, and Georg Hortnagel.  Her performances have taken her throughout the US, Europe and Japan as orchestra musician, chamber player, and soloist. She is presently becoming more fluent in Japanese and learning Spanish.

Jesse McQuarters : Bass and Podcasting

Jesse McQuarters is a bassist, radio producer, audio engineer, and teacher based in Chicago, where he produces internationally syndicated programming for the WFMT Radio Network and maintains an extensive freelance performing career.  Radio creditsinclude work with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, Gustavo Dudamel, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Project, James Conlon, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and many others.  He has served on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and written for the Journal of the International Society of Bassists, ChicagoClassicalMusic.org and ChicagoClassicalReview.com.  He also produces the award-winning flagship program of the WFMT Radio Network, “Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin,” heard by over 600,000 people around the world every weekday.

Mychal Gendron : Guitar

Mychal Gendron is a registered Suzuki Teacher Trainer in guitar. He has been a clinician at Suzuki workshops and on the faculty of Suzuki institutes throughout the U.S. Mychal has been a regular presenter at Suzuki Association of the Americas Conferences and was Guitar Coordinator for the conference in 2008. His compositions and arrangements have been published and recorded by Mel Bay Publications and by Opus Guitar Publications. Mychal maintains an active Suzuki Guitar studio at The Music School of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and is a Teaching Associate in Guitar at Brown University. He has performed in the U.S., France and Brazil.

Kevin S. Hart : Guitar

Kevin S. Hart is the director of the Laramie Community Guitar, a program that includes Suzuki Education, ensembles, and guest recitals for all ages. He also has taught at the Ann Arbor Suzuki Guitar Institute, Denver Suzuki Guitar Summit, and University of Wyoming. His studio is in Laramie, Wyoming where he lives with his wife, Jan, and Hauser, the Black Labrador Retriever.

Michele Horner : Guitar

Michele is the Head of the Suzuki Guitar Department at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (NY) and on the guitar faculty of the Greenwich Suzuki Academy (CT).  In demand as a clinician, Michele has taught at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops all over the U.S. as well as in Canada, Italy and at the 15th Suzuki World Convention in Australia.  She is featured in the book, Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus. Michele’s “Listening Like a Maniac” video was featured on the Suzuki Assoc. of the Americas Parents as Partners webinar and has been viewed by thousands around the world.  She is known for her innovative teaching ideas and energetic demeanor.  Her teachers are Kevin Gallagher and Frederic Hand.

David Madsen : Guitar

Dave Madsen founded the Hartt Suzuki Guitar Program in ’90, and it now includes 70 students and 2 faculty members.  He is the Chair of the Guitar Dept. of the Community Division at the Hartt School of Music.  David graduated with a BM from the Univ. of CT and has since studied with David Leisner and Pepe Romero.  His Suzuki studies have been with Bill Kossler and Frank Longay.  He also is active as a Teacher Trainer, training in North and South America.  David is a former member of the board of directors for the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

 

 

Zeah Riordan : Guitar

Zeah Riordan has been a leading teacher of Suzuki Guitar since its launch in Australia in 1993. She completed a performance degreeat the Conservatorium of the University of Melbourne and  later,  extensive  studies in Kodaly, Orff-Schulwork and early childhood music education. Zeah worked  closely with  Frank Longay for  nearly two decades. Her  Suzuki programme has students from pre-school  age through to university students across all levels. Zeah provides Teacher Training throughout Australia and New Zealand. She has also conducted teacher training and  student workshops in South Korea , Japan,  Italy, USA, Mexico, Singapore & Philippines.  Zeah serves as PPSA representative on the ISA Guitar Committee.   Aside from her teaching, Zeah is inspired by many musical genres, reads widely and practices Iyengar Yoga.

 

Leah Creek Biesterfeld : Music Readiness and Voice

Leah Creek Biesterfeld received a Master of Music in Voice from Indiana University and was a national winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.   She has performed opera roles with New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Colorado, Santa Fe Opera and others.  Recent solo concert appearances include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Boulder Philharmonic, and the Mozart Requiem with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and the Boulder Chamber Orchestra.  Ms. Creek has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall performing Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, the Duruflé Requiem and the Mozart Requiem. Ms. Creek and her husband own and run Petite Musician, an early childhood music and movement program that offers Music Together classes in the greater Denver area.

Mark Biesterfeld : Music Readiness and Voice

Mark Biesterfeld received a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University and a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati.  He recently performed with the Boulder Philharmonic as a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  Other solo concert credits include Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Philadelphia Chamber Chorus and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Wayne Oratorio Society. Recently, he performed the title role in The Mikado with CU Opera in Boulder.  Other opera credits include small roles withOpera Company of Philadelphia, Utah Festival Opera, and Cincinnati Opera.  Mr. Biesterfeld was also a recipient a Corbett Award in Opera.  Mr. Biesterfeld and his wife co-direct Petite Musician, an early childhood music and movement program that offers Music Together classes in the greater Denver area.

Joel Price : Singing

Joel M. Price has directed choral music for nineteen years, serving for the last fourteen years at Westwood Junior High in Richardson, Texas.  The Westwood Chorale Girls, under his direction, received the prestigious honor of being invited to perform in concert for the Texas Music Educators Association convention in 2007. He was selected as the Richardson ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2005. Mr. Price is in demand as a clinician/conductor for All-State, All-Region, and All-City choirs throughout Texas and the United States.  He directed the Mississippi Junior High All-State Choir in 2011 and the Arkansas Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association Middle School Honor Choir in 2012.

Phala Tracy : Harp

Phala Tracy teaches Suzuki harp in Minneapolis, MN and she is adjunct harp faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.  In addition to the Colorado Suzuki Institute, she has also taught at the American Suzuki Institute, the Utah Suzuki Harp Institute, Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute, the Duluth Suzuki Fall Festival, the SEMSA “Gasshuku” and the Lyon & Healy International Jazz and Pop Harpfest.  A Suzuki trained musician herself, she grew up studying with Mary Kay Waddington in Denver, CO.  She earned a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Alice Chalifoux and Yolanda Kondonassis and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts where she studied harp with Susan Allen and composition with James Tenney.