- Mimi Zweig, Director
- Brenda Brenner, Co Director
- Christina Hightower, Administrator and Coordinator for new students
- Gwen Chan
- Alice Ford
- Danielle Girard
- Kiyoun Jang
- Dongin Kim
- Emily Nehus
- Michael Klinberg
- Maki Yamagata
Cello Faculty
- Helen Shively Ford
- Eunice Kim
- Erica Ogihara
Collaborative Pianist
- Justin Bartlett
Music Theory Faculty
- Joey Grunkemeyer
Mimi Zweig is currently Professor of Violin at the Jacobs School of Music and Director of the Indiana University String Academy. Since 1972 she has developed pre-college string programs across the United States. She has given master classes and pedagogy workshops in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Europe. She has produced Mimi Zweig StringPedagogy.com, an innovative web-based teaching tool, which is being accessed worldwide. In the spring of 2006, American Public Television released the Emmy-nominated documentary, Circling Around — The Violin Virtuosi, featuring String Academy students. Her students have won numerous competitions and teach and perform worldwide.
e-mail Mimi Zweig: zweig@indiana.edu
tel. 812.855.8334
Brenda Brenner is Professor of Music Education and Director of the Jacobs Academy at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She specializes in string music education, teaching applied violin, as well as courses in violin and string pedagogy. Brenner received a BM and BME from Wichita State University and an MM and DMA in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to her appointment to the Music Education Department, she serves as co-director of the IU String Academy, a position she has held since 1993. Her String Academy students have been featured in concerts in major venues throughout the United States and have presented tours throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. As director of the Fairview Project – a program in which every first and second grader in a Title I school learns violin as part of the curriculum – Brenner researches the cognitive, academic, and social outcomes of early instrumental music instruction. An active performer of chamber music throughout the United States, Brenner partners with her husband, organist Christopher Young. She also teaches and conducts at the IU Summer String Academy and is Assistant Director of the IU Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists. Brenner is an active international clinician, is a Past President of the American String Teachers Association, and is on the board of the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.
e-mail Brenda Brenner: bbrenner@indiana.edu
tel. 812.855.0989
Christina Hightower has earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Utah, where she studied with Leonard Braus, served as concertmaster of the University Philharmonic and was a member of the Honors Quartet. She received the Master of Music degree from Indiana University while a student of Mimi Zweig. She has served as the violin coordinator of the Indianapolis String Academy. Currently, in addition to teaching violin, Christina is the Administrative Assistant for the IU String Academy.
e-mail Christina Hightower: crunnacl@indiana.edu
tel. 812.345.9331
Gwen Chan holds a Master of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Mimi Zweig, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music. Her performing experience includes work both as soloist and orchestral musician, and she is active as a chamber musician. She has extensive experience as a teacher both at the college and pre-college levels, and also serves as violin and viola faculty at Anderson University. Her students have included prizewinners in both local and state competitions.
e-mail Gwen Chan: gwenchan@juno.com
tel. 812.318.0577
Emily Nehus studied violin and music education at IU Jacobs School of Music with Brenda Brenner, Mimi Zweig, Ik-Hwan Bae and Baroque Violin with Stanley Ritchie. Emily also studied with Tiberius Klausner at UMKC Conservatory, and holds a BA degree in English from Grinnell College. In addition to 20 years of teaching for String Academy, she created the Bloomington Project School’s grant-winning Strings program, where she taught for seven years. Currently Emily performs with Cardinal Stage Theatre (Les Miserables, 1776, Shrek: The Musical, West Side Story, Oliver, Peter Pan) and IU Theatre (Into the Woods, Big Fish), and with vocal groups Quarryland Mens’s Chorus and Voces Novae. Emily builds houses with Habitat for Humanity, and will gladly recruit anyone interested in swinging a hammer for a good cause.
e-mail Emily Nehus: enehus@iu.edu
Michael Klinberg is currently pursuing a MM degree in Music Performance, studying violin with Mimi Zweig. His performing experience includes work as a chamber, solo, and orchestral player. Before this, he was a member of the IU String Academy, studying with Maria José Romero and Mimi Zweig. As a pedagogue, Michael has been teaching students at the IU String Academy for four years, studying pedagogy under Professor Mimi Zweig and Dr. Brenda Brenner. His work has included teaching alongside Professor Lucia May at IU Summer String Academy for two years, as well as working in the Fairview Project in Bloomington, under the guidance of Dr. Brenda Brenner.
e-mail: mklinber@iu.edu
Kiyoun Jang is pursuing his master’s degree in violin performance at Indiana University as a student of Mimi Zweig. He has experience in teaching pre-college students at various art and music institutes and youth orchestras in Korea before moving to the United States. Kiyoun performed on an American tour with the Chongshin choir as a designated solo violinist in 2014. In 2018 he appeared as a soloist at Lincoln Center, and at Carnegie Hall as a member of Festival Orchestra.
e-mail: kijang@iu.edu
Danielle Girard is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Music Education degree at the Jacobs School of Music. She previously completed Master of Music Performance (violin) and a Bachelor of Music Performance (violin) degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario, respectively. For several years, she held a violin teaching position at Sistema New Brunswick, a non-profit organization in New Brunswick, Canada. She is currently studying with Mimi Zweig and Brenda Brenner.
