Suzuki Faculty
Sidebar
Violinist Geoffrey Herd dedicates his diverse musical career to enriching cultural landscapes and fostering musical talent within communities. His rolesas a soloist, chamber musician, artistic director, and educator have allowed him to engage audiences in concert halls across the globe and support the development of aspiring musicians.
Dr. Herd has performed in reputable venues such as the Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum of Art in Boston, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and universities and conservatories worldwide. His solo engagements have included the Louisville Orchestra, The Thailand Philarhmonic, the Rochester Philharmonicand others significant orchestras. He collaborates with the most distinguished musicians of our time including Jinjoo Cho, Molly Carr, Clive Greensmith, Frank Huang, Ani Kavafian, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and others.
In addition to his performance career, Dr. Herd is the founder and director of the Geneva Music Festival. This platform unites accomplished classical and jazz performers and has gained national recognition in its 14th season, with performances regularly broadcast on major media outlets across thecountry. Furthering his leadership activities, Dr. Herd also serves as the CEO and co-artistic director of ATX Chamber Music and Jazz, one of the nation’s most innovative chamber music societies.
A distinguished pedagogue, Dr. Herd is on the faculty at the University of Louisville School of Music where he guides a dynamic studio of students from around the world. His students have successfully participated in prestigious festivals, pursued further education at top institutions, and secured wins in nationwide competitions. A proponent of pre-collegiate music education, Dr. Herd is the co-director of the Knoxville Suzuki Academy and served as the president of the Tennessee Chapter of the American String Teachers’ Association. He maintains an exclusive pre-collegiate studio in Louisville and is the director of the newly founded, Louisville Virtuosi.
He received his musical training at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the Yale School of Music, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He performs on the “Berkic-Pennington” Carlo Bergonzi violin, crafted in Cremonain 1737.
Message to participants:
I’m so excited to share information about our upcoming String Institute!
We have a distinguished line-up of faculty for our programs designed to inspire and nurture students from every background. In addition to our usual Suzuki and non-Suzuki programs, I’m also excited for our Advanced String Summit, happening simultaneously. This program is for high-school and college students who want an intensive summer program to bring their playing to the next level. These students will work with our wonderful faculty in private lessons, masterclass, performance opportunities, orchestra, seminars, guided practice and more.
This year, we have students and faculty joining us from around the country. It’s going to be an inspiring week for all. Join us! If you have any questions, please be in touch.
Cortney Combs Baker, a native of Athens, GA, began violin at age three in the UGA Pre-College Suzuki program. Her degrees include a BMusEd degree - Furman University (’95), a MM (’97) and DMA (’02) - University of Texas at Austin. From 1995-2002, she taught in the UT String Project, including serving as the Assistant Director, overseeing the program scheduling and performing general administrative duties. Dr. Baker has taught at the Furman University Band and Orchestra Camp (1995-2008), the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute (2005-present), and various regional workshops. From 2002-2007, she co-directed the Sunshine Suzuki Strings in Davie, FL and served on the board of the Suzuki Association of South Florida, where she co-led weekend workshops. From 2009-2013, Dr. Baker served as Assistant Director of the South Carolina Suzuki Institute in Greenville SC, and taught technique, repertoire and master classes. She completed her Level 1 training in Music Mind Games in 2016 and has since enjoyed playing music games with both teachers and students in the Raleigh, NC area.
Dr. Baker has a violin/viola studio, Pineland Suzuki Strings, in Cary, NC, of 26+ students who meet weekly for individual lessons and monthly for Suzuki group classes. She is the second violinist in the Triangle String Quartet. Additionally, she perform in the North Carolina Opera Orchestra (Raleigh, NC) as well as other ensembles in the Triangle area.
Message to participants:
Since I was a young child, I have been shaped by Dr. Suzuki’s vision that All Children Can. First, as a child benefiting from the encouragement of the adults around me, and now as an educator, passionate about helping each child discover their unique musical journey.
I am looking forward to sharing a week of music making and learning with each of you and the faculty at the Institute in Louisville this June!
