Faculty

Allen Lieb

Violin Teacher Trainer

Allen Lieb received his M.M. in Violin Performance from SIU/Edwardsville, studying Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall. He holds a Teacher Training Certificate from the Talent Education Research Institute in Matsumoto, Japan following several years’ instruction with Dr. Shin’ichi Suzuki. A registered Teacher-Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas since 1981, Mr. Lieb has taught institutes, workshops and conferences across the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He is Chair of the SAA Violin Committee, the SAA liaison to the International Suzuki Association Violin Committee and a member of the SAA Heritage Committee. Mr. Lieb is Head of the Violin Department and Instructor for the Teacher-Training Seminar at The School for Strings. He is also a violin instructor at The Diller-Quaile School of Music where he was a recipient of the 2012 Clifford/Levy Creativity Grant. For 13 years, Mr. Lieb served as Curriculum Coordinator for the Newark Early Strings Program, a Suzuki-based violin program jointly sponsored by the Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, for which he was recognized with the 2008 Samuel Antek Award for Music Education.

Marina Obukovsky

Piano Teacher Trainer

Marina Obukovsky, Head of the Piano Department, lives and works in New York City where she is a sought-after piano teacher, performer, and clinician. According to the American Suzuki Journal, “Marina is a true musician and passionate about music, with the ear of a superhuman, able to distinguish the most nuanced of nuances.”

Ms, Obukovsky currently holds faculty positions at The School for Strings where she is the Head of the Piano Department and the Suzuki Teacher Trainer, and at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division. As a dedicated and inspiring teacher, Ms. Obukovsky maintains a full studio of pianists, ranging from beginner to pre-college level. Her students frequently participate in master classes with renowned pianists and have won of many of New York’s prestigious competitions, performing at venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Symphony Space. Many of her students continue their training at conservatories and major in music at college.

In demand as a clinician and teacher, Ms. Obukovsky has given numerous workshops in New York, Washington DC, Maine, Vermont, Texas, and Bermuda. At the 15th Biennial Suzuki Conference (May 2012), she was invited to give a master class on new piano repertoire in the revised Suzuki piano books. During the past five years, she has taught at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Germany, the InterHarmony Festival in Arcidosso, Tuscany, Italy, and at the “Accademia di Musica Lorenzo Perosi” in Biella, Italy. A longtime faculty member at the Hartt Suzuki Institute in Connecticut, she additionally joined the faculty of the Berkshire Summer Music Camp in Massachusetts in 2014.

Ms. Obukovsky received her Master of Music degree (cum laude) from Kharkov Conservatory, Ukraine. She studied piano with Professor Tatyana Verkina, a former student of Heinrich and Stanislav Neuhaus. She also participated in numerous master classes and workshops at the renowned Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow. As a student, she won several competitions and performed with the Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra. An accomplished pianist, she has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout Ukraine and Russia and has served as an accompanist for the National Opera Competitions in Moscow, Odessa, Lvov, and Kiev. She was a former faculty of the Kharkov Conservatory (currently the Kharkov University of Arts).

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Obukovsky frequently collaborates with fellow musicians in cello–piano duos, as well as in 4–8 hands piano ensembles. Ms. Obukovsky is currently a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Associated Music Teachers League, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Alex Croxton

Cello Teacher Trainer

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Alex began his cello studies at the age of twelve. Alex went on to continue his studies at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase. His teachers have included Martha Gerschefski, Alan Stepansky, and Julia Lichten. Alex has received awards from the Atlanta Music Club, American String Teachers’ Association and Peabody Career Grant. Alex served as an Artist in Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts Chamber Music Residency as well as Assistant Principal of the Maryland Symphony. As a chamber musician, Alex has studied with musicians such as Leon Fleisher, Laurence Lesser and Lorand Fenyves. A winner of the Artists International Special Presentation Award, Alex made his Carnegie/Weill Hall debut in April of 2008.

As a mentor to young musicians Alex has studied Suzuki pedagogy with Pamela Devenport and is a faculty member at the Music Institute of Long Island, Brooklyn Conservatory, St. David’s School, Diller-Quaile School and School for Strings, NYC.

Sanchie Bobrow

Violin Faculty

Sanchie Bobrow began her violin studies with Margaret Gilbert and continued her studies as an undergraduate with Joseph Kovacs. She holds a B.A. in Music Education, with a major in Violin and a minor in Composition. Her composition studies with Noel DaCosta lead to her pursue an M.A. in Composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where her main teachers were composers Hugo Weisgall and George Perle. Postgraduate violin studies continued with British violinist Ruth Waterman and Suzuki training with Louise Behrend. Ms. Bobrow has been on the violin faculty of the School for Strings since 1987. She has also served as a Suzuki Strings Coordinator at the Academy of Arts at Wagner College. Miss Bobrow is the founder and Director of The Mighty String Demons, an ensemble of young Staten Island violinists.

Carla Francis

Violin Faculty

Carla Brasch Francis received her Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master’s degree in Violin Performance from Northwestern University. She has registered numerous training courses with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, including long-term training at the University of Denver and at The School for Strings. Carla has attended several music festivals, including Aspen Music Festival and Encore School for Strings. Her teachers have included Blair Milton, David Updegraff, Donald Weilerstein, Linda Cerone, James Maurer, and Louise Behrend. She enjoys teaching and performing, and has been a faculty member at various workshops and institutions around the country.

