Our Fantastic Faculty
Violin/Viola: Stephanie Sims Flack, Susan Crawford, Anthea Kreston, Calida Jones, Ann Montzka-Smelser
Cello: Jason Duckles, David Cunliffe, Linc Smelser
Piano: Yumy Kim, Christina Tio
Susan Crawford, Suzuki Violin, Viola
Susan Crawford is a Professor of Violin and Viola at Carleton College, and is on the faculty for both the MacPhail Center for Music and Northern Lights School for Strings in Minnesota. Susan has been a frequent clinician at institutes and workshops around the country including at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Sato Center for Suzuki Studies, North Texas School of Talent Education, Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, Greater Washington Suzuki Institute, Peaks to Plains, Ozark Suzuki Institute and Alaska Cello Intensive. Teaching at institutes is fulfilling her dream of furthering talent education, while building community and artistry through the study of music. Susan’s students have won many awards and are continuing their studies at programs including Juilliard, Northwestern and Oberlin. Susan Crawford’s most significant teachers include Makoto Kaneshiro, Mary West, Almita and Roland Vamos, Burton Kaplan and Jorja Fleezanis. After studying at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and receiving a degree in performance, she continued her equally strong passion for pedagogy through in-depth study with many leaders of the Suzuki community. Her major influences have included Kay Sloan, Alice Joy Lewis, Ronda Cole, Ed Sprunger, Carol Dallinger and Brian Lewis. She is Assistant Concertmaster of Minnesota Sinfonia.
Christina Tio, Suzuki Piano
Christina Tio earned her diplomas, BA (Hons) and MMus in Piano Performance and a PhD in Musicology in the United Kingdom. She also taught at institutions in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, including Universiti Malaya (UM), University College Sedaya International (UCSI) and National Academy of Arts (ASWARA).
Since encountering the Suzuki movement, Christina has been a regular session presenter at conferences and local chapters of Music Teacher National Association (MTNA). She has also served as a Piano masterclass clinician at the biennial Suzuki Association of the Americas Teachers Conference in 2018. She frequently adjudicates at festivals and competitions, and teaches at summer institutes around the US and in Singapore.
Passionate about the Suzuki philosophy, Christina considers parent education and developing musicality her forte. She enjoys a thriving studio characterized by excellence and joy, where music making is appreciated as a lifelong endeavor. Her students frequently receive awards at local and national competitions, including appearances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall in Kaufman Center in NY, and Alice Millar Chapel at Northwestern University. She is currently a faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago. Also a homeschool mom, she lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
Stephanie Sims Flack, Suzuki Violin
Stephanie Sims Flack received her Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Louisiana State University and Master of Arts from Indiana University where her teachers included Sally O’Reilly, Kevork Mardirossian and Henryk Kowalski. She studied violin pedagogy with Sally O’Reilly (Louisiana State University) and Marla Mutschler (Arizona State University). She received her initial Suzuki teacher training at the British Suzuki Institute in London, England where she achieved Accreditation, Level Three, through the European Suzuki Association examinations. Stephanie registered teacher training in Suzuki books 1-10 following pedagogical training with Suzuki teacher trainer, Ronda Cole, and attended the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School in New York.. She maintains a private violin studio at her home in Alexandria, Virginia and enjoys serving as a guest clinician in workshops, masterclasses and sectionals with youth orchestras and music programs in the DC metro area. She has performed nationally and internationally as a member of the Cambridge Philharmonic (England), Ely Sinfonia (England), Arizona Opera Orchestra, and Baton Rouge Symphony and has spent the last two summers touring Germany, Austria and Italy with her students in collaboration with Washington Preludio Strings.
David Cunliffe, Suzuki Cello and Traditional
Cellist David Cunliffe has performed with the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish and Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestras. As part of the Grammy Nominated Lincoln Trio, David has recorded numerous albums for the Cedille label.
He completed his studies at the International Yehudi Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland where he studied with Radu Aldulescu and toured throughout Europe with Yehudi Menuhin and the Camerata Lysy. He is currently on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago.