Kirsten Marshall is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA). She deeply believes every child can learn to play music if placed in the right environment. She enjoys sharing both humor and knowledge about working with children to other professional violin teachers.
Ms. Marshall is teaching the complete cycle of violin books online for the University of Louisville KY. Additional teacher training includes Ithaca, Hartt and Louisville Suzuki summer institutes. Ms. Marshall is violin faculty and director of the orchestral program at Ithaca (NY) Talent Education, a world-renowned Suzuki school. Her training in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy (B.M., M.M.) was at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Michele Higa George. Ms. Marshall’s influential violin teachers include David Updegraff, James Stern and Anna Tringas. She also holds a B.S. in music education from Case Western Reserve University. In 2022-2023, Ms. Marshall served as Interim Music Director of the Cornell Chamber Orchestra.
Ms. Marshall is a core member of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (CCO) in Ithaca, New York. A passion for conducting led her and fellow CCO violinist Sarah Cummings to establish the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra (ccoYo) in the fall of 2017, a 53- member, full symphonic youth orchestra. Conducting the ccoYo, teaching children and teaching teachers are all part of seeking what is possible in our children’s future, and bringing Dr. Suzuki’s vision of every child can to life.
Message to participants:
The University of Louisville's Suzuki Summer Institute is special. We help every young musician achieve their highest goals during a week of intensive classes and concerts, balanced by plenty of laughter and fun. Please join us June 9-14, 2024, to make friends and play great music in Kentucky!
Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin’s unique brand of teaching excellence makes him one of the most sought-after clinicians/conductors throughout the world. With infectious enthusiasm and inspired musicianship, he brings smiles and laughter to students throughout the United States and around the world. His dynamic teaching career includes over 1100 workshops and institutes! His performance and teaching career stretch across the United States and Canada into Bermuda, Germany, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, and he has recorded two CDs, including the complete chamber music of Marcel Dupre for the Naxos label. He has been appointed principal conductor of the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra beginning with the 2016 season. He has directed the South Dakota and Montana All State Orchestras. He is the holder of the American Suzuki Institute Suzuki Chair Award for 2013. Terry Durbin is also an accomplished composer and notable arranger.
Dr. Durbin holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles, California, a Masters in violin performance from the University of Illinois, and an undergraduate degree in violin performance from the University of Alabama. He has held university positions at Transylvania University, Morehead State University, Azusa Pacific University, the University of Louisville and the University of Oregon. He is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Terry maintains a private studio in Louisville, Kentucky. He has three children, two grandchildren and one great granddaughter. He believes in the magic of music’s power to enrich our lives.
Message to participants:
Music is something all humans share. There is no in group and out group. Everyone experiences music in the same way.
Music teaches us to express our humanity and emotions, share that with others, respect others and create community. It is an invaluable part of every child’s education.
Christia Chambers made her orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall in 2008. A graduate with honors in Viola Performance at the University of Michigan, Mrs. Chambers received her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Akron with honors as well. She is the recipient of numerous competition awards and scholarships. Besides being a grand prize winner of the prestigious Tuesday Musical Scholarship Performance Competition, she was awarded the Arden J. Yockey Scholarship for Strings, the Winifred Collins Scholarship for Music Education and was a James B. Angell Scholar. A lifelong musician, beginning violin at the age of four, Mrs. Chambers is passionate about music education. She has dedicated herself to the pursuit of serious string pedagogy and has been a violin instructor for over 10 years. In addition to her large studio of students in Music City Strings Academy, Mrs. Chambers has also been a workshop clinician for the Suzuki Talent Education Program - Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama and a faculty member of the South Carolina Suzuki Institute at the University of South Carolina in Aiken, South Carolina. She has been an active member of the Nashville Area Music Teachers Association since 2016 where her students regularly participate in the state and local performance auditions. Mrs. Chambers has had three category winners in the Young Artist Achievement Awards competition and is currently the chair for the annual Fall Fest event.
Message to participants:
I look forward to a week of violin immersion. It's always special spending a week with people who enjoy making music.
Some of my fondest music memories growing up were spending a few weeks with people who shared the same love as I did for classical music.
