2008 Summer Faculty

Strings by the Sea, August 4-8, 2008

Glen Campbell, Director — Cello
is past director of the Suzuki String Program at San Diego State University and past president of the San Diego County Suzuki Music Association. He is a member of the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera Orchestra.

Karla Holland-Moritz, Director — Cello
has been selected as a Shinichi Suzuki Teacher Trainee Scholar by the American Suzuki Institute. Karla has an MM in Music Performance from Yale and is a member of the San Diego Symphony.

Liza Barley — Violin (on Sabbatical)
who is from Pittsburgh, grew up as Michele George's Suzuki student. She toured Japan, where she met Dr Suzuki, as a member of the Cleveland Institute of Music Suzuki Strings. Liza received a BM degree in Music Performance from Vanderbilt University. Liza is in her second year of teaching Suzuki violin in Tanzania, East Africa.

Evangeline Benedetti — Cello
is a New York Philharmonic cellist since 1967 and NASTAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher. She was a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music for more than 20 years. Ms Benedetti has performed in master classes with Pablo Casals, and studied with Bernard Greenhouse and Zara Nelsova.

Renata Bratt — Jazz, Fiddling
is president of the International Association for Jazz Education String Caucus. She writes a column on improvisation for the American Suzuki Journal. Rolling Stone dubbed her an “ace performer.” Renata received her PhD in music from University of California, San Diego and is a former president of the Suzuki Music Assocation of California.

Rebekah Campbell — Viola, Violin
is a past faculty member of the San Diego State University Suzuki String Program. She has an MM in Music Education from Ball State University. Rebekah is a member of the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera Orchestra.

John Dewey — Fiddling, Violin
is a registered Suzuki teacher who teaches violin, viola and fiddling. He performs in many styles, from string quartets to blues, bluegrass, and jazz, throughout the country. He is a popular clinician at Suzuki workshops, camps and festivals and holds regular jam sessions at his music store in Okemos, Michigan.

Ruth Fastig — Music and Movement
has been teaching young children for twenty years. For the past ten years she has been offering music and movement classes to children from infancy to seven years of age at her studio, Kindermusik in Bonita. Ruth also teaches special music and movement classes to children with autism.

Edgar Gabriel — Fiddling, Jazz
is busy in the Chicago area performing jazz, classical, blues, rock and fiddle music. He is on the faculties of The Merit School of Music and Harper College. Mr Gabriel has worked extensively with world-renowned acts including Cirque du Soleil, and conducts clinics and improvising workshops throughout the world. He can be heard on CD with the string trio, Stringendo, and The Gabriel Lawrence Inventions. Edgar holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Northern Illinios University, and a masters in Jazz Studies from DePaul University.

Janet Gastil — Violin
attended Oberlin before studying in San Diego with Daniel Lewis and Dr Theodore Brunson. From 1969-1991, as well as in later yars, she taught violin in the San Diego State University Suzuki String Program. Janet is a founding member of the San Diego County Suzuki Music Association, and a past president of the Suzuki Music Association of California, 1984-1986.

Michele Higa George – Violin
received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California, after which she established a Suzuki string program in the Baltimore City Public Schools. From 1980 to 1982, Michele studied with Dr. Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan where she graduated from the teacher training program. She has taught at the Preucil School of Music and Cornell College. In 1986, Michele was appointed to the faculty of the Cleveland Institute as Director of Suzuki Studies. She is the executive producer of the film, Nurtured by Love – the Life and Work of Shinichi Suzuki.

Catherine Godden – Cello
is a faculty member of the San Diego State University Suzuki String Program and teaches Suzuki cello at her studio in San Diego, California. She is a substitute cellist with the San Diego Symphony and is a member of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

Susanna Han – Violin
received her teaching certificate from the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. She also holds a Masters Degree in Education from the University of San Diego. She has participated in numerous music festivals and workshops throughout the country, and took a tour group of her students tp perform at the International Suzuki Conference in Turin, Italy in 1006. Susanna is the violin instructor at Suzuki Heritage Center in downtown San Diego.

Jennifer Holson - Cello
attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree. She has performed with such groups as the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, and San Francisco Ballet. Ms. Holson is an active private teacher and section coach who enjoys teaching cellists of all ages at her home studio.

Paul Kenyon – Chamber Music
received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Michigan State University. He has taught piano at Wright State University and Western Michigan University. Paul is currently Chair of the music department at Point Loma Nazarene University where he teaches piano and music theory.

Steve Luchs – Violin
received his Suzuki training as a graduate teaching assistant of John Kendall at Southern Illinois University. He has attended Dr. Suzuki’s Master Classes. Steve is a faculty member of the San Diego State University Suzuki String Program. He teaches in the San Diego City Schools String Program and is Managing Director of the All City Honors Orchestra. Steve is a former member of the San Diego Symphony, and a current member of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

Jessica Meyer - Violin
is on the faculty of the Hartt Suzuki School at the University of Hartford. She is a founding member of the West End String Quartet and performs with the Hartford and Springfield Symphony Orchestras. She earned her MM from the University of Hartford, focusing on Suzuki pedagogy under the direction of Teri Einfeldt.

Shirley Stafford – Violin
received her Masters in Suzuki Pedagogy with Dr Theodore Brunson at San Diego State University. She is the current Director of the College Avenue Baptist Church Suzuki Strings and of the Christian Heritage College in San Diego, and former Director of the Strings Programs at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California.

Philip Tyler – Chamber Music
received his DM in Violin Performance from Florida State University. He is orchestra director and violin professor at Point Loma Nazarene University. He tours with the PLNU faculty chamber ensemble, Trio Point Loma.

Pei-Chun Tsai — Violin
received her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Music from the Juilliard School, and is a Doctoral candidate at the City University of New York. Her Suzuki training was with Louise Behrend at the School for Strings in New York City. Pei-Chun is a member of San Diego Symphony.

How do I enroll? Click here.

Where is Point Loma Nazarene University? Click here to find out.