Meet Kirsten

Violist and violinist, Kirsten Swanson, is an accomplished performer and educator. Over the course of her diverse career, she has performed as a guest soloist and clinician nationally and internationally. She has played in major orchestras and taught children around the world. With over 20 years of teaching experience with children aged 3 to 83, Dr. Swanson nurtures a positive and fun learning environment for any student wanting to learn! She holds degrees in Performance from the Eastman School, the Longy School of Music, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Graduate Degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from East Carolina University

A lifelong learner, Kirsten is one of the few Suzuki teachers in the country to have equal training in both the viola and violin. She has studied Suzuki pedagogy with almost too many amazing teachers to list (but I’ll try): Edmund Sprunger, April Losey, Sarah Montzka, Laurie Scott, Joanne Martin, Betsy Stuen-Walker, James Hutchins, Lori Einfeldt, and her beloved childhood teacher, Joanne Bath. 

Equally at home teaching adults and young children, she has guest taught at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Wake Forest University, and Elon College. An in-demand Suzuki clinician, she has taught viola, violin and chamber music at the North Carolina Suzuki Institute in Greenville, NC, the South Carolina Suzuki Institute in Columbia, SC, the American Suzuki Institute in Steven’s Point, WI, and participates in many workshops throughout the year. She is currently an adjunct professor of viola, violin, and chamber music at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and maintains a private studio in her home. Her students over the years have gone on to achieve amazing success in whatever field they choose, including music, winning coveted positions in local and regional orchestras, summer festivals, and schools.