Sarah Geller

Violin Faculty Department Head

Performing to critical acclaim in many prestigious venues, violinist SARAH E GELLER has been hailed as possessing “the simple, poised, confident stage presence of a seasoned performer.” In June 2002, Sarah made her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut as a winner of the Artists’ International Special Presentation Award. Upon invitation from their Alumni Series, she also presented a solo recital in New York’s Merkin Concert Hall in May 2004, premiering Jeffery Story’s Driven for solo violin and dancer. Since her inaugural performance on the Donnell Library series in February 2004, Sarah has been awarded an annual appearance on their series.

Sarah performs regularly beyond her home of New York City. This past season Ms. Geller was invited to perform on both the An die Musik LIVE! series in Baltimore and at Buckingham’s Choice in Frederick, Maryland. She recently founded SEGUE, an ensemble that features various combinations of award-winning artists, musicians and dancers. Committed to innovative programming, SEGUE often features lesser-known works by mainstream composers and premieres of new works. This spring they presented a dazzling debut performance on the Heritage Hills Concert Series in Somers, New York.

Frequently returning to her native Maine, Sarah is presented regularly on the Arts Institute of Western Maine series at the University of Maine at Farmington. She has also performed at Steinway Hall, Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, the Chappaqua Library, the University of Toronto and the University of Maryland. Geller has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras across the Northeast, including the Ocean City Pops Orchestra (NJ), the Baroque Aria Ensemble (NYC), the Maine Chamber Ensemble and the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to her extensive performing schedule, Sarah enjoys educating the next generation of string players. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at the School, she is also the director of The School for Strings Outreach Violin and Cello Program at PS 116.

A recipient of the Helen Airoff Dowling Award for “outstanding undergraduate violinist,” Sarah completed her studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Her former teachers have included Michael Gilbert, Patinka Kopec, Sylvia Rosenberg, Gregory Fulkerson and Lawrence Golan. Currently she works with Joey Corpus.

Kristen Krauss

Violin Faculty

Kristen Krauss is a violinist, teacher and the founder and director of Berkshire Summer Music, a two-week resident chamber music camp in Massachusetts that is currently in its tenth year. Kristen uniquely combines her dedication to music education and her personal experience as a mother to four musical children.

Kristen has performed solo, chamber, and orchestral works on the violin and viola at the Aspen and Waterloo Music Festivals and at Columbia University. She has been on the violin faculty of the JCC, Thurnauer School of Music, and Elisabeth Morrow School as well as the Accademia Perosi in Biella, Italy. She has coached chamber music for the New York Youth Symphony and managed the program’s chamber division. Additionally, she has held administrative positions at the Interlochen Arts Camp, Waterloo Music Festival, and Music in the Mountains where she also coached chamber music.

Kristen received her BA from Barnard College and studied the violin and viola with Patinka Kopek as part of the Manhattan School of Music/Barnard joint program. She began teaching at the School for Strings in New York City in 1994 after completing its Teacher Training Program under the tutelage of School for Strings founder Louise Beherend. Additional teacher training with Ronda Cole and Linda Fiore.

Allen Lieb

Violin Faculty

Allen Lieb received his M.M. in Violin Performance from SIU/Edwardsville, studying Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall. He holds a Teacher Training Certificate from the Talent Education Research Institute in Matsumoto, Japan following several years’ instruction with Dr. Shin’ichi Suzuki. A registered Teacher-Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas since 1981, Mr. Lieb has taught institutes, workshops and conferences across the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He is Chair of the SAA Violin Committee, the SAA liaison to the International Suzuki Association Violin Committee and a member of the SAA Heritage Committee. Mr. Lieb is Head of the Violin Department and Instructor for the Teacher-Training Seminar at The School for Strings. He is also a violin instructor at The Diller-Quaile School of Music where he was a recipient of the 2012 Clifford/Levy Creativity Grant. For 13 years, Mr. Lieb served as Curriculum Coordinator for the Newark Early Strings Program, a Suzuki-based violin program jointly sponsored by the Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, for which he was recognized with the 2008 Samuel Antek Award for Music Education.

Ragga Petursdottir

Violin Faculty

Ms. Petursdottir holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Oleg Krysa and Ani Kavafian. She also studied at the University of Minnesota with Almita and Roland Vamos and in her home country of Iceland. Additionally, Ms. Pettursdottir completed the Teacher Training Program at The School for Strings under the tutelage of Miss Behrend.

A dedicated and passionate teacher, Ms. Petursdottir’s extensive experience includes maintaining her own notable studio in Westchester for the past 20 years, holding positions on the faculty of the Hotchkiss School and at Sarah Lawrence College where she serves as a violin professor and chamber music coach.

An active performer, Ms. Petursdottir is a member of the American Ballet Theatre and American Symphony Orchestras in New York.

Ms. Petursdottir resides in New Jersey with her violist husband, Junah Chung, and their five cats. She likes to play golf in her spare time.

Esther Song

Violin Faculty

Esther is a dedicated violin teacher with a genuine passion for music education. She started her studies in South Korea at the age of 3, and after moving to the U.S., she studied at the School for Strings under Ecaterina Gerson. After completing her Bachelor of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory and a Master’s degree at the Mannes School of Music, Esther has devoted her career to teaching violin to young students. She has extensive experience working with beginners, as well as more advanced students, nurturing their growing talents.

For three summers, Esther served as a teaching assistant to Dr. Ann Setzer at the Meadowmount School of Music, an experience that allowed her to connect with students and challenged to enhance her teaching techniques further. In addition to this, Esther has spent three fulfilling years at the New Jersey Music School, Aurora Academy, and the Village School in NJ, where she taught both private lessons and group classes, enjoying the diversity and energy that each teaching format offers.

