String Leadership Clinic

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
• Bass

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
• Bass

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
• Bass

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
  
• Bass

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
• Bass

Emily Freeman Brown is Music Director and Conductor of the Bowling Green Philharmonia and Opera Theater at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where in 2016, she was made Professor of Creative Arts Excellence. Brown has led eight CDs on Albany Records with the Bowling Green Philharmonia. In 2018, the 100^th Anniversary year of the BG Philharmonia, the orchestra performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. The BG Philharmonia has performed under her baton at the Ohio Music Educators Association in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Dr. Brown is the author of the book Dictionary for the Modern Conductor (Rowman & Littlefield).

The first woman to receive a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the Eastman School of Music, Ms. Brown has appeared as conductor with orchestras in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America including the Rochester Philharmonic, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse and Toledo Symphonies, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Eastman Virtuosi, Skaneateles Music Festival, Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Orchestra and Göttinger Symphonie Orchester (Germany), ​​the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony of Chile and the Bartók Ensemble, both in Santiago, the Sibiu State Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania), the Macedonia National Symphony Orchestra, the National Soloists Orchestra in Astana, and Conservatory Symphony Orchestra of Almaty (Kazakhstan), the American Festival of the Arts (Houston), Interlochen and Chautauqua summer music institutes and the all-state orchestras in Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Washington and Minnesota. Dr. Brown was in residence at the Boston University, School of Music conducting a performance of Hadyn’s Creation in Symphony Hall in 2018. In 2010 she was in residence at the University of North Texas, conducting the School’s Symphony Orchestra and leading classes in orchestral conducting. She taught a summer conducting course at the Free University of Berlin for nine years in addition to conducting master classes at the Conservatory of Music in Riga, Latvia, Santiago, Chile and many others. For the fall of 2021 Dr. Brown is teaching graduate conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Ms. Brown has recorded for Naxos, Linn and Opus One Records, including eight disks on Albany Records with the Bowling Green Philharmonia under the title The Voice of the Composer; New Music from Bowling Green that have been widely heard and featured in an internationally syndicated radio program under the same name. In addition to her book Dr. Brown has published articles in the BACH journal and the Journal of the Conductors Guild. She served as President of the Conductors Guild and continues as a member of the advisory board.

Ms. Brown studied conducting and cello at the Royal College of Music in London, England where she was twice winner of the Sir Adrian Boult Conducting Prize. Her major teachers have included Leonard Slatkin, Herbert Blomstedt, Franco Ferrara, David Effron and James Dixon.

https://www.efreemanbrown.com/

Violist Hannah Levinson is an in-demand performer of contemporary and classical music. She has recently been featured as a soloist and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, The Stone, 92Y, Miller Theater, Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival, June in Buffalo, and the Andy Warhol Museum, and at international festivals including the Kroch Festival (Stockholm), Musikprotokol Festival (Graz), Projektgruppe Neue Musik (Bremen), and Festival Musica (Strasbourg). Dedicated to working with living composers, Hannah has commissioned and premiered over 40 chamber and solo works.
 
Hannah is a founding member and Executive Director of the violin/viola duo andPlay, described by I Care If You Listen as “enthusiastic champions for new music and collaboration.” andPlay’s most recent album, Translucent Harmonies (2023), was released in September 2023 on the UK-label, Another Timbre. Featuring works by Catherine Lamb and Kristofer Svensson, the album was included on Bandcamp’s “Best Contemporary Classical: September 2023” and Steve Smith’s “2023, for the record.”
 
Committed to both contemporary and classical repertoire, Hannah is also a member of the Talea Ensemble (“a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” New York Times), Fair Trade Trio, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and a former member of the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra. She frequently performs with NYC ensembles including the International Contemporary Ensemble, either/or, counter)induction, Heartbeat Opera, Cantata Profana, Contemporaneous, and The Rhythm Method Quartet.

A strong believer in sharing her artistic practice with her local community, Hannah is committed to audience engagement events through “andPlay (in) conversation,” a free series in Upper Manhattan that provides opportunities for audiences to look inside the collaborative process of creating music, and through performances with organizations including “Music for Autism.”
 
Before her appointment at BGSU, Hannah was Music Artist Faculty at NYU Steinhardt and at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. She earned her degrees at Oberlin College and Conservatory (BM in Viola Performance, BA in Russian East European Studies), Manhattan School of Music (MM in Contemporary Performance), and NYU Steinhardt (PhD in Performance). Her primary teachers include Karen Ritscher, Martha Strongin Katz, and Nadia Sirota. Her research explores how interactions between composers and political structures affect the creation of new music.

Violinist Benjamin Hoffman has performed to critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, appearing in Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall (New York), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), the Philharmonie Berlin, the Wiener Konzertverein (Vienna), the Seoul Arts Center, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing). He has collaborated with many of the world’s preeminent musicians, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Soovin Kim, Yura Lee, Wolfram Christ, and Gary Hoffman, among others. Appearances at summer music festivals include the Atlantic Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Aspen, Music Academy of the West, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Ojai Music Festival.

Alongside pianist Irene Kim, Benjamin is a founding member of the Brightfeather Duo (brightfeatherduo.com), with whom he recently gave a concert tour of California, Malaysia, and Thailand premiering contemporary Malaysian and American works. He is also a founding member of the Webern Quartet (webernquartet.com), a string quartet dedicated to the works of the Second Viennese School in addition to contemporary premieres and standard repertoire. The Webern Quartet recently returned from a residency in Vienna, Austria, during which they were the youngest group ever to perform all four Schoenberg string quartets on the same day, and will be releasing their first album during the 2024-25 season on the Etcetera label.

