Beatrice Blanc : Artistic Director Chamber Music of the Rockies
Beatrice Blanc joined the Suzuki faculty at MacPhail Center for Music in 1996. Raised as a Suzuki kid in Iowa City, she studied with Sonja Zeithamel and Doris Preucil. Beatrice’s Suzuki pedagogy training is from The American Suzuki Institute, the Preucil School of Music, and the University of Minnesota. BM – Mus. Ed. UIA, Allen Ohmes and MM Perf. & Ped. UMN, Mark Bjork. Activities at MacPhail have included group class and supplemental program coordination, note-reading class, council and committee work, faculty performances, chamber music coaching, and adjudication. Additional activities in the broader community have included board membership with the Suzuki Association of Minnesota, conferences and leadership retreats, and weekend workshops.
Emily Ondracek-Peterson : Chamber Music Coaching and Violin
Dr. Ondracek-Peterson began studying violin at age 4 and gave her solo debut at age 16 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As first violinist of the acclaimed Voxare String Quartet, Dr. Ondracek-Peterson has performed in every major hall in New York including with the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall. In addition to her performing and work as a Teaching Artist with the New York Philharmonic, Dr. Ondracek-Peterson maintains private teaching studios in New York City and Connecticut. Dr. Ondracek-Peterson received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University where she is currently on the violin faculty.
Jocelyn Smith : Chamber Music Coaching and Viola
Jocelyn Smith earned her Bachelor of Music degree in viola performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Chauncey Patterson, former violist of the Miami String Quartet, and Lisa Boyko of the Cleveland Orchestra. She just completed her twelfth season as a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and has performed in the Crested Butte Music Festival since 2001. Ms. Smith, along with husband and cellist Peter Greydanus, is a founding member of the Clivia String Trio, which was named Performing Artists of the Year by Young Audiences of Virginia in 2008. The pair also started a strings program in Crested Butte, CO, in 2009 which has continued to thrive.