Ginger Armstrong (Movement Classes)

Ginger has been studing Japanese arts for over 15 years.  She first studied calligraphy with Aya Itagaki, formerly of Hokkaido, now Fairlee, Vermont, the Makino Kazuko of Yokohama, Japan and Oba Sensei of Yamagata Shi, Japan.  She has also studied Kimono, tea ceremony, cooking, and origami.  Ginger enjoys being playful within the artistic traditions of Japan, especially with children.

Jennifer Armstrong (Japanese Arts)

While studying dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, I had the opportunity to study Pilates with first generation teacher, Kathy Grant.  This sparked my interest in the relationship between the body and the mind, and how one can change one’s body through visualization and anatomical awareness.  After college I moved overseas to teach, and I began suffering from daily back pain.  Returning to my roots, I decided to leave that job and re-organize my life around health and wellness, which brought me back to Pilates and dance.  I received my Intermediate Reformer and Matwork Certification from STOTT Pilates in April of 2007, enabling me to combine my two loves of education and movement. I enjoy seeing people connect more deeply with their bodies, helping them to feel stronger both in their favorite physical activities and in their daily lives.  Having experienced the effects of Pilates in my own life, I am excited to share this technique with others! 

Margaret Gilmore (Cello/Orchestra/Chamber Music)

Dr. Margaret Gilmore has played professionally in Europe and in the U.S. in solo recitals, chamber music and in many orchestras. She has taught in universities and in public and private schools and is also a registered Suzuki cello teacher as well as traditional. Her early training was at the Juilliard School with subsequent training at the Muziek Lyceum in Amsterdam and has degrees from LSU, Rice University and the University of Arizona. She currently performs with the Arizona Opera Orchestra, the Sterling String Quartet and the Presidio Cello Quartet." 

Jody Harmon (Violin/Viola/Improvisation)

was recently honored to receive the 2003 Massachusetts Studio Teacher of the Year Award presented by Massachusetts ASTA with NSOA.  She has been a Suzuki violin teacher for 20 years, and maintains a studio in Westford, MA, with 35 students ranging from beginning Suzuki students to advanced concerto players.  Jody is founder and director of the Westford Chamber Players, an organization whose mission is to involve young sting players in chamber music ensembles, and to give them frequent opportunities to perform at community events.  The high school chamber groups in her program frequently play professional gigs; four different high school groups have recorded on compilation CDs. Jody is author of Improvise!, and is co-author, with jazz violinist John Blake, Jazz Improvisation Made Easy.  Both books have received acclaim from string players and teachers worldwide, and are now distributed through ASTA and NSOA.  Since 1992, with the publication of Jazz Improvisation Made Easy, Jody has been in the forefront of the movement encouraging string players to learn to improvise.  (For more information on Jody’s publications, please visit http://www.stringimprov.com

Linda Hill (Violin/Viola)

B.M., San Francisco Consrvatory; M.M. Boston University; Suzuki Teacher Training under Ronda Cole, Martha Shackford, and Roger Stieg.  Studies with Kenneth Goldsmith, Robin Sharp, Mark Sokol, Bayla Keyes, Roman Totenberg; masterclasses with Aaron Rosand, Pamela Frank.  Active chamber and orchestral violinist and violist.

Naomi Kusano (Music Mind Game/Accompanist)

was born in California, moved to Malaysia when she was two and lived in Japan during her school years where she studied Suzuki violin. She graduated with a degree in piano from the Conservatorio Statale di Musica “L.Cherubini” di Firenze in Italy. She completed her long-term Suzuki teacher training at the British Suzuki Institute, England and holds a Diploma from the European Suzuki Association. Additional Suzuki training includes studying with Dr. Suzuki, Dr. Kataoka and Mr. Takahashi at the Talent Education Research Institute, Japan.  She first met Michiko Yurko, creator of Music Mind Games (MMG), in 1995 and since then has been using MMG to teach theory to her own students as well as at workshops. She completed Music Mind Games Unit 1, Unit 2 and Workshop Unit Teacher Training with Michiko, and takes part in her bi-monthly work/study groups.

Former faculty member at the Levine School of Music, Naomi maintains a private Suzuki piano studio in the Washington DC area. She has taught at workshops and institutes in Iceland, Italy, Holland, England and US.

Lisa Lederer (Violin/Viola)

B.M., Boston University; graduate studies, Longy School of Music; Suzuki Teacher Training, New England Conservatory and American Suzuki Institute. Violin with Roman Totenberg, Dana Mazurkevich and Jack Bosen. Performances: New Hampshire Symphony, Boston Classical Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Portland Symphony. Former Director, Massachusetts Suzuki Festival. Past president: Suzuki Music Schools, Inc. Guest clinician: Pioneer Valley Suzuki Festival, Massachusetts Suzuki Festival, Wellesley Suzuki Celebration. Faculty: Somerville Public Schools String Camp. Former faculty: New School of Music.

Pam Reit (Violin/Viola)

has a Bachelor of Music from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and a Masters of Music from Rice University in Houston. She has been a Suzuki teacher since 1986 and has taught at workshops and Institutes all over the country. In 1992 she created Vermont Suzuki Violins which provides weekly Suzuki Group classes and chamber music coachings, as well as many performances and special events. Pam lives in Hinesburg, Vermont with her husband, 2 daughters and 2 cats.

Aki Tanaka

Bachelor of Music in Music Performance and Music Education from Northern Arizona University with an emphasis on Suzuki pedagogy; Masters in Music Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from East Carolina University. Aki is a registered Suzuki teacher in Book 1 though Book 10. He has studied Suzuki pedagogy with Louise Scott, Karin Hallberg, and Joanne Bath, and has studied violin with Hana Aoto, Hal Grossman, Louise Scott, Victor Liva and Ara Gregorian.



Alissa Vassileva

Suzuki Violin Instructor
High school diploma from the "Dobrin Petkov" Music High School in Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Bachelor in Violin Performance from the Atlantic Union College, MA and a Master in Violin Performance with emphasis in String Pedagogy from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. There she studied with Virginia Gene-Rittenhouse, Mary-Lou Churchill, and Sophie Vilker. She has been teaching violin at the Atlantic Union College and also maintaining a private Suzuki Studio.