Benjamin has appeared as a guest violinist with the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony, and has performed under the batons of conductors such as Simon Rattle, Edo de Waart, Marin Alsop, John Adams, and Peter Oundjian.

He is an enthusiastic concertmaster, having served extensively in that capacity with the New Haven Symphony, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, the Sichuan Orchestra of China, and the Yale Philharmonia. As co-concertmaster of the conductorless Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin led the groundbreaking ensemble for three seasons in repertoire such as Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Debussy La Mer, and Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3.

One of the things he is most proud of is connecting underserved young musicians with opportunities across the country and the world. He has been a faculty member for eight consecutive years at the YOLA National Festival, a two-week intensive El Sistema-based workshop led by Gustavo Dudamel, and in 2017 founded the Young Composers Initiative of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, bringing composition lessons to elementary school-aged children throughout Los Angeles that would not otherwise have access to music lessons.

Benjamin studied at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the Universität der Künste Berlin, and received his degrees from Indiana University (BM) and the Yale School of Music (MM and DMA). His principal mentors were Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Alexander Kerr, Jorja Fleezanis, and Ani Kavafian.

Andrea Yun is a cello teacher in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and also performs widely with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the Midwest. Andrea is one of 40 Suzuki cello teacher trainers in the Americas and is on Paul Katz’s CelloBello teacher training team. Andrea travels around the country to work with students and teachers alike. Andrea has held teaching positions at the University of Michigan, University of Texas at San Antonio, Bowling Green State University, Pioneer High School, and Okemos Chippewa Middle School. Andrea holds a dual bachelor's degree in music education and mathematics; a master's in cello performance from Indiana University; and a doctorate in cello performance and pedagogy from the University of Michigan. Andrea was awarded 2020 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Andrea is an avid swing dancer and loves to roller skate.

Curiosity, commitment, and collaboration define Jacob Warren’s exceptional career as a multi-style double bassist, composer, and educator. As a classical double bassist, Jacob was awarded first prize in the 2023 International Society of Bassists Soloist Competition, where his program displayed the diversity of his musicality, including an original transcription of the Debussy Cello Sonata, an original composition, an arrangement of a Canadian fiddle tune, and more.  

In addition to solo performing, Jacob is also an avid chamber musician. He is currently a member of three nationally touring ensembles, two of which he co-founded and co-manages. Warren & Flick is a duo project with multi-instrumentalist Grant Flick. Together, they have released two albums (Kestrel, 2019 and Waxwing, 2022) of original material that spans genres from classical to American and Swedish fiddle, jazz and more. The quartet Westbound Situation released Pilot in 2019 and Accord in 2023. The quartet explores thematic development through their arrangements of original compositions drawing sonic inspiration from string ensembles and electronic music styles. Jacob also tours with the Grammy-nominated string quintet Kittel & Co. Through his diverse collaborations, he has been able to perform at a wide range of venues, from local listening rooms, house concerts, and jazz clubs, to performing arts centers, Royal Albert Hall, the Kennedy Center, and more.

As an educator, Jacob has been invited to give guest masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, Indiana University, Wabass, and Mimi Zweig’s Jacobs String Academy, among others. He has maintained a flourishing private studio since 2015, and also connects with other curious bassists through educational videos and online workshops exploring techniques that he has translated to the instrument. He has also been selected to present at multiple International Society of Bassists conventions, including presentations on his own music and techniques.

Jacob began double bass studies at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Robert Rohwer. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in 2017 along with the Earl V. Moore Award in Music. During his undergraduate degree he studied with Dr. Diana Gannett. He also holds both a Masters of Music in Improvisation and a Masters of Music in Chamber Music from the University of Michigan.  

In addition to writing music for his ensembles, Jacob composes original works for solo double bass. Videos of his compositions, teaching, and arrangements have been featured by The Strad, The Violin Channel, and others. His compositions are available for purchase online through his website. Jacob currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI.

Cellist Damon Coleman began his cello studies through the Suzuki method in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. During high school, Damon studied cello with members of the Detroit Symphony and University of Michigan faculty. He did his undergraduate work at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Paul Katz, cellist of the Cleveland Quartet.  Damon was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for four years, serving as a principal cellist his last two seasons.  He has appeared in masterclasses with cellists including Janos Starker, Lynn Harrell, and Mstislav Rostropovich.  Damon has been the principal cellist of the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Memphis Opera, the Flint Symphony, and the Michigan Chamber Orchestra. He has served as a faculty member of the Miami School for the Arts, the Ann Arbor School for the Arts, the New England Music Camp, The PRIZM Music Festival, and the University of Toledo. In addition, Damon is a recipient of the King-Chávez-Parks Visiting Professorship from the University of Michigan.  He has performed concerts of the solo Bach suites on international tours, and has been heard throughout the concert halls of North America, South America, and Europe.  Damon currently maintains a private teaching studio in the Toledo area. He is the Associate Principal cellist of the Toledo Symphony, and performs chamber music as the cellist of the Bezonian Piano Trio. He is also a yearly participant in the Sphinx Music Festival, where he regularly serves as a principal cellist.