Northern Lights School for Strings

has been a Suzuki violin instructor at the St. Paul Jewish Community Center for more than 25 years. Julia holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Minnesota and has attended Teacher Training in the Suzuki Method through level 7 at the American Suzuki Institute, Stevens Point, Wis. Julia has also taken Jazz Improvisation classes at Vandercook College of Music in Chicago.

In other work, Julia served as orchestra director at Edina High School from 2003 to 2009, leading her orchestras on tours to Brazil, Greece, and Puerto Rico. As an active freelancer, Julia has performed with the Aurora String Quartet, Guthrie Lab, and the Minneapolis Children’s Theater.

is delighted to have been teaching at the JCC in the Northern Lights School for Strings for 20 years. She also teaches at several chamber and Suzuki music festivals nationwide. As an active freelancer in the Twin Cities, she is a member of Minnesota Sinfonia, performs widely with various ensembles, and has served as concertmaster for the Ordway Broadway Series for many years.

She feeds her passion for education and performance with regular participation in music conferences and festivals. She serves on the board of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota.

is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she earned a double degree in Violin Performance and Music Education. She is the Founder and Director of the Northern Lights School for Violin at the Jewish Community Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was the recipient of the Studio Teacher of the Year Award by the Minnesota String Teachers Association in 2013.

Ellen completed her Suzuki Teacher Training Units at the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute in Washington, D.C., the Chicago Suzuki Institute, and the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She was a founding member of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota and has served as its Treasurer and President.

She currently serves as the Soloist Coordinator for the annual SAM Statewide Graduation Recitals. In addition, Ellen has been instrumental in founding and developing the highly acclaimed Chamber Music Society of Minnesota, along with her husband, Artistic Director Young-Nam Kim. All three of their children were graduates of the Suzuki program and studied the violin.

is a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher based in theTwin Cities. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including appearances with orchestras that have performed the Lalo Cello Concerto, the Elgar Cello Concerto, and the Fauré Élégie. She frequently performs chamber music with her husband, Benjamin Downs.

Rebeccah frequently performs as an orchestral and chamber musician in the Twin Cities with An Opera Theatre, 113 Composer Collective, Duluth-Superior Symphony, Mankato Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Minnesota Chorale, Des Moines Symphony, American Opera Project, and others. Rebeccah has a Master’s and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

maintains a diverse musical career as an orchestral, opera, and chamber music player and as a Suzuki violin teacher. Ms. Petruconis performs regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra and is Principal Second Violin in the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. She is on the faculty of the Northern Lights School for Violin.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Minnesota. Her Suzuki pedagogy training was provided by Doris Preucil, Nancy Lokken, Sue Baer, Alice Joy Lewis, and Edmund Sprunger.