A graduate of the Suzuki Talent Education Institute in Japan, Hiroko studied with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, William Starr, Peter McHugh, Mimi Zweig, and Brenda Brunner. Formerly a member of the Knoxville Symphony, Hiroko is a Suzuki Method Teacher-Trainer and has directed the Suzuki Programs at both the University of Tennessee, and the University of Louisville. Currently, she is the director/teacher of the Suzuki School of Louisville and conducts workshops in the US and Japan.
Message to participants:
When I was a Suzuki student in Japan, my sister and I went to the Summer School in Matsumoto every year. We didn’t care if it took an 8-hour train ride, for we looked forward every summer to studying with Dr. Suzuki in the large group lesson every day with students from all over Japan. Each evening there were concerts by teachers and advanced students. One summer a dozen American string teachers came to the Matsumoto Summer School, one of whom was Virginia Schneider who went on to start the UofL Suzuki program and Summer Institute which has been in existence for over a half-century.
Thank you, Mrs. Schneider!
Maria Mastropaolo was born in Louisville, KY. At the age of 3 she began violin in the Suzuki Method. She received a bachelor’s degree in performance from the University of Evansville in 1997. Maria has been on faculty at the University of Evansville in their Suzuki Violin Program, under the direction of Carol Dallinger, since 1997. Maria is trained and registered in Suzuki Violin Units 1-10, Violin Practicum, ECC, SPA, Levels 1, 2, & 3 of Suzuki Early Childhood Education, plus additional supplemental courses. In 2011 she was one of the first Suzuki teachers in the nation to receive the Certificate of Achievement from the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Maria has given lectures on the aspects of the Suzuki method and teaching for different conferences, including the SAA’s Parents as Partners conference. She served on the board for the Suzuki Association of Indiana as Treasurer from 2016-2023, and also directs the UE Suzuki Program’s annual workshop. She had been on faculty at the UofL Suzuki Institute for many years until Covid hit. She is excited to be teaching at the institute again. Besides teaching, Maria plays in the first violin section of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (member since 1993), loves to cook, and is a huge fan of the dog that can do anything…Snoopy!. She lives in Evansville, IN with her Suzuki supporting husband, their music appreciating (sometimes howling) dachshund Chester, and their Suzuki violin playing 13-year-old son.
Message to participants:
I have the unique perspective of have been every point of the Suzuki Triangle. I grew up in the Suzuki Method (Student). I teach the Suzuki Method (Teacher). I have a son in the Suzuki Method (Parent). This allows me to really experience and understand every part of it personally. I love this method because I see what it has done for me in my life, my students’, and my son’s as well. Some examples of the benefits of Suzuki would be memory development, experience performing in front of people, work ethic (having to do something everyday), determination (sticking with something even when it gets difficult), and self esteem, to name a few. What I love is that these can be used in everyday life and in any career, not just music. Suzuki also gives you a unique connection with others in the method. I still have friends that I met in Suzuki. Now that I have taught for many years, I see a student that I started at 3 grow up and become an amazing person. I wholeheartedly believe that this method had something to do with that. My message to you would be to stick with it, through the ups and downs, because I have seen the outcome. I can tell you from personal experience…it is well worth it.
Violinist Julia Cash has recently returned to Louisville after some 25 years pursuing an exciting musical career in New England and Europe. Brought back to Louisville by her family and her husband’s career, Julia loves being back in Kentucky. She has served as concertmaster for many musical groups such as the Grammy winning Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Louisville Orchestra. Ms. Cash was named Interim Principal 2nd violin of the Louisville Orchestra by Teddy Abrams for the 2021-22 season. Ms. Cash recently performed Mozart 5th Violin Concerto in Boston with Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and was hailed for her “heroic presence, sparkling accuracy and delicacy of her silvery tone ” (Musical Intelligencer).