Esther’s approach to teaching violin is warm and inclusive, focusing on bringing out the best in each student, regardless of their starting point. Her commitment is to make music education accessible and enjoyable, helping students discover their own musical paths.

Alexander Yudkovsky

Violin Faculty

Alexander Yudkovsky has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared on tour as a soloist with the New American Chamber Orchestra and with the Brandenburg Collegium, and as concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra for three years he was featured regularly in televised chamber music performances. Mr. Yudkovsky was born in Leningrad and came to the U.S. at the age of fourteen. He received his musical education at the Leningrad Special Music School, the Juilliard School, and the Rotterdam Conservatory.

In recent years Mr. Yudkovsky has been increasingly recognized for his leadership in education in the arts. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of The School for Strings, Mr. Yudkovsky served as the Chairman of the Music Department at the Harlem School of the Arts and Music Director of the New Jersey State Youth Orchestra. Mr. Yudkovsky is also a founding member and co-director of the Lighthouse Chamber Players, an annual chamber music festival on Cape Cod.

Alex Croxton

Cello Faculty Department Head

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Alex began his cello studies at the age of twelve. Alex went on to continue his studies at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase. His teachers have included Martha Gerschefski, Alan Stepansky, and Julia Lichten. Alex has received awards from the Atlanta Music Club, American String Teachers’ Association and Peabody Career Grant. Alex served as an Artist in Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts Chamber Music Residency as well as Assistant Principal of the Maryland Symphony. As a chamber musician, Alex has studied with musicians such as Leon Fleisher, Laurence Lesser and Lorand Fenyves. A winner of the Artists International Special Presentation Award, Alex made his Carnegie/Weill Hall debut in April of 2008.

As a mentor to young musicians Alex has studied Suzuki pedagogy with Pamela Devenport and is a faculty member at the Music Institute of Long Island, Brooklyn Conservatory, St. David’s School, Diller-Quaile School and School for Strings, NYC.

Nicole Johnson

Cello Faculty

In Nicole’s words:

“To give a bit about my background, I started my musical life as a pianist. My mother taught piano, and I saw many kids coming to our home for lessons. At three years old, I became quite insistent that I should get to join in the fun. My parents liked to say that I taught my first lesson about 2 hours after I received my first piano instruction, when my father came home. I guess I wanted him to get “up to speed” on all the great musical tips I had just gotten (my father was a professional cellist, but also, luckily, a very patient dad).

Three years later, I was given a cello by my parents and began that part of my musical journey. This took me to school in Boston, Cleveland, Germany, and Juilliard here in NYC, and concerts on three continents. Along the way I got to do teacher training with Suzuki and non-Suzuki teachers including Nancy Hair, Carol Tarr, Barbara Wampner, Alice Vierra, and Richard Aaron. I started teaching cello and chamber music full time in 1996, first in Virginia, and later in New York. I have taught at Ithaca, Greater Washington DC, Westchester and National Cello Institutes. On the non-Suzuki side, I also ran a cello camp in Maine for a couple of years.

Currently, I am on faculty at Special Music School in Manhattan and Hoff-Barthelson in Westchester. As for the performing part of my cello life, I played in the Cassatt String Quartet for a dozen years, which included the exciting work of collaborating with many living composers. My latest musical adventure is my recently discovered love of Balkan Folk Music. And, of course, I still love performing the classical pieces of the old masters.”

Maureen McDermott

Cello Faculty

Hailed by the press as “a musician of commitment and energy… with brilliance of technique and masterful interpretations”, Maureen McDermott sustains an active career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher.

A native of New York, she has performed in France, Taiwan, Brazil, Italy, Mexico,Curacao, Germany, St. Bartholemy and throughout the U.S. and Canada. Concerts in the U.S. have included chamber music performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall’s “Great Performers Series”, Barge Music, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, a debut at the 92^nd St Y, the Kennedy Center and the Van Cliburn Foundation in Texas.

An active chamber music performer, Ms. McDermott is a member of the McDermott Trio (with sisters Anne-Marie and Kerry) and a founding member of the cello quartet “CELLO”. Ms. McDermott is a founding member of the Lighthouse Chamber Players, a group that performs throughout Cape Cod every summer. The highlight of several summers was an annual collaboration with Bernard Greenhouse.

As a chamber music performer Ms. McDermott has collaborated with artists Bernard Greenhouse, Paul Neubauer, Ida Kavafian, Ani Kavafian, Steven Tenebaum, Wu Han, Christan Bor, Nai Yan Hu, Fred Sherry, Bella Hristova, Laurence Glazener, Susannah Philips, Robert White as well as many other artists.

Ms.McDermott has participated in numerous music festivals including the Newport Music Festival, Bravo! Colorado, Mainly Mozart, Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival, Park City International Music Festival, Art in Avila (Curacao), Les Recontres Internationales d’Ensembles Violoncelles, Caramoor and Chautauqua.

As an orchestral musician,Ms.McDermott performs often with the N.Y. Philharmonic, and has performed with the American Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, St. Luke’s Orchestra, St. Cecilia Orchestra as well as other orchestra in NYC.

Media appearances include featured performances in the movie “FAME”, CBS Sunday Morning, an AT&T commercial (broadcast internationally) and in featured articles in TIME and W magazines. She has recorded on the SONY Classical, Angel, d’Note classics, BMG and Pro Arte labels. Ms.McDermott is also an active recording artist in film scores including movies such as “True Grit”, “Noah”, “The Good Shephard” ,”Hail Caesar” , “Doubt” and many more. She has recorded for Broadway show soundtracks including Sondheim’s “Passion” and “King David”.Ms.McDermott has performed with Sting at the Apollo Theater and on the TODAY show, in the Red Blood Orchestra with Peter Gabriel on David Letterman and with Michael Buble on Saturday Night Live.

