Michelle Wenzel

BIO

Michelle Wenzel studied Suzuki violin with Celestine Fitzgerald of the Barcel Suzuki String Academy in Wauwatosa, WI for 14 years.  During that time, she was a frequent attendee of the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, where she studied with Master Teachers such as Terry Durbin, Carol Dallinger, Mark Bjork and Steve Bjella. Michelle graduated Magna Cum Laude with a violin performance degree from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington D. C. Her primary teachers were Jody Gatwood and Emil Chudnovsky. She performed in the Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Searle. She has completed Suzuki Teacher Training for books 1-5 with Mark Mutter, Nancy Lokken and Beth Titterington during her summers at ASI.

As a graduate student at UWSP, Michelle began teaching ASC students as a part of her long-term Suzuki Teacher Training. After completing her Masters degree at UWSP with Steve Bjella and Pat D’Ercole, Michelle now joins the ASC faculty as a violinist. She continues to enjoy performing as a member of the CWSO. Teaching has brought her both her biggest challenges and her greatest rewards, and she looks forward to seeing her students each week! 

Research Interests

• Student learning styles
• Note reading preparation from a young age (ear training first)
• Early Childhood music education

Campus Involvement

• Encouraging attendance at UWSP’s performances
• Allowing Music Education students to observe lessons
• Performing for any events when needed

Community Involvement

• Taking Suzuki students to perform at places such as the Farmers’ Market and Assisted Living Facilities

Professional Memberships

• Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA)
• Wisconsin Music Teachers’ Association (WMTA)
• Suzuki Association of Wisconsin (SAW)

Presentations/Publications

• Graduate Thesis – “Transitioning from Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) to Private Lessons”

Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration. And all this through the work of your hands…Remember that you are the custodians of beauty in the world.”

Pope benedict xvi, from his address to artists