Winner of the National Music Club Prize, Tanglewood fellowship, and a two-time Outstanding Performer at the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, Ms. Cash has performed all over the United States and Europe as a chamber musician and recitalist. In Boston, she performs with the Boston Ballet, Boston Pops, and is the concertmaster of Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston. A huge new music advocate, Ms. Cash served as concertmaster of Alea III under Gunther Schuller to high accolades. Early in her career, she won a Pulitzer serving as principal second of Opera Boston, and has been on many Grammy-nominated albums through her extensive recording career. Ms. Cash holds degrees from New England Conservatory of Music, the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Germany and an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands. She then returned to New England Conservatory to pursue doctoral studies. In addition to James Buswell, other notable musical mentors include Pamela Frank, Vera Beths and Federico Agostini.
Ms. Cash is also an avid teacher and music educator. Along with her private studio, she has taught chamber music, orchestral coaching and lessons at Harvard University, Boston College and Tufts University. She is known for her warmth and encouraging teaching style. She is currently on faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory and Continuing Education School, and maintains a competitive studio of award winning pre-collegiate students. Currently she spends summers teaching for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and serves as Music Director at Point Counter Point Chamber Music Camp in Vermont. She has also taught for the Intensive Community Program, Milton Academy, Indian Hill Arts, Groton School, Boston Latin School and many other festivals and masterclasses over her long teaching career.
Most recently, Ms. Cash has started her own concert series, Music for a Purpose, here in Louisville, which focuses on bringing world class chamber music to Louisville while simultaneously supporting the community by directing all concert proceeds to a specific charity partner. 2023-24 season partners included Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Earth and Spirit Center and the Healing Place. She currently lives in Crescent Hill with her 3 daughters and violist/physician husband Tom, and splits her performing obligations between Louisville and Boston.
Julia is excited to join the University of Louisville Suzuki String Institute and work with Louisville’s next generation of young budding string players.
Dana Meyer, founder and Artistic Director of Music City Strings, is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and has been passionate about music education for more than 40 years. Her dream was to create a program that would provide children with the means to become confident, sensitive and beautiful artists. Music City Strings was the result of this dream. An international competition-winning group, Music City Strings has toured Europe, China, Canada, Croatia and the US. The group has performed over 30 concerts with Grammy-Award winning artists Vince Gill, Amy Grant, and Michael W. Smith and has become a highly sought-after performing troupe. In addition to her role as Artistic Director of Music City Strings, Mrs. Meyer has a robust private studio in Franklin, Tennessee.
Mrs. Meyer is currently on the faculty of the Suzuki String Institute at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and has held numerous prestigious faculty positions and posts in such institutions as the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute, the Suzuki Institute at PhoenixPhest! in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the South Carolina Suzuki Institute at Furman University, the Fine Arts Student Academy in Nashville, New World School of the Arts (Miami), Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, Wintergreen Performance Academy, Dillard High School of Performing Arts, the Middle Tennessee State University Governor’s School of Music, and Tucson Chamber Music in the Mountains in Tucson, Arizona. She has also been President of the Suzuki Association of South Florida, President of the Middle Tennessee Suzuki Association, and was awarded teacher of the year by the Nashville Area Music Teachers Association. Mrs. Meyer is currently Auditions Coordinator for the Strings Division of the Nashville Area Music Teachers Association.
Message to participants:
After more than 30 years of teaching Suzuki Violin, what I have enjoyed the most is the community and teacher training. What has been most endearing to me is seeing students make life-long friendships, from their home studios to Institutes and workshops. Not only for the students but for the teachers and parents as well.
The teacher training has been incredibly valuable giving teachers confidence, knowledge, and expertise to be the best teachers they can be. I have loved how willing teachers are to share their experience, support, and wisdom. The whole Suzuke community never ceases to amaze me!
Wayne Krigger began playing cello at the age of 13 in the Louisville Public Schools. Two years later, he was teaching cello and directing ensembles in summer programs for inner-city youth under the mentorship of Virginia Schneider, principal violist of the Louisville Orchestra, who was instrumental in the introduction of the Suzuki method to Louisville. Wayne continued teaching cello in after-school programs throughout high school. Those few years of teaching and playing made it clear to Wayne that this would be his passion in life.
