BettyAnne Gottlieb is Associate Professor and Division Head of Music Education at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where she teaches courses focused on string pedagogy, music teacher preparation, and technology integration. Her research interests include democratic learning environments, healthy musicianship, and the nature and meaning of music for beginning instrumentalists. Dr. Gottlieb is a contributing author to Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra and The Music Teacher’s Guide to Recruitment and Retention. She has presented her research at regional, national, and international conferences, and has held leadership positions in the American String Teachers Association, the Ohio Music Education Association, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas. In 2014, she co-founded the Cincinnati New Horizons Orchestra (NHO) – a program that provides accessible beginning and intermediate string instruction for adults in a group setting. In addition to working with these inspiring musicians, Dr. Gottlieb serves regularly as a guest clinician and adjudicator for district, regional, and state string festivals and is an active orchestral musician and Suzuki teacher. Prior to her appointment at CCM, Dr. Gottlieb taught at the University of Arkansas, in the Solon City Schools, and has 30 years of experience in university-affiliated community music programs. Dr. Gottlieb holds degrees in music education from Case Western Reserve University, VanderCook College of Music, and Michigan State University.

Angela Harman has been teaching public school orchestra for over 20 years. She has substantially grown the orchestra program at her school, currently teaching over 400 students each day. Angela is the founder of www.orchestraclassroom.com, where she posts ideas and methods that she uses in her classroom. Her blog is well known in the string teacher sphere, and many find inspiration in her articles. Angela served as UMEA Orchestra VP from 2019-2021 and is currently serving on the NAfME National Orchestra Council. As a sought-out presenter, Angela frequently teaches at professional development conferences including national NAfME, ASTA, state MEA conferences and school districts. She has been featured in NAfME's 'Music in a Minuet' blog and 'Teaching Music' magazine. She has had articles published in the UMEA Journal. SmartMusic blog, and GradeCam blog. She is a contributing author of the book ‘The String Teacher’s Guide to Recruiting and Retention.

Dr. Charles Laux is the Director of Orchestras at Lassiter High School in Cobb County, Georgia, and serves as an Essential Elements clinician and contributor for Hal Leonard Corporation. He holds music education degrees from Ohio University, UNLV, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Laux has taught elementary through collegiate levels. He previously taught orchestras at Alpharetta High School and at Kennesaw State University. He also led award-winning orchestra programs in Nevada, Florida, and Ohio, with ensembles performing at the Midwest Clinic in 2006 and 2018. An artist-educator for D’Addario Orchestral and Eastman Strings, Dr. Laux has presented over 200 educational sessions nationwide and internationally in Canada and Ecuador. Dr. Laux served as Member at Large on ASTA’s national board and remains in high demand as a clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. He enjoys sharing resources for string educators at www.OrchestraTeacher.net.

Anne Parrett, MME, is a cellist and orchestra conductor with 30 years of experience as a performer and teacher. She holds her bachelor’s and master’s in music education from the Florida State University College of Music, where she studied cello and conducting with James Byo and Richard Greenwood. Anne taught orchestra for 15 years in the Florida public schools and strings at the nation’s oldest private music school, The Settlement School of Philadelphia. She has conducted the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia’s Reading Orchestra and the Florida All-State High School Honors Orchestra, and is often a guest clinician and conductor for state and county groups, and an adjudicator for the Florida Orchestra Association. She has worked under the batons of Robert Shaw and Harold Farberman and has performed with many orchestras and chamber groups, including the Brevard Symphony and the Imperial (Lakeland) Symphony. She’s spent 25 years as a Disney Company cellist and has performed with legends Ray Charles, Bernadette Peters, the Indigo Girls, Joel Grey, Marvin Hamlisch, David Foster, Roberta Peters, Renée Fleming, and Sting. She’s also performed and directed many musicals, helping launch the careers of Michael Scott and Joey Fatone. Anne lives in St.Petersburg, Florida, with her puppy and Hemingway cat.

Kyle Dickson has built a reputation as a dynamic musical force on and off the podium. He is Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Memphis Youth Symphony. From 2021-2023, Dickson was a Salonen Fellow with the San Francisco Symphony under the guidance of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well Assistant Conductor and Freeman Conducting Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta led by Maestra Mei-Ann Chen. Regarded for his charismatic, engaging performances, Dickson is a recipient of the 2021 Grant Park Music Festival Advocate for Arts Award, Concert Artists Guild's Richard S. Weinert Award, and the 2023 Weissberg Prize for his work connecting communities to classical music.

An eloquent communicator known for his thoughtful and revelatory interpretations; American conductor Jherrard Hardeman is a rising star on the symphonic stages. In April 2023, he was named Assistant Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic and Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Hardeman studied Orchestral Conducting under internationally renowned conductors David Robertson at The Juilliard School and Hugh Wolff at The New England Conservatory of Music. During the 2024/2025 season, Hardeman concurrently served as Guest Faculty at the Eastman School of Music during which he will conduct performances with both the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra and Eastman Philharmonia.