Dr. Kristin Herkstroeter began her violin studies in her public school music program in the Rochester, NY area and quickly fell in love with her instrument. She earned a BME from Baldwin-Wallace University, a MM in Violin Performance from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. in Music Education from Florida State University. Her teachers include David Brickman, Eliot Chapo, Gary Kosloski and Kurt Sassmannshaus. She has performed with the Syracuse Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and Tallahassee Symphony and performs locally with the Channel Island Chamber Orchestra.   

Since 2001, Herkstroeter has served as Music Department Chair and Strings teacher at Viewpoint School in Calabasas. She founded the Suzuki strings program and was instrumental in the development and growth of the Middle and Upper School Orchestras. Her ensembles consistently receive superior ratings and first place awards at adjudicated festivals and competitions. Per invitation, in 2019 the Viewpoint Upper School Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall. Before moving to California, Herkstroeter taught strings in the Penfield Central School District in upstate New York. She has maintained a private violin/viola studio for over 30 years. 

Outside of her professional endeavors, Herkstroeter is the proud mother of two college aged sons. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the scenic mountains surrounding Los Angeles.

Dr. Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen is a GRAMMY-nominated music educator, conductor, and Assistant Professor of Music Education at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she teaches courses in music education, string pedagogy, and conducting, and supervises student teaching. She is a Fulbright Scholar, having completed work in the Philippines examining music, culture, and education. She holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Master of Music Education from The Hartt School of Music, and dual Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Violin Performance from Chapman University. She is also Music Director of Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings, which was named Grand Champion at the 2026 National Orchestra Festival. Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen’s research and publications, featured in Research Studies in Music Education and Teaching Music, explore inclusive teaching practices, string pedagogy, school belonging, and culturally responsive music education. Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen has received multiple research, service, and teaching awards and collaborates extensively with school districts as a curriculum and instructional consultant. Prior to her appointment at UCLA, she taught orchestra in public schools for 16 years, where her innovative and student-centered approaches to teaching continue to influence her university and community work today. Guided by a vision of inclusive excellence, Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen continues to lead initiatives that reimagine how music education can connect people, cultures, and communities through shared creative practice.

President Elect Laurie Niles is the founder and editor of Violinist.com, which has served the violin and classical music community on the Internet since 1996. A violinist and a former newspaper reporter, Laurie lives in Pasadena, where she also maintains a private violin studio and free-lances in the Los Angeles area. In addition to her Violinist.com blog, she also has written articles for The Strad magazine, Strings magazine, Symphony magazine and the American Suzuki Journal and published two books, Violinist.com Interviews Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from Indiana University. She has completed SAA training courses in all 10 Suzuki books and was a recipient of the CalASTA Los Angeles Distinguished Service Award in 2017.

Elizabeth Blake is a Pasadena native who began her violin studies at the age of three. She earned a Bachelor of Music Performance in violin from Northwestern University in 1989 and holds a Master’s degree in Education. As a performer she has played as Assistant Principal Second Violin in the Knoxville Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and with the Glendale, Riverside, San Bernardino and New West Symphonies, the California Philharmonic, and the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, where she held the Principal Second Violin position for many years. In 2001, Ms. Blake started a new Orchestra program at Los Cerritos Middle School in Conejo Valley, where she has continued to teach for the past 25 years. In 2007, she joined the Instrumental Music Department at Westlake High School as Director of Orchestras. Since then, Ms. Blake has led both schools in performances throughout Southern California, including as special guests of the Ventura County Board of Education and the California State PTSA Convention, and in partnerships with the Pepperdine and CSUN Symphony Orchestras. Between the two programs, her ensembles have participated in almost 90 SCSBOA festival appearances, earning over 80 Unanimous Superior ratings. Ms. Blake also directs the Youth Symphony Orchestra for the CSUN Youth Orchestras. Ms. Blake shares her home with two small parrots, and in her spare time, enjoys travel, reading, the beach, and chocolate.  

Wendy Velasco is an active freelance cellist in the Los Angeles area.  She completed her undergraduate education with a Bachelor of Music, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Southern California.  Previous instructors include: Eleonore Schoenfeld, from USC; Bernard Greenhouse, of the famed Beaux Arts Trio; Harvey Shapiro, from the Juilliard school; and Vladimir Orloff, from the University of Toronto.  Ms. Velasco is the Assistant Principal cellist with the New West Symphony which performs in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, and Santa Monica. She has performed for movies and television shows and with such area ensembles as: the Pacific Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale,  Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Mozart Camarata.   For many years, she was the personnel manager for the Riverside County Philharmonic. She has performed with such artists as  Pinchas Zuckerman,  Anne Akiko Meyers, Sarah Chang, Philippe Quint, Lara St. John, Anton Kuerti, Angela Cheng, Christoper O’Riley, Arnaldo Cohen, Vassily Primakov, Jens Lindemann, Jon Nakamatsu, Yakov Kasman, Gil Shaham, The 5 Browns, Andre Bocelli, Van Cliburn, Cho-Liang (Jimmy) Lin, Robert Thies, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Jiracek, Corey Cerovsek,  Andrew von Oeyen, and many others.

Wendy Velasco currently teaches at the music studio “Iced Pita Music Lessons”.  Ms. Velasco has performed many educational performances for 3rd graders, introducing them to the string family and classical music.     As well she has served on two “Arts for All” committees which seek to improve access to arts education for public school students.  She is an active member of the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA). 

Celine Gietzen received a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1997.  She was awarded a Master of Music degree from UCLA with a full scholarship in 2009.  One of her most influential teachers has been Dr. Richard Naill of the Colburn School. Mrs. Gietzen wrote a series of 48 music theory workbooks for violin, viola, cello, and bass entitled Core Music Theory for String Players.  She teaches privately, is a faculty member of the Junior Chamber Music program, is an active adjudicator, and performs professionally.