e-mail: dgirard@iu.edu
Dongin Kim is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in violin performance at Indiana University, studying with Mimi Zweig. She previously earned a Bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University in South Korea. She has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra player. She was an active teacher in South Korea before coming to Bloomington.
e-mail: dk102@iu.edu
Maki Yamagata is currently studying with the world-renowned violist and composer, Atar Arad, and pursuing a doctorate degree in music performance at the Jacobs School of Music. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degree in music performance from University of Victoria, Canada, under the tutelage of Joanna Hood of the Lafayette String Quartet. She was an active teacher in Canada before moving to US and is now studying pedagogy with Mimi Zweig.
e-mail: makiyama@iu.edu
Cello
Helen Shively Ford, cello and chamber music. Previously, Helen was on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, where she also served as string department chair and chamber music coordinator. She earned her BM and MM degrees at the University of Minnesota, studying with Tanya Remenikova and Robert Jamieson. Helen was a member of the Minneapolis-based Sartory String Quartet and performed with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble, and other regional ensembles. She was active in the contemporary music scene in Austin, Texas, as a member of the group Audio Inversions and as a frequent guest with the University of Texas New Music Ensemble. Currently, Helen performs as a member of the Bloomington chamber music collective, Studio in Bloom.
e-mail: hsford@indiana.edu
Eunice Kim is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where she is a student of Eric Kim. She is majoring in cello performance and minoring in music education and arts administration. In addition to her String Academy teaching, she is an associate instructor at the JSoM. Before moving to Indiana, Eunice received her Bachelor and master’s degree from the New England Conservatory. She was a teaching artist for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Josiah Quincy Orchestra Program, and the Boston String Academy.
e-mail: kimeuni@iu.edu
Hailing from Miami Florida, Erica Ogihara is a passionate performer and teacher. Her repertoire ranges from works as recent as John Adams’ riveting Fellow Traveller to familiar classics such as Franz Joseph Haydn’s beloved Opus 64 String Quartets. Her recent performance highlights include giving the New York City premier of Lisa Heffter’s Carbon Fiber String Quartet with the Continuum Chamber Collective, a musical group focused on performing underrepresented compositions. Erica has put together numerous chamber projects which have led to her participation in masterclasses with artists such as composer Nico Muhly, pianist Ursula Oppens, and violinist Ida Kavafian. Heard as a soloist with orchestras including the Alhambra Symphony Orchestra and the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, Erica has also been a laureate at several competitions including the Walenstein Music Competition and the Artist Series of Sarasota Competition.
As an educator, Erica wishes to cultivate a love of music through her teaching and provide music education to as many people as possible. A Suzuki Association of the Americas registered instructor, she completed her teacher training in books 1-8 with Pam Devenport and books 9-10 with Tanya Carey. As a 2021 Fellow at ArtistYear, the premier AmeriCorps program dedicated for artists, Erica taught music and cello to District I Schools in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley through her service year. In addition, she taught cello lessons and group classes to young cellists at The School for Strings’ Start-Up Program and was a Morse Teaching Fellow and Gluck Community Engagement Fellow through The Juilliard School.
Erica began her studies on the cello at the age of 10 with Audrey Pilafian. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Cello Performance at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Brandon Vamos of the Pacifica Quartet. Erica completed her Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School and also holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory. Her teachers include Darrett Adkins, Natasha Brofsky, Ross Harbaugh, and Judith Serkin.
e-mail: eogihar@iu.edu
Viola
Alice Ford is a senior pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Indiana University under the tutelage of Atar Arad. Prior to attending IU, she studied with Brenda Brenner and Mimi Zweig, and was a member of the String Academy Virtuosi. She has also been an assistant teacher for four years at the Fairview Violin Project.
e-mail: fordac@iu.edu
Music Theory
Joey Grunkemeyer is pursuing a PhD in music theory with a minor in music history and literature at Indiana University, where he also serves as an associate instructor teaching music theory and aural skills. Prior to attending IU, he earned a BA in music theory from Kennesaw State University, where he also studied cello. In addition to his theory and history coursework, Joey studies viola da gamba and historical performance with Joanna Blendulf.
e-mail: jgrunke@iu.edu
String Academy Collaborative Pianist
Justin Bartlett was born in Massachusetts. He pursued degrees in piano performance at Oberlin Conservatory and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he was awarded a Doctoral Fellowship, the school’s highest academic distinction. Most recently his solo performances have been featured at Portland Piano International’s Rising Stars Series, where he delivered the world premiere of Michael Johanson’s Eternal Gardens, and gave lecture recitals on the music of Szymanowski. He has performed concertos of Bach and Liszt with members of the Oregon Symphony, and his recent chamber partners include violinists Alex Kerr, Yehonatan Berick, and Ayano Ninomiya. An enthusiastic teacher, Justin is an Adjunct Lecturer in piano performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, This was a continuation of his work as an Assistant Instructor at the same institution. He has also been guest artist and faculty at the Franz Liszt Conservatory of Quito, Ecuador, and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival in Alaska. He has performed with the JSoM Virtuosi throughout the US, Argentina and Chile.
e-mail: justin.bartlett14@gmail.com