As a cello teacher, Ms.McDermott has taught at numerous summer festivals including Berkshire Summer Music, Academia Perosi ( In Italy-2013 ),Music at Port Milford ( Canada ), School for Strings Chamber Music Festival, Elizabeth Morrow Summer String Festival. Her students have performed in outreach concerts for Concerts in Motion and across NYC as well as in Cape Cod and the Berkshires. Ms.McDermott’s  students have continued their studies at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman, Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatory.

Ms. McDermott received her B.Mus at Manhattan School of Music and M.Mus from SUNY at Stonybrook as a student of Bernard Greenhouse, David Wells and Martha Williams. She completed Suzuki certification at the School for Strings in N.Y.

Ms. McDermott is on the cello faculty at the School for Strings in New York, Mannes Pre-College and an Artist Teacher at the Third Street Music School Settlement.  She has given master classes in São Paulo, Brazil, Italy and across the U.S.

Troy Stuart

Cello Faculty

Troy Kenneth Stuart, gifted American cellist and highly respected pedagogue, has shared his passion for the cello and chamber music through his teaching at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (Preparatory and Conservatory), Baltimore School for the Arts, Third Street Music Settlement (NYC), and the Maryland Talent Education Center. He has also served on the faculties of Opus 118 (NYC), Schwob School of Music (GA – Visiting Professor), and Morgan State University. In recent summers, Mr. Stuart has taught at Apple Hill Chamber Music Center, Reveille Music Camp, Kinhaven, and Musicordia.

Highlights from recent seasons, as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician: Mr. Stuart has performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto at Eastman School of Music with the Gateways Chamber Orchestra, presented a duo recital with violin virtuoso Tai Murray at the Harvard Club in NYC, appeared in the Dorot Series in NYC, in a concert of viola quintets (with Todd Phillips, Katherine Cho, Cynthia Phelps, and Maureen Gallagher), and has given a recital on the Four Seasons Series in San Francisco. For ten years Mr. Stuart was a founding member of the Ritz Chamber Players. He has toured nationally, recorded, held residencies in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Florida, and was featured on the international FOX-TV broadcast of the NAACP Image Awards.

In 1988 Mr. Stuart was invited to participate at the internationally televised (CBS) Kennedy Center Honors in honor of Schneider, where he performed alongside Isaac Stern, Jamie Laredo, Michael Tree, Sharon Robinson, and Pamela Frank. Concert pianist Armenta invited Mr. Stuart to participate in the newly formed Gateways Music Festival where he served as a principal cellist under conductor Michael Morgan.

Mr. Stuart is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Stuart’s major teachers included Richard Kapuchinski, Steve Doane, Norman Fischer, and Ronald Thomas. He has coached chamber music with Apple Hill Chamber Players, Isidore Cohen, Abraham Skernick, Timothy Eddy, Isaac Stern and members of the Guarneri, Julliard, Vermeer, Lydian, Audubon and Smithson Quartets.

Mr. Stuart is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Freidberg Lecture/Artist Award, and the Martell Cordon Bleu Award, presented by actor/musician Dudley Moore and the Seagrams Company LTD.

Marta Abraham-Nagyi

Piano Faculty

A native of Hungary, Márta Ábrahám-Nagyi studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, where she received her Masters Diploma “Summa cum Laude” in Piano Performance and Pedagogy in 1999 – studying with Professors Kornél Zempléni (student of Ernö Dohnányi), András Kemenes and Márta Gulyás. She also spent a year as a student of Prof. Imre Rohmann at the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. Ms. Ábrahám-Nagyi has performed concerts in several European countries (Austria, Spain, Belgium, France, Czech Republic), and in the United States both as soloist and as a chamber musician. She has attended and performed in master classes given by several eminent artists, including Prof. Dimitri Bashkirov (Hungary), Prof. Lívia Rév (France, Hungary), Prof. Imre Rohmann (Austria, Hungary) and Prof. Márta Gulyás (Spain, Hungary).

In 1992, Marta Abraham-Nagyi won Third Prize at one of the most prestigious national competitions of Hungary, and in 1997 she received the Special Prize of the Leó Weiner Chamber Music Competition, Budapest. She has also appeared in concerts with one of the most distinguished Hungarian Symphony Orchestras – the MÁV Symphony Orchestra – in Budapest, under the baton of Ervin Lukács (Mozart: D-minor Piano Concerto K.466) and Tamás Gál (Bartók: 3rd Piano Concerto). Several of her concerts were broadcast live by the Hungarian State Radio for which she has also made a number of exclusive recordings.
As a native Hungarian, Ms. Ábrahám-Nagyi’s entire musical education is based on the Kodály method, that has always been incorporated in her own teaching. She served for almost a decade as a member of the piano faculty, chamber coach and senior accompanist at the Center of Preparatory Studies of Music, Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY. Between 2006 and 2009 she established and coordinated the music department of a learning center in downtown Manhattan and is currently on the faculty at The School for Strings.

A passionate chamber musician she collaborated with various instrumentalists and vocalists/opera singers on numerous concerts, music festivals and competitions.Her Steinway Hall concert appearance with cellist István Várdai in 2009 was recorded and broadcast by WQXR radio.
Ms. Ábrahám-Nagyi is fully dedicated to bring up a younger generation of passionate piano players and musicians. Many of the students she has worked with were accepted at prestigious music institutions throughout the US.

