Institute Faculty

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.

Anne Donahue : Musicianship/Violin   

Anne Baker Donahue is the director of the Early Instrumental Music program in the Schaumburg Township School District in IL. Through this program, kindergarten through 4th grade students take Suzuki violin classes during the school day. Anne completed a Masters in Music program, which included long-term Suzuki teacher training, at East Carolina Univ. where she was Joanne Bath’s graduate assistant and assistant director of the N. Carolina Suzuki Institute. Previously, she taught 6-12 grade strings in the Greeley, CO public school system. She has performed on the violin and viola in the Greeley Philharmonic, the Ft. Collins, and Cheyenne Symphonies and was the concertmaster of the East Carolina Univ. Symphony and Opera Orchestra.

Bill Kronenberg : Musicianship and Violin Improvisation

Bill Kronenberg did his undergraduate work at the Univ. of IL in Urbana, receiving his degrees in Philosophy and Music Ed.  He received his M.M. degree at W. IL, while working as a graduate assistant in the Suzuki program there.  He studied Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall, Almita Vamos, & Doris Preucil.  Bill is a Suzuki instructor and orchestra director in the Music for Youth of Arlington Ht. public school program.  He has appeared as a violist on radio on WFMT & WCRX, on television in “The Untouchables”, and at Steppenwolf Theater in “A Clockwork Orange.” He can be heard on the concert stage with New Philharmonic in Glen Ellyn, IL, and on CD with The Third Coast String Quartet.

Emily Ondrecek-Peterson : 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.

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.

Matt Brown : Fiddling

Matt Brown is a musician and teacher from Chicago, IL.  Thanks to his banjo-playing father, Matt grew up with the old-time fiddle and banjo music of the Appalachian south.  He studied Suzuki violin with Linda Litwin of Newtown Square, PA, and continued his violin studies with Richard Amoroso of the Philadelphia Orchestra.  He has toured as a solo performer, with the percussive dance ensembles Rhythm in Shoes and Footworks, and has made guest appearances with Tim O’Brien and Uncle Earl.  Matt teaches fiddle, banjo, and guitar to students of all ages at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.  He has fond memories of being a student at The Colorado Suzuki Institute in 1995, 1996, and 1997.

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.

Julie Gorka : Musicianship and Composition

Julie Gorka is a Suzuki piano teacher in Raleigh, NC.  She has taught students of various levels for 30 years. She has a B.A. in Piano Performance from Beloit College, in Beloit, Wisconsin, and has Suzuki teacher training from institutes from Wisconsin to Lima, Peru. She accompanies singers, and performs Scottish music (on piano, harp, and fiddle), contra dance music, Klezmer, historic English, and Colonial music. With Mara Shea, Julie leads a Celtic band (called The Highlanders) for student musicians. Julie teaches master classes at a local music school, is an adjudicator for the National Piano Guild, and enjoys playing all types of music, whenever possible. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and hiking, and is learning to play Celtic harp.

Bill Kronenberg : Musicianship and Violin Improvisation

Bill Kronenberg did his undergraduate work at the Univ. of IL in Urbana, receiving his degrees in Philosophy and Music Ed.  He received his M.M. degree at W. IL, while working as a graduate assistant in the Suzuki program there.  He studied Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall, Almita Vamos, & Doris Preucil.  Bill is a Suzuki instructor and orchestra director in the Music for Youth of Arlington Ht. public school program.  He has appeared as a violist on radio on WFMT & WCRX, on television in “The Untouchables”, and at Steppenwolf Theater in “A Clockwork Orange.” He can be heard on the concert stage with New Philharmonic in Glen Ellyn, IL, and on CD with The Third Coast String Quartet.

Sarah Mbi : Musicianship

Sarah Hutton Mbi holds a BM in piano performance from Covenant College, and an MM in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from George Mason University.  A passion for building a strong foundation for young beginners lead Sarah to her Suzuki piano Certification.  In addition to piano, she has experience in early childhood music as a licensed Musikgarten instructor.  She has done research in hymnology at Oxford University, performed at the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy, and coached student piano concerto concerts with local community orchestras the last four years.  Teaching adults and children since 2002, Sarah maintains an active studio in Springfield VA and strives to teach each student as an individual while working to inspire both their creative and physical gifts.

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.

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.

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.

Alix Corboy : Collaborative Piano

Alix Shelly Corboy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music History from Temple University.  She studied piano privately with Amelia Gigliotti and Yoheved Kaplinsky.  Alix taught at the Settlement Music School.  After moving to Baltimore, she performed with and worked for the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.  In 2004, Alix earned a Masters Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Denver.   She has collaborated with the Playground, the Denver Bach Society, Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra and the Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado.  She has performed as a collaborative pianist in a variety of Master Classes, including the Kronos String Quartet and Pinchas Zukerman.  In 2011, she participated in the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University.

April Travers Martin : Collaborative Pianist

April Martin is a former Suzuki student who now performs as a professional violinist and pianist in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. As a collaborative pianist, she has performed with professional musicians and with students of all ages. As a violinist, she is currently in her first season with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. She also teaches string classes at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy and private violin and piano lessons. April received her BM and MM degrees from the University of Denver and her DMA from the University of Colorado. In her spare time, April enjoys exploring the beauty of northern Idaho with her husband, Nathan.

Nan Shannon : Collaborative Pianist

Pianist Nan Shannon is an active soloist, chamber musician, and teacher in the Denver area. As a member of the Contemporary Music Forum in Washington, D.C. she gave premieres of numerous pieces by an international group of composers.  In recent seasons Ms. Shannon has given solo recitals in Denver and Fort Collins, performed as a concerto soloist with the Mercury Ensemble, and given concerts as a member of the Colorado Chamber Players, Parabola Trio, and the Playground Ensemble.  Ms. Shannon teaches at Regis University and Metropolitan State University in Denver.  She earned her doctorate in piano from the Peabody Conservatory and her masters in accompanying from the University of Southern California.