Fred Sienkiewicz  President   

Trumpeter, pedagogue, and scholar Fred Sienkiewicz enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral performer, Suzuki trumpet teacher, solfège and musicianship pedagogue, and a leading researcher into the life and music of Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian.

Dr. Sienkiewicz is a member of both the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with ensembles across New England and the Mid-South, including the Nashville Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, Knoxville Symphony, Gateway Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Kentucky, and INTERSECTION (Nashville). As a soloist and recitalist, Sienkiewicz has appeared in venues ranging from Nashville Public Radio’s Live in Studio C to the International Trumpet Guild Conference.

Dr. Sienkiewicz teaches Aural Skills, pre-college trumpet, and Suzuki trumpet at Vanderbilt University, and is Tennessee’s first Suzuki Method-certified trumpet teacher. Sienkiewicz has previously served as chamber music and trumpet faculty for the prestigious Boston University Tanglewood Institute, ear training and theory faculty at Austin Peay State University, and trumpet faculty for Gordon College, Keene State College, and Plymouth State University in New England.

Sienkiewicz earned degrees at the University of Massachusetts (B.M.), the New England Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and Boston University (D.M.A.), studying trumpet in the studios of Eric Berlin, Charles Schlueter, Terry Everson, and Eric Ruske, interpretation with conductor Benjamin Zander, ear training and solfège with Dr. Gary Karpinski, Dr. Larry Scripp, and Marianne Ploger, and was Suzuki pedagogy with Ann-Marie Sundberg. His doctoral dissertation from Boston University is the first English-language investigation of the life and music of Soviet Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian.

Email: president@middletnsuzuki.org

Zachary Ebin  Treasurer    

Dr. Zachary Ebin is the Director of the Suzuki Program at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. Dr. Ebin holds a BA and an MA from Brandeis University, an MM from the Boston Conservatory, and a PhD from York University.

In high demand as a guest clinician Dr. Ebin has taught and lectured all over North America at conferences, institutes, and workshops. His main fields of interest include: music education, string pedagogy, Suzuki pedagogy, music cognition and perception, and historical musicology.  His research has appeared in journals such as the American String Teacher and the American Suzuki Journal, and has been presented at conferences such as the NYS-SL chapter meeting of the American Musicological Society and the International Conference on Music Cognition and Perception.

In 2015, Dr. Ebin founded the Silent Voices Project. In the project, young composers write chamber music based on poems written by children during the Holocaust. The Silent Voices Project has been performed in both Canada and the United States, and is available as a recording.

Before relocating to Nashville, Dr. Ebin founded and directed Arco Violini, an advanced precollege string orchestra dedicated to giving back to the community through performances at hospitals, senior residences, and charity events in Ontario. Dr. Ebin led Arco Violini in over 40 performances including two television appearances.  Dr. Ebin currently serves as the music director of the Vanderbilt Commodore Orchestra. 

As a violinist, Dr. Ebin has performed extensively in the United States, Israel, and Canada. He has studied with Leslie Fayette, Jocheved Schifter, Lazar Gosman, Daniel Stepner, Joseph McGauley, and Jacques Israelievitch. Dr. Ebin’s debut recording is a collection of forgotten works of Ukrainian composers, titled Dreams: A Revival of Ukrainian Music.  From 2014-2016 Dr. Ebin served as the artistic director of the Belfountain Music Festival, an annual chamber music festival in Caledon, Ontario.

Email: treasurer@middletnsuzuki.org

Sarah Cote Secretary  

Sarah Cote teaches Suzuki violin and viola through the Belmont Academy at Belmont University. Ms. Cote was a member of the string faculty of Belmont from 2003-2023, and taught viola, viola literature, violin, and pedagogy of the violin and viola. As a string faculty member, she performed regularly as a member of the Belmont Camerata chamber series and as a soloist with orchestral and choral ensembles.

Trained as an orchestral musician, Ms. Cote was a full time member of the San Antonio Symphony for seventeen years. She has also performed with the Nashville Symphony, the Alabama Symphony and the New Jersey Symphony, and with the Stones River Chamber players, Musicopia Chamber series, and the Tippecanoe Chamber Society.