Faina Khodos

Piano Faculty

Faina Khodos received her Master of Music Degree from Prokofiev Conservatory in Donetsk and her Bachelor of Music Degree from Donetsk Music College. She is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and studied piano with Alexander Vitovsky and Naum Brodsky. Ms. Khodos is a former faculty member of Moscow State Academy of Music. In addition to her work at SFS, Ms. Khodos is on the faculty of the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at the Aaron Copland School of Music of Queens College and is a guest accompanist at Mannes College. A frequent performer of solo and chamber music recitals throughout the Ukraine and Russia, Ms. Khodos has also participated in the National Strings and Woodwind Competitions in Moscow as well as the National Opera Competition. She was honored with a special diploma in Moscow, crediting her for being among the best accompanists.

Marina Obukovsky

Piano Faculty Department Head

Marina Obukovsky, Head of the Piano Department, lives and works in New York City where she is a sought-after piano teacher, performer, and clinician. According to the American Suzuki Journal, “Marina is a true musician and passionate about music, with the ear of a superhuman, able to distinguish the most nuanced of nuances.”

Ms, Obukovsky currently holds faculty positions at The School for Strings where she is the Head of the Piano Department and the Suzuki Teacher Trainer, and at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division. As a dedicated and inspiring teacher, Ms. Obukovsky maintains a full studio of pianists, ranging from beginner to pre-college level. Her students frequently participate in master classes with renowned pianists and have won of many of New York’s prestigious competitions, performing at venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Symphony Space. Many of her students continue their training at conservatories and major in music at college.

In demand as a clinician and teacher, Ms. Obukovsky has given numerous workshops in New York, Washington DC, Maine, Vermont, Texas, and Bermuda. At the 15th Biennial Suzuki Conference (May 2012), she was invited to give a master class on new piano repertoire in the revised Suzuki piano books. During the past five years, she has taught at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Germany, the InterHarmony Festival in Arcidosso, Tuscany, Italy, and at the “Accademia di Musica Lorenzo Perosi” in Biella, Italy. A longtime faculty member at the Hartt Suzuki Institute in Connecticut, she additionally joined the faculty of the Berkshire Summer Music Camp in Massachusetts in 2014.

Ms. Obukovsky received her Master of Music degree (cum laude) from Kharkov Conservatory, Ukraine. She studied piano with Professor Tatyana Verkina, a former student of Heinrich and Stanislav Neuhaus. She also participated in numerous master classes and workshops at the renowned Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow. As a student, she won several competitions and performed with the Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra. An accomplished pianist, she has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout Ukraine and Russia and has served as an accompanist for the National Opera Competitions in Moscow, Odessa, Lvov, and Kiev. She was a former faculty of the Kharkov Conservatory (currently the Kharkov University of Arts).

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Obukovsky frequently collaborates with fellow musicians in cello–piano duos, as well as in 4–8 hands piano ensembles. Ms. Obukovsky is currently a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Associated Music Teachers League, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Maria Pereira

Piano Faculty

Maria Pereira graduated in Piano and Voice from the Music Conservatory of Rio Grande at her home State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She received a scholarship to continue her graduate studies in Piano at the Music Conservatory of Buenos Aires. While in Argentina she also studied Piano privately with Leo Schwarz and Singing with Maria Kallay. As a Singer she performed extensively at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and at the Summer Concerts of Palermo. As a Pianist she was accompanist for Singers at the Argentina National Radio.

Returning to Brazil Mrs. Pereira established residence in São Paulo where she continued her Piano studies with private lessons and Master classes with Joseph Klias, Arnaldo Estrela, Fernando Lopes and Bruno Seidlhoffer of the Vienna Academy. For six years she held teaching positions at University of São Paulo, at Music Institute of São Paulo and at Mozarteum College of Music. She was part of the Villa Lobos Movement, a new Government initiative that took artists to teach Master classes throughout the State of São Paulo.

Mrs. Pereira was also an Assistant Conductor, Voice Coach and Piano Accompanist for the Choir of the University of São Paulo. With this group she travelled to the United States for the III International Choir Festival at Lincoln Center directed by Robert Shaw. It included a tour of the East Coast of the USA, with performances as a Soloist in major Colleges and Universities, at Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at Avery Fisher Hall in New York.

Mrs. Pereira moved to New York with her husband in 1976. She studied Singing privately with Carolina Segrera and Medieval and Renaissance Music with John White at Hunter College.

Mrs. Pereira relationship with the School for Strings started in the early 1980s as a mother of three children in the Violin Department.

She joined the faculty of The Spence School while taking the Suzuki Piano Teacher Training Course with Sheila Keats at SfS. She joined the Piano faculty of The School for Strings in September of 2001.

Elke Velazquez

Piano Faculty

Elke Velazquez received her B.M. from Oberlin College, where she studied with Sanford Margolis. Other teachers have included Paul Schenly, Anne Epperson, Sheila Keats and Susan Fischoff. She is currently a member of the piano faculty at The The School for Strings, where she received her Suzuki Teaching Certificate, and The Diller Quaile School of Music. She has been a piano teacher, chamber music coach and accompanist in many summer institutes and festivals, including Berkshire Summer Music and The Hartt Suzuki Institute. Elke performs as a chamber musician and accompanist throughout the New York area.

