2023 ASTA National Conference
Master Class Clinicians

Pre-Collegiate Clinicians

Pre-Collegiate Violin

Gregory Lee
University of Oklahoma

Dr. Gregory Lee is currently Professor of Violin at the University of Oklahoma and Concertmaster of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.  During the summers, he teaches at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival and OU Summer Music Academy.  He has given recitals/masterclasses in Australia, Taiwan, China, Vietnam and across the US. The Australian-born violinist holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium, Juilliard School and University of Michigan.

Pre-Collegiate Viola

Philippe Chao
Texas Tech University
Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra violist Philippe Chao is the Assistant Professor of Viola at the Texas Tech University School of Music, a member of the Grand Teton Music Festival, and faculty for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He performs with the Pittsburgh, and Baltimore Symphonies. He has performed with international artists James Buswell, Simone Porter, and Julian Rachlin and on NPR’s Performance Today. He commissioned and premiered works by Sergey Akhunov and Adolphus Hailstork.

Pre-Collegiate Cello

Karen Becker
University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Karen Becker is Professor of Cello, teaches cello pedagogy, and coaches chamber music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She's principal cellist of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and director of the University of Nebraska/Lincoln Public Schools String Project. She is a passionate teacher, active soloist and avid chamber player who performs and gives solo and chamber master classes regularly throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. She has been featured numerous times on American Public Media’s Performance Today and has recorded on the Centaur label as a soloist and as cellist of the Concordia String Trio.

Pre-Collegiate Double Bass

Patricia Weitzel
Penn State University

Dr. Patricia Weitzel enjoys an active career as a pedagogue, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. She is the Assistant Teaching Professor of Double Bass at Penn State University and the Marketing Chair of the International Society of Bassists. Dr. Weitzel spends her summers teaching and performing in various programs, including the Sphinx Performance Academy at Juilliard and the Wintergreen Music Festival.

Collegiate Clinicians

Collegiate Violin

Quinton Morris
Seattle University
Key to Change

Dr. Quinton Morris enjoys a multifaceted career as a concert violinist, educator, entrepreneur, radio host and filmmaker. He has performed solo concertos, recitals and presented masterclasses and lectures worldwide. He is also the Artist-Scholar in Residence at Classical KING 98.1 FM where he hosts the show Unmute The Voices. He resides in Seattle where he’s an Associate Professor of Violin at Seattle University and runs his nonprofit organization Key to Change in Seattle.

Collegiate Viola

Susan Dubois
University of North Texas

Considered one of the leading artist-teachers of viola today, Dr. Susan Dubois is sought after as a chamber musician, recitalist, adjudicator, and clinician in the US and abroad.  Dr. Dubois is a Regents Professor and the String-Area Coordinator at the University of North Texas College of Music, and also serves on the summer faculty of the International Festival Institute at Round Top and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.



Collegiate Cello

David Ying
Eastman School of Music
Ying Quartet

David Ying is cellist of the Ying Quartet and faculty member of the Eastman School of Music. The Ying Quartet has performed extensively. Their recordings have earned a Grammy award and four Grammy nominations. Mr. Ying is co-artistic director and faculty member at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. With the Ying Quartet he has also held artist-in-residence positions at Harvard University and Northwestern University. His studies were at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School.

Collegiate Double Bass

Joel Braun
University of Texas at Austin

As an orchestral musician, Joel Braun has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic. As a soloist and chamber musician, Joel has concertized throughout the United States and presented master classes nationally and internationally. He has held faculty positions at Ball State University and The Juilliard School Pre-College Division. His principal study was with Eugene Levinson at The Juilliard School where he earned a Pre-College Diploma, B.M., and M.M. degrees.

All-Level Clinicians

Chamber Music

Marian Anderson String Quartet

“In the presence of the (Marian) Anderson String Quartet you feel as if everything’s going to be alright for classical music, as if a little Beethoven and Brahms might just solve the world’s problems.” -LA Times

With performance venues that range from Alice Tully Hall and the Library of Congress to soup kitchens and juvenile correctional facilities, the Marian Anderson String Quartet, now in its 32nd season, continues to uphold their mission to “Create New and Diverse Audiences” for the field of classical music. Named in honor of the legendary contralto Marian Anderson, the Marian Anderson String Quartet was the first African-American ensemble in history to win a classical music competition when it won the Cleveland Quartet Competition in 1991. In recognition of its accomplishments, the Congress on Racial Equality awarded the Marian Anderson String Quartet the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture; in 2008, the Quartet received Chamber Music America’s coveted Guarneri String Quartet Award; and in 2010, the Quartet received a National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpiece award. The Quartet has presented residencies, concerts, and talks at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Brown University as the Heimark inaugural artists-in-residence at the Center for the Study for Slavery and Justice, TedxBlinnCollege in Bryan, Texas, the Quad City Arts in Iowa, Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, New York and at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

Eclectic Styles

Darol Anger

Freestyle fiddler, composer, producer and educator Darol Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous pathbreaking ensembles such as his Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, The Montreux Band, Psychograss, The Duo and other ensembles. Darol can be heard on the Sim City soundtracks and on NPR's "Car Talk" theme, along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice.  In addition to performing all over the world since 1977, he has recorded and produced scores of important recordings, is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow, and has received numerous composers’ residencies and grants. He has been a featured soloist on dozens of recordings and motion picture soundtracks. He is Professor Emeritus at the Berklee College of Music and runs an innovative online Fiddle School with www.ArtistWorks.com. His website is www.darolanger.com.