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BSSA Faculty
Colleen Fitzgerald, Director
Ms. Fitzgerald was named director of the Barcel Suzuki String Academy in 2010. For 15 years she has taught private and group violin lessons at BSSA. During the year she is a frequent guest clinician at Suzuki weekend workshops throughout the Midwest and she adjudicates at the National Federation of Music Club's Junior Festival Auditions. Ms. Fitzgerald has taught students from all over the United States and Europe for the past 10 summers as a clinician at the Louisville Suzuki Institute-Kentucky, Suzuki Music Columbus Suzuki Institute-Ohio, and Montana Suzuki Strings Institute-Montana. In 2006, Ms. Fitzgerald received the Certificate of Excellence in Studio Teaching from the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. Besides teaching, Ms. Fitzgerald has frequently performed as a soloist and as a member of a string trio for weddings, church services and other special occasions.
Ms. Fitzgerald began Suzuki violin lessons at age 6 and two years later continued her studies with Suzuki Teacher Trainer, Joan Rooney. She is a graduate of the University of Evansville where she studied under Suzuki pedagogue, Professor Carol Dallinger, and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance with Suzuki Pedagogy. She has also received supplemental Suzuki teacher training at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, WI with Kay Collier-McLaughlin, Ed Kreitman, Tom Wermuth, and Alice Joy Lewis and acquired her Early Childhood Education training under Suzuki ECE Trainer, Dorothy Jones. Ms. Fitzgerald is a Suzuki Association of the Americas registered Suzuki violin and ECE instructor. In 2010 she earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Cardinal Stritch University.
Celestine Fitzgerald, Founder
Mrs. Celestine Fitzgerald has been teaching Suzuki violin/viola since 1980. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Alverno College studying under Sr. Agnes Meysenburg. In 1984, Mrs. Fitzgerald attended the Suzuki Association of the Americas Teachers' Conference in Chicago, where she had the opportunity to be in the presence of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki and learn directly from him. She received her Suzuki training from nationally known Teacher Trainer, Joan Rooney. She also studied with other nationally recognized and dedicated Teacher Trainers including Allen Lieb and Professor Carol Dallinger, at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, WI. Mrs. Fitzgerald is a SAA registered Suzuki violin/viola instructor. She began her Suzuki teaching with Sister Noraleen Retinger, at Mount Mary College. After leaving Mount Mary she continued her teaching as a faculty member of the Rooney School of Violin before founding the Barcel Suzuki String Academy with Barbara Schaefer in 1994. In addition to her teaching, Mrs. Fitzgerald was a Suzuki mom to three wonderful children. All of her children are still actively involved in music teaching and/or performance. In 1995 the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee awarded Mrs. Fitzgerald the Certificate of Excellence in Studio teaching.
Mrs. Fitzgerald retired as general music teacher at St. Joseph School, Wauwatosa, in 2009 after 19 years. She is actively involved in the St. Joseph Parish adult handbell choir as coordinator and ringer. Her professional memberships include SAA, SAW, NFMC, and MMTA.
Barbara Schaefer, Founder
Barbara Schaefer has been teaching in Ozaukee County since 1982. Prior to founding the Barcel Suzuki String Academy with Celestine Fitzgerald in 1984, Mrs. Schaefer was on the faculty of the Rooney School of Violin. She received her Suzuki training from nationally known teacher trainer Joan Rooney, and from teacher trainers Craig Timmerman, Nancy Jackson and Geri Arnold at Suzuki Institutes in Wisconsin & Michigan. She is a SAA registered violin instructor; her professional memberships include SAA and NFMC. Mrs. Schaefer credits her abilities to the grace and gifts of God.
Emily Stodola
Mrs. Stodola started as a Suzuki violin instructor in Lubbock, Texas in 2002 after receiving short-term training at the American Suzuki Institute from Nancy Lokken. Inspired to learn more, Mrs. Stodola received a MME with an emphasis in Suzuki violin from the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point. During her time in Stevens Point she worked with Professor Pat D'Ercole, and was awarded the Margery Aber Talent Education Scholarship for two consecutive years. After completing her degree, she pursued Sonata Repertoire training with Tom Wermuth, and Suzuki Early Childhood Education with ECE pioneer, Dorothy Jones.
In 2005, Mrs. Stodola became a faculty member of North Shore Suzuki Strings in Glendale, WI. Since then, she has been a clinician at workshops throughout Wisconsin, and served as interim faculty for the Aber Suzuki Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In 2008, she established Stodola Suzuki Strings in Shorewood, WI. Mrs. Stodola has been involved with the Suzuki Association of Wisconsin where in 2010, she served as organizational chairperson for the SAW workshop and co-chair in 2009. Her professional memberships include SAA, SAW, NFMC, and MMTA.
Emily holds a MM in violin performance from Texas Tech University studying under John Gilbert, and a BM in violin performance from the University of Minnesota studying with Sally O'Reilly. She also studied with Jerome Franke of the Milwaukee Symphony and Klara Fenyo-Bahcall, professor of violin at UW-Oshkosh. An avid performer, she served as concertmaster of the Green Bay Civic Symphony from 2007-2011, and is now currently a member of the Racine Symphony and Wisconsin Philharmonic.
Gina Wood
Mrs. Wood has been teaching Suzuki violin since 1998. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from Illinois Wesleyan University where she studied with Vadim Mazo. She is a registered Suzuki violin instructor and has received Suzuki training from Teacher Trainers Ronda Cole, Ed Kreitman, Linda Stieg, Pat D'Ercole and Edmund Sprunger. At age 3, Mrs. Wood began her Suzuki studies with Mary Ellen Meyer and continued with Suzuki Teacher Trainer, Joan Rooney. She has also studied with Lewis Rosove and Tim Klabunde of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Her professional memberships include SAA, MMTA and NFMC.
Mrs. Wood has performed at Carnegie Hall, in the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria and Canada. She has performed regionally in the North American Tours of Josh Groban (2007), Rod Stewart (2004) and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (2004, 2005 and 2007). As a member of various orchestras, she has shared the stage with numerous artists including Peter Cetera, Charlotte Church, Art Garfunkel, Garrison Keillor, Melissa Manchester, Anne Murray, Bernadette Peters, Gene Pitney, Diane Reeves, Daniel Rodriguez and Maxim Vengerov.
You can currently see Mrs. Wood perform with the Green Bay Symphony, Racine Symphony, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Light Opera Works (Evanston, IL), the Bel Canto Orchestra and Memorable Music Ensembles.
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Suzuki Teachers Creed
We realize the unlimited possibilities of early education.
We also realize that every child can be educated. Our purpose is to develop this ability, and present this fact to the world.
We are delighted to be teachers of the Suzuki Method and fully comprehend the responsibilities we have as teachers.
We will continue to study teaching in the future with much reflection, and through this continuing study, we will be better able to concentrate energies toward better teaching.
We solemnly affirm that we will keep this promise as a Suzuki Method teacher.
Featured Video
Calypso Jam
performed with Barrage
used with permission
Plum Moving Media |
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