Sanchie Bobrow

Orchestra

Sanchie Bobrow began her violin studies with Margaret Gilbert and continued her studies as an undergraduate with Joseph Kovacs. She holds a B.A. in Music Education, with a major in Violin and a minor in Composition. Her composition studies with Noel DaCosta lead to her pursue an M.A. in Composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where her main teachers were composers Hugo Weisgall and George Perle. Postgraduate violin studies continued with British violinist Ruth Waterman and Suzuki training with Louise Behrend. Ms. Bobrow has been on the violin faculty of the School for Strings since 1987. She has also served as a Suzuki Strings Coordinator at the Academy of Arts at Wagner College. Miss Bobrow is the founder and Director of The Mighty String Demons, an ensemble of young Staten Island violinists.

Alexander Yudkovsky

Orchestra

Alexander Yudkovsky has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared on tour as a soloist with the New American Chamber Orchestra and with the Brandenburg Collegium, and as concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra for three years he was featured regularly in televised chamber music performances. Mr. Yudkovsky was born in Leningrad and came to the U.S. at the age of fourteen. He received his musical education at the Leningrad Special Music School, the Juilliard School, and the Rotterdam Conservatory.

In recent years Mr. Yudkovsky has been increasingly recognized for his leadership in education in the arts. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of The School for Strings, Mr. Yudkovsky served as the Chairman of the Music Department at the Harlem School of the Arts and Music Director of the New Jersey State Youth Orchestra. Mr. Yudkovsky is also a founding member and co-director of the Lighthouse Chamber Players, an annual chamber music festival on Cape Cod.

Marina Iwao

Chamber Music

Marina Iwao is a Japanese-born pianist acclaimed for her nuanced artistry, expressive range, and deep commitment to ensemble playing. Praised for her sensitivity, clarity, and versatility, she has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Frank Morelli, David Shifrin, Quatuor Debussy, Tara O’Connor, and Daniel Phillips, among many others.

An avid chamber musician, she regularly performs in recitals and at festivals across the U.S. Recent highlights feature the 42nd season of Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico and recitals with David Shifrin. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Marina is a member of Random Access Music, a New York City-based collective of composers and performers.

Marina’s dedication to ensemble playing began early. In high school, long before encountering the term “collaborative piano,” she discovered a deep joy in accompanying her friends—a passion that would shape her artistic identity. She went on to earn her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jonathan Feldman and Dr. Lydia Brown. Her summer festival experience includes the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and a two-year fellowship at the Yale School of Music from 2022 to 2024.

In addition to her active performing career, Marina is a devoted educator. She has served on the faculty of the New England Music Camp and the Philadelphia International Music Festival. She currently holds positions as a staff pianist at The Juilliard School and Kaufman Music Center, and teaches chamber music at the School for Strings in New York City.

Maureen McDermott

Chamber Music

Hailed by the press as “a musician of commitment and energy… with brilliance of technique and masterful interpretations”, Maureen McDermott sustains an active career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher.

A native of New York, she has performed in France, Taiwan, Brazil, Italy, Mexico,Curacao, Germany, St. Bartholemy and throughout the U.S. and Canada. Concerts in the U.S. have included chamber music performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall’s “Great Performers Series”, Barge Music, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, a debut at the 92^nd St Y, the Kennedy Center and the Van Cliburn Foundation in Texas.

An active chamber music performer, Ms. McDermott is a member of the McDermott Trio (with sisters Anne-Marie and Kerry) and a founding member of the cello quartet “CELLO”. Ms. McDermott is a founding member of the Lighthouse Chamber Players, a group that performs throughout Cape Cod every summer. The highlight of several summers was an annual collaboration with Bernard Greenhouse.

As a chamber music performer Ms. McDermott has collaborated with artists Bernard Greenhouse, Paul Neubauer, Ida Kavafian, Ani Kavafian, Steven Tenebaum, Wu Han, Christan Bor, Nai Yan Hu, Fred Sherry, Bella Hristova, Laurence Glazener, Susannah Philips, Robert White as well as many other artists.

Ms.McDermott has participated in numerous music festivals including the Newport Music Festival, Bravo! Colorado, Mainly Mozart, Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival, Park City International Music Festival, Art in Avila (Curacao), Les Recontres Internationales d’Ensembles Violoncelles, Caramoor and Chautauqua.

As an orchestral musician,Ms.McDermott performs often with the N.Y. Philharmonic, and has performed with the American Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, St. Luke’s Orchestra, St. Cecilia Orchestra as well as other orchestra in NYC.

Media appearances include featured performances in the movie “FAME”, CBS Sunday Morning, an AT&T commercial (broadcast internationally) and in featured articles in TIME and W magazines. She has recorded on the SONY Classical, Angel, d’Note classics, BMG and Pro Arte labels. Ms.McDermott is also an active recording artist in film scores including movies such as “True Grit”, “Noah”, “The Good Shephard” ,”Hail Caesar” , “Doubt” and many more. She has recorded for Broadway show soundtracks including Sondheim’s “Passion” and “King David”.Ms.McDermott has performed with Sting at the Apollo Theater and on the TODAY show, in the Red Blood Orchestra with Peter Gabriel on David Letterman and with Michael Buble on Saturday Night Live.

As a cello teacher, Ms.McDermott has taught at numerous summer festivals including Berkshire Summer Music, Academia Perosi ( In Italy-2013 ),Music at Port Milford ( Canada ), School for Strings Chamber Music Festival, Elizabeth Morrow Summer String Festival. Her students have performed in outreach concerts for Concerts in Motion and across NYC as well as in Cape Cod and the Berkshires. Ms.McDermott’s  students have continued their studies at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman, Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatory.