Calida Jones, Suzuki Violin, Community Outreach
Calida’s work has taken her around the globe. Her personal mission is to ensure that children who have limited resources also have access to musical opportunities and activities, catapulting them to success, regardless of the path.
As a consultant and guest speaker, Calida has worked with notable programs and institutions including the Yale University School of Music, Duke University, the Ravinia School, The Hartt School, and TEDx in San Jose, CA. Most recently, Calida has consulted with the Sphinx Organization, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Utah Cultural Alliance. Click here to watch a YouTube video of Calida’s TEDx talk.
Calida is on Faculty at the Hartt School of Music, is the Program Director for Music Matters and the Conductor of the Hartford All-City Youth Orchestra, serves as the Program Coordinator for MentorU with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. In addition to this work, Calida serves on The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation Board of Trustees, El Sistema USA, chairs the Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding Committee, and serves on the board of the Connecticut Arts Alliance. In 2018, Calidawas a proud recipient of a Connecticut Arts Hero Award.
Yumy Lee Kim, Suzuki Piano and Traditional
Born and raised in Germany, Korean pianist Yumy Lee Kim made her debut with the Hamburger Sinfonietta at the age of 15 at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. She appeared at various German TV and radio stations (Radio Hamburg, NDR 3), and was accepted at the age of 16 at the prestigious preparatory division of the University of Music in Luebeck. After receiving diplomas in piano performance, piano pedagogy and a post-graduate performance certificate in Germany, she finished her studies at Northwestern University with a doctoral degree (DMA) in Piano Performance. Being a devoted and passionate educator as well, she currently serves as faculty member at DePaul University (CMD) and the Music Institute of Chicago. Her students won numerous local and national competitions and were invited to perform in venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Chicago Cultural Center and Northwestern University’s Gavin Hall. Dr. Kim is frequently invited to adjudicate in Chicago area piano competitions and has been on the faculty of Suzuki Institutes in Chicago, Ohio, Wisconsin, as well as the Chicago Chamber Music Festival at Northeastern Illinois University. She organizes the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association (CAMTA) Sonata-Sonatina Fest with over 300 participants and was awarded ‘Member of the Year’ in 2019.
Linc Smelser, Suzuki-inspired Cello
Linc Smelser received his Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Arizona where he studied with Dr. Gordon Epperson and received his Master’s Degree and Performer’s Certificate in Cello Performance and Pedagogy at Northern Illinois University having studied with renowned cellist and pedagogue Raya Garbousova.
Mr. Smelser is a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra is an active substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, having most recently embarked on his 12th international tour with the CSO.
Mr. Smelser is a faculty member of the Music Institute of Chicago in Winnetka, Northern Illinois University Music Department, NIU Community School of the Arts, the Chicago Suzuki Institute and the American Suzuki Institute.
Equally comfortable on the podium, Mr. Smelser is the conductor/music director of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, was awarded Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Arts Council. Always looking for ways to work with talented youth, he is conductor/music director of the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra and NIU Sinfonia and Symphonette.
Ann Montzka Smelser, Suzuki Violin, Suzuki Viola
Ann Montzka Smelser studied under Kazuko Numanami and Sarah Hersh at the Oberlin College Suzuki Program and later with Rebecca Sandrok and Pierre Menard. In between receiving her Bachelors of Music Education and Masters in Performance and Pedagogue at Northern Illinois University, Ann studied with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan.
Ann is a lifetime member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has been invited to present at several SAA Conferences. She has served as coordinator of the Suzuki Youth Orchestras of the Americas, and coordinator for Violin at the National Suzuki Conferences held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ann became a Registered Suzuki Teacher Trainer in 2005 and currently teaches Suzuki Pedagogy at both Northwestern University and Northern Illinois University. Ann teaches about 40 private students and is director of the NIU, CSA Suzuki Strings Program at NIU and a teacher at MIC in Winnetka. Ann has given several Teacher Training courses in Lima, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico City and Singapore.