Cecilia Cooper began playing violin at the age of four as a Suzuki kid in Ann Arbor, MI. She received her Master in Music in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT, and her undergraduate performance degree from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in Berea, OH. She has studied with Katie Lansdale, Julian Ross, and Kevin Horne.

Cecilia has experience playing all kinds of genres, including musical theater, fiddle, contemporary, and traditional classical styles. During her time in Connecticut, she was a regular substitute player with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, and the New Britain Symphony Orchestra. She has additional experience as a music librarian for the Hartford Symphony, the Hartt Symphony Orchestra, and the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra.

After taking a string pedagogy class in college, Cecilia decided to return to her Suzuki roots and pursue her Suzuki training. She completed Book 1 training with Mark Mutter and went on to pursue long-term training at the Hartt School, completing training in books 1 through 8 with Teri Einfeldt. She was also the graduate assistant for Teri Einfeldt and the Hartt Suzuki program, where she organized Hartt’s spring workshop and assisted with scheduling and administrative work. She received additional Suzuki mentorship from Christie Felsing and Donna Ngai. Additionally, while at Hartt, she organized an outreach initiative where Hartt violin students played for over 1,000 students in public schools throughout the greater Hartford area. She is passionate about musical access and equity.

Cecilia is so excited to return to the Midwest and explore a new area! When not teaching or performing, she loves spending time with her cat, Tilly, taking walks and doing yoga, doing craft projects and crossword puzzles, and spending time with her friends and family.