Ms. McDermott received her B.Mus at Manhattan School of Music and M.Mus from SUNY at Stonybrook as a student of Bernard Greenhouse, David Wells and Martha Williams. She completed Suzuki certification at the School for Strings in N.Y.

Ms. McDermott is on the cello faculty at the School for Strings in New York, Mannes Pre-College and an Artist Teacher at the Third Street Music School Settlement.  She has given master classes in São Paulo, Brazil, Italy and across the U.S.

Troy Stuart

Chamber Music

Troy Kenneth Stuart, gifted American cellist and highly respected pedagogue, has shared his passion for the cello and chamber music through his teaching at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (Preparatory and Conservatory), Baltimore School for the Arts, Third Street Music Settlement (NYC), and the Maryland Talent Education Center. He has also served on the faculties of Opus 118 (NYC), Schwob School of Music (GA – Visiting Professor), and Morgan State University. In recent summers, Mr. Stuart has taught at Apple Hill Chamber Music Center, Reveille Music Camp, Kinhaven, and Musicordia.

Highlights from recent seasons, as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician: Mr. Stuart has performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto at Eastman School of Music with the Gateways Chamber Orchestra, presented a duo recital with violin virtuoso Tai Murray at the Harvard Club in NYC, appeared in the Dorot Series in NYC, in a concert of viola quintets (with Todd Phillips, Katherine Cho, Cynthia Phelps, and Maureen Gallagher), and has given a recital on the Four Seasons Series in San Francisco. For ten years Mr. Stuart was a founding member of the Ritz Chamber Players. He has toured nationally, recorded, held residencies in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Florida, and was featured on the international FOX-TV broadcast of the NAACP Image Awards.

In 1988 Mr. Stuart was invited to participate at the internationally televised (CBS) Kennedy Center Honors in honor of Schneider, where he performed alongside Isaac Stern, Jamie Laredo, Michael Tree, Sharon Robinson, and Pamela Frank. Concert pianist Armenta invited Mr. Stuart to participate in the newly formed Gateways Music Festival where he served as a principal cellist under conductor Michael Morgan.

Mr. Stuart is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Stuart’s major teachers included Richard Kapuchinski, Steve Doane, Norman Fischer, and Ronald Thomas. He has coached chamber music with Apple Hill Chamber Players, Isidore Cohen, Abraham Skernick, Timothy Eddy, Isaac Stern and members of the Guarneri, Julliard, Vermeer, Lydian, Audubon and Smithson Quartets.

Mr. Stuart is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Freidberg Lecture/Artist Award, and the Martell Cordon Bleu Award, presented by actor/musician Dudley Moore and the Seagrams Company LTD.

Lisa Tipton

Chamber Music

Violinist, Lisa Tipton, a vibrant, versatile musician, contributes as a performer, educator mentor, arts administrator and advocate. The seed for Lisa’s love of chamber music germinated while growing up in a musical family. After several years studying science at Cornell University, the seed sprouted and blossomed when she caught the chamber music bug one summer at Kneisel Hall. Lisa, co-founder of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet, has toured internationally, held residencies and has won distinctions from the Evian International Competition, Artists International, and Chamber Music America. As a devoted interpreter of new music, Ms. Tipton established the “Made in America” series at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. This season Lisa, along with colleagues Adrienne Kim and Lisa Kozenko, launched the The NY Chamber Music CoOP, a new creative performance collaborative in New York City. Lisa’s critically acclaimed recording of the Ives’ violin sonatas was released in 2006 on Capstone Records. She is the Director of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program and on the faculty of The School for Strings and New York Summer Music Festival. She earned a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, and is currently a D.M.A. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. Photo: Noah O’Leary

Faina Khodos

Piano Ensembles

Faina Khodos received her Master of Music Degree from Prokofiev Conservatory in Donetsk and her Bachelor of Music Degree from Donetsk Music College. She is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and studied piano with Alexander Vitovsky and Naum Brodsky. Ms. Khodos is a former faculty member of Moscow State Academy of Music. In addition to her work at SFS, Ms. Khodos is on the faculty of the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at the Aaron Copland School of Music of Queens College and is a guest accompanist at Mannes College. A frequent performer of solo and chamber music recitals throughout the Ukraine and Russia, Ms. Khodos has also participated in the National Strings and Woodwind Competitions in Moscow as well as the National Opera Competition. She was honored with a special diploma in Moscow, crediting her for being among the best accompanists.

Elke Velazquez

Piano Ensembles

Elke Velazquez received her B.M. from Oberlin College, where she studied with Sanford Margolis. Other teachers have included Paul Schenly, Anne Epperson, Sheila Keats and Susan Fischoff. She is currently a member of the piano faculty at The The School for Strings, where she received her Suzuki Teaching Certificate, and The Diller Quaile School of Music. She has been a piano teacher, chamber music coach and accompanist in many summer institutes and festivals, including Berkshire Summer Music and The Hartt Suzuki Institute. Elke performs as a chamber musician and accompanist throughout the New York area.

Lilit Kurdiyan

Theory Faculty

Originally from Yerevan, Armenia where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory under the tutelage of Medeya Abrahamian, Lilit Kurdiyan began teaching theory at School for Strings in the fall of 2005. Lilit also holds a second Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School. As a member and Assistant Artistic Coordinator of the eclectic HyeArt Ensemble, Ms.Kurdiyan regularly joins her Armenian contemporaries in performances throughout the NY metropolitan area, the proceeds of which are frequently donated to various benefit causes. She is fluent in Armenian, Russian & English and has earned a proficiency in Italian. Recently Ms. Kurdiyan was invited to the Music Camp International in Kiev, Ukraine, where she taught and translated for elementary school children.