As a member of the faculty at Eastern Music Festival she plays in the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra and the Eastern Chamber Players.

Ms. Cote was a guest artist on the American Viola Society Facebook page in May and June of 2019, discussing issues in viola pedagogy. She has been a performer at the AVS festival, most recently presenting the viola music of Leo Soweby.

Ms. Cote has degrees in violin and viola from Indiana University. She studied with Mimi Zweig, Karen Tuttle, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsay Irvine, and Patricia McCarty. She also did orchestral studies training with Joseph Gingold, Joseph De Pasquale, Leonard Davis, Lynne Ramsay Irvine and Patricia McCarty.

Ms. Cote studied Baroque violin and viola with Simon Standage and Marilyn McDonald, and currently performs with Music City Baroque and Early Music City.

Email: sarah.cote@belmont.edu

Annalise Ohse Member-At-Large

Annalise’s teaching style has been described as a “rigorous focus on technique with a sense of panache, whimsy and bold musicality.” She is “warm and engaging” and “a perfect bridge between parent and child in the early stages of learning the instrument.”

Annalise holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, where she received her initial Suzuki teacher training. Annalise revisited her Suzuki studies and received additional teacher training from the School for Strings in New York City. Having completed training in all books 1-10, she is dedicated to lifelong learning, taking numerous enrichment courses to expand her knowledge of the Suzuki method and strengthen her skills as an educator.

Growing up near the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas, Annalise was exposed to alternative styles at an early age. As a child, she won numerous youth fiddle competitions throughout Texas and Kansas. Today, Annalise incorporates some of the skills and benefits of the fiddle tradition to her Suzuki violin students.

Annalise formerly taught for the Blair Academy of Music at Vanderbilt University and was the string instructor for Harding Academy in Nashville, TN. She now teaches exclusively for Franklin Suzuki Academy. Annalise is an active clinician, teaching workshops across the country. In the summers, she enjoys teaching combinations of fiddle and Suzuki classes at the Hartt Suzuki Institute, Ogontz Suzuki Institute, Greater Austin Suzuki Institute, and Intermountain Suzuki String Institute. She is an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Middle Tennessee Suzuki Association, and the American String Teachers Association.

Email: annalise.ohse@gmail.com

Ran Tao Member-At-Large

Dr. Ran Tao is an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Vanderbilt Genetics Institute at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a Suzuki parent and firm believer of Dr. Suzuki’s pedagogical philosophy: All children have talent and should be nurtured by love. He has read most of Dr. Suzuki’s writings and visited his former residence/museum in Matsumoto, Japan. In his spare time, Ran likes running marathons and taking photos.

Email: r.tao@vumc.org

Alex Krew Member-At-Large

Hailing from Baltimore, Alex has called Nashville home for the last 15 years. An accomplished cellist, Alex is a highly sought-after performer, session musician, and teacher. He frequently performs with the Nashville Symphony, and has also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Owensboro Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Gateway Chamber Orchestra, and New World Symphony in Miami Beach. An avid chamber musician, Alex frequently performs at the World Chess Hall of Fame Music Series in St. Louis. Alex has been honored to share the stage with today’s greatest musicians, including Joshua Bell, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Andrea Bocelli, Ben Folds, Leslie Odom Jr., and Yo-Yo Ma.

Alex is a member of the Nashville Music Scoring Orchestra, featuring on hundreds of recording projects for clients including Disney, Netflix, HBO, Nintendo, and Sony PlayStation. A core member of Nashville’s Candlelight Concerts, Alex has performed over 250 shows for sold-out audiences throughout Middle Tennessee. Alex is Professor of Cello Performance at Lipscomb University and Trevecca Nazarene University. He also maintains a private teaching studio out of his home in Bellevue.

Alex graduated from Vanderbilt University, earning degrees in Economics and Cello Performance and a Master of Business Administration. He went on to earn his Master of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. His primary teachers include Bai-Chi Chen, Alison Wells, Felix Wang, and Eric Kim. In his spare time, Alex enjoys backpacking, climbing, road biking, and photography.

Email: krew.alex@gmail.com