Wayne received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in cello performance from the University of Louisville and, in 1983, joined the university as a teacher in the Preparatory Department. He also began teaching fitness, dance, and tennis in the Health, Physical Education and Sports Studies Department. After 13 years in the HPESS Department, he left to devote more time to teaching and performing. He began traveling as a guest clinician to other preparatory programs in the country to teach cello, and to coach and conduct ensembles. Locally, Wayne has conducted the Governor’s Scholar Orchestra and the All County Orchestra for Middle Schools in Kentucky. When traveling, Wayne observed that many children did not seem to be connected in body, mind and spirit with their music so he developed a creative movement program. This program engages the body’s large muscle groups and voice while still maintaining the student’s individuality by using music from the early Suzuki repertoire and supplementing with music from other venues and cultures.
Wayne is a past member of the Louisville Orchestra. Currently, and is a member the Highland Chamber Players, which is an extremely popular group in the Louisville area. Wayne is one of the original and founding member of the Highland Chamber Players, which was formed in 1982. The HCP plays over 150 weddings yearly as well as many other events. They have also provided educational concerts for children in the public schools. Individually, Wayne took great joy in volunteering at Kennedy Montessori School from 1993 until 2020 intoducing and teaching violin to students on a weekly basis.
Wayne’s classical cello training was done under the guidance of Guierllmo Helguera, Susannah Onwood, Nella Hunkins and Paul York. His Suzuki cello training was done under the guidance Tanya Carey, Nancy Hair, Carol Tarr, Nell Novak, Rick Mooney and Jean Dexter. Wayne is a proud father of two beautiful adult children: Jonathan and Kayla.
Recent Louisville transplant, Cecelia Swanson, is an accomplished cellist, teacher, and artist who holds a Master's degree in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy and a degree in Professional Studies from the Cleveland Institute of Music. During her time at CIM, Cecelia studied with renowned faculty members, including Sharon Robinson, Si-Yan Li, and members of The Cleveland Orchestra, and co-founded the award-winning Elless Quartet. Prior to moving to Cleveland, she held positions with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra and Lubbock Symphony in West Texas.
In 2020, Cecelia became a Teaching Artist with Documentary Songwriters. In the DocSong program, she collaborates with storytellers from all different backgrounds, in an effort to create music that fosters human connection. As a performer, Cecelia played in over one hundred concerts and events in Cleveland. She also taught cello and chamber music to 25+ students at Aurora School of Music and at the Oberlin Community Music School with a combined experience of 3 years. In July of 2023, Cecelia was on the faculty of Mozart in the Knobs music festival where she taught lessons, coached chamber ensembles, led the cello section in the orchestra, and performed community concerts in the Kentuckiana area. Cecelia's teaching philosophy focuses on building confidence and igniting a lifelong passion for music in her students, helping them find their inner voice and joy in playing.
In her free time, Cecelia loves a good matcha latte, her plants, her cat, Bert, building legos, playing computer games, and being an auntie to her nephew.
Message to participants:
I loved going to the Suzuki Institute in Wisconsin as a kid. I’m so excited to continue the tradition as faculty and share my joy of playing the cello with you all in June!
Michele was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil and holds a Bachelor of Music Performance in violin and music education from the University of Kentucky and a Masters degree in Music Education from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Michele has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician across North America, South America and Europe. In Brazil, Michele was an active orchestra musician in the main orchestras of Sao Paulo, including the Experimental Repertoire Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Michele participated in acclaimed international festivals of Brazil, such as Campos do Jordao International Festival and Santa Catarina International Festival, and performed in several venues throughout the Czech Republic and Italy. Michele is the Director of Orchestras at the Youth Performing Arts School, holds a private teaching studio, and regularly performs with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and in chamber groups around Louisville, KY. During her free time, she shares her love for cooking, hosting dinner parties with her husband, friends, and even with her 17-year old cat, Elly.
Message to participants:
I am so excited to join the UofL Suzuki Summer String Institute this year! I am eager to meet more members of the beautiful musical community we have in Louisville, and to understand each other's musical backgrounds and interests. I hope that we can all together nurture the love for music-making not only during the summer, but also carry it on in our future musical endeavors!