Benjamin Sellick

Theory Faculty

Ben Sellick is a Canadian composer, conductor, and performer based in New York. Ben’s music has been performed across Canada and in NYC, at venues including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. As a conductor and music director Ben has directed Juilliard Sings, the Central Chorale and Orchestra NYC, Prairie Voices Inc., Christ the King Chapel at St. Paul’s College, and the Red River New Music Ensemble. As a pianist, organist, cellist, and baritone, Ben has performed across Canada and New York in solo and chamber settings, with groups including Polycoro, Camerata Nova, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Ben grew up in Winnipeg with his two brothers, playing Greig, Rachmaninoff, and street hockey, reading Tolstoy, and sailing in the summers. He holds degrees in film, philosophy, piano performance, and composition from the University of Manitoba and the Juilliard School. Ben is the founder and director of SOUNDYARD Composer’s Circle (www.soundyard.ca), a Schoenberg-inspired new music society.

Michele Wong

Theory Faculty

Michele Wong is currently a doctoral fellow at the Juilliard school, with previous degrees from Eastman and Indiana University. In-demand as a collaborative pianist, she has performed with some of the leading instrumentalists and singers of today, at venues such as Carnegie and Alice Tully Hall. Stage partners have included winners of the Met Opera competition, members of the Juilliard and Escher string quartets, and other internationally acclaimed performers. She has been featured by the Omega Ensemble, Howland Chamber Music Circle, Long Island Chamber Music, Empire Film and Media Ensemble, and many other concert series. She has appeared on the radio as well as television, including on channels such as WQXR. Summer festivals she has participated in include Toronto Summer Music, Songfest, Source Song, and the Franz Schubert Institut. She also lectures extensively, having recently given pre concert talks at venues such as the Tilles Center and the Juilliard School.

Marjie Shemanski

Marjie is a Suzuki violin teacher, early childhood educator, songwriter, artist and active performer.

She started playing the piano at the age of 5, studying with her father – a band teacher and electric bassist. After expressing interest in her Grandmothers old violin, Marjie began Suzuki lessons at the age of 10.

Marjie received a B.A. in violin performance from Spring Arbor University in 2009, and became a Suzuki teacher after falling in love with the method at an “Every child can” course in 2010.

Since then she has continued to study and teach, receiving certifications from School for Strings, Karma kids yoga, Music Together, and the Suzuki early childhood program.

Marjie is on the Suzuki faculty at Brooklyn Conservatory, and teaches Suzuki violin and early childhood at Silver Music in the upper west side.

Marjie lives with her husband in Brooklyn, writing and performing her own songs on a regular basis. Her first album ‘Grow Away’ was released in 2024, and her second is on its way in 2025! An avid illustrator, Marjie had her first drawing published in the Park Slope Reader in 2024.

Marina Iwao

Collaborative Pianist

Marina Iwao is a Japanese-born pianist acclaimed for her nuanced artistry, expressive range, and deep commitment to ensemble playing. Praised for her sensitivity, clarity, and versatility, she has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Frank Morelli, David Shifrin, Quatuor Debussy, Tara O’Connor, and Daniel Phillips, among many others.

An avid chamber musician, she regularly performs in recitals and at festivals across the U.S. Recent highlights feature the 42nd season of Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico and recitals with David Shifrin. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Marina is a member of Random Access Music, a New York City-based collective of composers and performers.

Marina’s dedication to ensemble playing began early. In high school, long before encountering the term “collaborative piano,” she discovered a deep joy in accompanying her friends—a passion that would shape her artistic identity. She went on to earn her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jonathan Feldman and Dr. Lydia Brown. Her summer festival experience includes the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and a two-year fellowship at the Yale School of Music from 2022 to 2024.

In addition to her active performing career, Marina is a devoted educator. She has served on the faculty of the New England Music Camp and the Philadelphia International Music Festival. She currently holds positions as a staff pianist at The Juilliard School and Kaufman Music Center, and teaches chamber music at the School for Strings in New York City.

Grace Lee

Collaborative Pianist

Grace Lee is a New York-based pianist and collaborative musician, with an active career as a soloist and collaborator. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Lydia Brown. She previously earned a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Graduate Diploma in Piano Performance from New England Conservatory, where she studied with Randall Hodgkinson.

Lee is also active in music education, currently serving as a staff pianist at both Juilliard Pre-College and College divisions. She previously served as a staff pianist in the Preparatory Division at New England Conservatory, where she also worked as a coach for the Vocal Theatre Lab and Summer Vocal Institute. She also taught secondary piano in the college division at NEC.

Michele Wong

Collaborative Pianist

Michele Wong is currently a doctoral fellow at the Juilliard school, with previous degrees from Eastman and Indiana University. In-demand as a collaborative pianist, she has performed with some of the leading instrumentalists and singers of today, at venues such as Carnegie and Alice Tully Hall. Stage partners have included winners of the Met Opera competition, members of the Juilliard and Escher string quartets, and other internationally acclaimed performers. She has been featured by the Omega Ensemble, Howland Chamber Music Circle, Long Island Chamber Music, Empire Film and Media Ensemble, and many other concert series. She has appeared on the radio as well as television, including on channels such as WQXR. Summer festivals she has participated in include Toronto Summer Music, Songfest, Source Song, and the Franz Schubert Institut. She also lectures extensively, having recently given pre concert talks at venues such as the Tilles Center and the Juilliard School.