​The Chapel Hill Cooperative Suzuki Project has served thousands of Suzuki students in and around the Triangle since the idea was formed more than 40 years ago. The vision and effort of leading teachers Mary Ellen Bierck, Nancy Brooks, and Mary Frances
Boyce developed the annual fall workshop into the success it is today. Over the years, the Chapel Hill Cooperative Suzuki Project has sought to further the educational methods of Shinichi Suzuki’s Talent Education method through renowned guest clinicians. 

Since its founding, students from many studios have attended the workshop!
Dr. Suzuki’s legacy thrives in the music of the thousands of children served.

Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin​

Jessica Landes

Gabriel Pelli

We are excited to welcome back Dr.Terry Durbin to the Chapel Hill Durham Suzuki Workshop. What a privilege it has been to have Dr. Durbin as our guest clinician for 26 years! 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, an undergraduate degree in violin performance from the University of Alabama, and is currently the director of the Suzuki String Program at the University of Louisville. He is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Dr. Durbin has taught at over 800 workshops and institutes across the country and the world!

Jessica Landes holds a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance from East Carolina University and a B.S. in Music Education from Goshen College, Indiana.  As an active performer and collaborator with the band Stray Local she performs regularly on stages in the coastal Carolina region, opening for bands such as the Infamous Stringdusters and Jordan Tice.  In June 2017 Stray Local was the only band chosen from the United States to participate in the Festival International de Musique Universitaire in Belfort, France.  A seasoned Suzuki student herself, Jessica studied Suzuki piano for 13 years and Suzuki violin for 11 years and completed her most recent Suzuki trainings with teacher trainers Martha Shackford, Linda Fiore and Joanne Bath.  Having spent 10 years of her career in Pennsylvania, from 2010 to 2012 she created and directed the Rhythm & Bloom music program at the Braddock Carnegie Library in Braddock, PA.  Jessica takes a special interest in composition for young people, music programs in libraries, parent support for weathering the ups and downs of music lessons, and fiddling.  On a daily basis she enjoys bouncing creative thoughts around the Suzuki triangle that she and her studio families create as part of her home studio, Landes String Studio.  Jessica lives in Wilmington, NC, with her husband David and daughter Harmony.

I started playing a box and stick violin in Switzerland at age 5.  After much Suzuki training, which I credit with developing my musical memory and laying the groundwork for improvisation,  I fell into playing Jazz when my friends told me I was going to be the new violin player in their band!

From there I discovered Gypy Jazz, various fiddle styles like Old Time and Irish, and even Rock and West African music.

I've toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America with my bands
The Old Ceremony, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Onyx Club Boys.

I've been teaching privately since 2001, and have taught many group workshops focusing on Jazz and improvisation.

Emily Russ
​

Meredith Mitchel

Dr. Cortney Combs Baker

Emily Russ, praised for her sensitivity and responsiveness, is an active collaborative pianist in the Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina. She performs regularly with music students at both UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro. In 2016, Emily was one of the collaborative pianists at the Richard Luby International Violin Symposium at UNC and collaborated at the Composers of Color Collective Conference at NCCU. Recent professional performances include a recital with cellist Samuel Magill at Carol Woods Retirement Community in Chapel Hill, NC and a chamber Young Artists Concert at The Cedars of Chapel Hill. As a collaborator, Emily has performed for a number of masterclass clinicians including Gil Shaham, Mimi Stillman, Kevork Mardirossian, Laurie Smukler, Aaron Berofsky, Kevin Lawrence, Fabian Lopez, and Nicholas DiEugenio. 
 
Emily has accompanied summer program Greensboro Light Opera and Song, as well as UNCG’s Touring Opera in the fall and Opera at the Carolina in the spring. A former Suzuki violin student, she also enjoys playing for local Suzuki group classes and recitals. Emily holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2013) and a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2015).

Meredith Mitchell is a Suzuki Violin and Piano teacher and freelance violinist and singer. She plays the electric violin in numerous bands and wedding ensembles when not teaching in her music studio. Meredith holds a degree in Film Production with an emphasis on music scoring. She is a passionate music educator with extensive training in Suzuki pedagogy in both Violin and Piano. Meredith focuses on Early Childhood beginners and is certified through the SAA in Piano Book 1-3 and Violin Book 1-3, Suzuki in the Schools and Stage 1 Early Childhood Education Mommy and Me Group Classes. She recently founded a program at Gigi’s Playhouse, a volunteer based Down Syndrome Achievement Center, where she has modified the tradition ECE Music class to fit students with Down Syndrome. She has taught at the NC Suzuki State-wide Play-in for many years and frequently teaches at several regional workshops. She is a member of the NC Suzuki Association and the Triangle Piano Teachers Association.

Cortney Combs Baker is a native of Athens, Georgia.  She began her violin studies at the age of three at the University of Georgia Pre-College Suzuki program.   Her degrees include a Bachelor of Music Education from Furman University, and a Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. 
Dr. Baker has performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, The Corpus Christi Symphony, the Abilene Philharmonic and the Victoria Symphony, where she served as principal second violin.  Currently she performs with the NC Opera Orchestra and the Pro Cantores Orchestra at Duke University.
From 1995-2002, she was Assistant Director of the University of Texas String Project, a teacher training program in Austin, Texas.  From 2002-2007, Dr. Baker was Co-Director of the Sunshine Suzuki Strings in Davie, Florida where she taught violin and viola.  She has taught Suzuki violin for over twenty years and has completed training in books 1-7 as well as Music Mind Games Level 1.  Her present studio, Pineland Suzuki Strings, is located in Cary, North Carolina. 

Lily Smith

Lily is an artist from Hillsborough, NC. She is an oil painter who also loves to imagine and create immersive performances combining visuals and music. She has performed with the Paperhand Puppet Intervention the past two summers. She hopes one day to open an art school in Cedar Grove, so stay tuned!