Gill Kuroiwa has played the cello for over 20 years. She recently moved to Colorado from Phoenix, Arizona where she was an active teacher and performer. She has performed throughout Arizona with The Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera, West Valley Symphony, and Tucson Repertory Orchestra, with whom she toured Japan for a series of concerts in 2015.

Gill is an active member of the Suzuki Association of Colorado the American String Teachers Association. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Denver and a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University. One of her favorite memories of her musical studies is studying abroad in London for a semester.

Gill's teaching style is nurturing and individualized to each student's needs. She stresses the Suzuki Triangle where the parent and teacher's role is to support the student in their learning and love of music.

Sandra Miller currently resides in Golden, CO where she has been teaching cello for over twenty years. Her teaching is informed by having experienced all three parts of the Suzuki triangle: teacher, parent, and student. She is currently certified to teach Suzuki Cello Books 1-8 and has trained with Dr. William Starr, Dr. Tanya Carey, Carey Cheney, Avi Friedlander, Blake Brasch, and Heather Hadley. She has also trained with Dr. Jeremy Dittus of the Dalcroze School of the Rockies. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a MM in cello performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she studied with Judith Glyde and members of the Takács String Quartet.

An active performer in the greater Denver area, she is a core member of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado which has been recognized by Early Music America as having “a national reputation as a first-rate period-instrument ensemble.” She enjoys performing on both baroque cello and viola da gamba with the BCOC and has collaborated with nationally and internationally acclaimed early music artists as well as members of the Broken Box Mime Theater, local hip-hop artists, poets and writers. She can be heard on BCOC recordings including Corelli’s Circle (2018) and Resounding (2020).

A Suzuki parent for over 14 years, Sandy understands the critical importance of community and parental support in nurturing the whole child through their musical journey.

Ms. Autumn Pepper has demonstrated a strong passion for teaching and performing. With over 10 years of teaching experience and nearly 20 years of playing experience, she hopes to use her qualifications to the betterment of others.

Ms. Autumn received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance (Magna Cum Laude) and Suzuki (Books 1-8) Certification from the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music under the tutelage of Mark Rush and Kathleen Spring. From the University of Colorado, Boulder, she earned her Master of Music in Violin Pedagogy and Performance where she studied with Margaret Berg, Harumi Rhodes, and Claude Sim. Throughout her training she has collaborated with world-class players such as the Takács Quartet, Brian Lewis, and Midori.

Well established in Colorado, she has taught for Boulder Suzuki Strings, Castle Rock Music, Denver Musical Arts, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, El Sistema Colorado, Lamont School of Music Summer Academy, CU Boulder Summer Academy, and Primavera Place. She has performed with the Boulder Philharmonic, Cheyenne Symphony, Denver Philharmonic, Englewood Arts, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Longmont Symphony, and Pueblo Symphony (not to mention OPIUO, Evanescence, and at Red Rocks!).

Ms. Autumn hopes to never stop honing her craft or developing the passion for life that music inspires, and she knows she can pass that wonderment and excitement on to her students. She is happily welcoming new students into her studio from age levels four-and-a-half through adulthood on both violin and viola. Ms. Autumn is especially passionate about honing the craft of intermediate and advanced students.

Zachary Ragent is a violinist based in Denver, CO. Originally from San Mateo, CA, Zach now maintains an active and varied career as a performer and educator. He is currently a member of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Britt Festival Orchestra (OR), and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra (WI), and was formerly a member of the New World Symphony.

While embracing his role as a performer, Zach is also a dedicated teacher and a firm believer that music should serve and strengthen the community around it. He has completed Suzuki training with both Andrea Yun and Mark Mutter, and has taught for el Sistema based programs in both California and Michigan. Zach loves working with students of all ages and abilities, and hopes to guide them to be curious and adventurous on their journey with the instrument.

Zach holds both a Master’s and a Specialist’s degree in violin performance from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s in violin performance from the University of California, Santa Cruz. When not playing the violin, Zach enjoys running, cooking, reading, and most anything related to the outdoors.

A native of Golden, Colorado, Crystal Schneckenburger is a classically trained violinist. She has a great love of orchestral music. She loves historical playing and has experimented with period instruments. She enjoys chamber music and has played with numerous types of ensembles. This includes string quartets, violin quartets, string trios, piano trios and violin piano duos. In addition, she has performed and premiered new music at the Pendulum New Music concert series, a concert series designed for up-and-coming composers. After seeing her cousin, a professional fiddler perform in New England, Crystal begged her parents for a violin and began playing at age seven.

A love of kids has led her to teach private music lessons to students of various ages and Crystal has been teaching violin since the age of sixteen. She has taught students from the age of three through adult. She has completed Suzuki Training in Levels 1-4. In addition to Colorado, Crystal has performed in Chicago as well as in Italy with the Florentia Consort Program. She often plays with the Cheyenne Symphony, the Boulder Symphony and the Colorado Korean Chorus.

She received her Master of Music from DePaul University where she studied with Ann Setzer. For her Bachelor of Music at University of Colorado at Boulder, she studied with Harumi Rhodes and Lina Bahn. Previous teachers include Allegra Wermuth, Robyn Sosa and Laura Barnette. In addition to playing the violin, Crystal enjoys reading, knitting, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

Mr. Evan coaches our students and accompanies them for recitals. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Evan De Long has been playing the violin since the age of eight, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Jorja Fleezanis and Grigory Kalinovsky. He recently finished his masters degree at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, where he studied with Linda Wang and was a Graduate Teaching Assistant. After graduating, Evan has continued living in Colorado and is currently based in Denver.

Evan has performed in a variety of solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. As an orchestral musician in the Denver area, Evan was assistant principal 1st violin with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra from 2019-2022, and currently holds section violin positions with the Fort Collins Symphony and the Boulder Philharmonic. Most recently, Evan won the principal 2nd violin position with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. He also plays as a substitute regularly with the Colorado Symphony, Opera Colorado, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. As chamber musician, Evan has been a part of a variety of ensembles, and in 2019, he completed a contract with Lincoln Center Stage and Holland America Line, performing nightly chamber music concerts on a cruise ship in Northern Europe. Evan is also an accomplished pianist, having studied the piano from an early age with Edward Francis, and also taking secondary lessons during college. He currently works as a collaborative pianist with students at the University of Denver, as well as pre-college students around the Denver metro area. Evan is also passionate about teaching, and maintains a large private studio of both violin and piano students.