Martha Bruce Ellerman
Violin, Viola, Chamber
Martha grew up in Vermont and started playing the violin at age 6. She was a member of Vermont Suzuki Violins all throughout her childhood, as well as the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Martha graduated with a Masters of Music in violin performance and pedagogy from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of Maryland.
Martha is a teacher with Vermont Suzuki Violins, and maintains a very fun and busy teaching schedule in Hinesburg, Vermont. She and her husband welcomed their daughter Clara in 2016 and son Lee in 2019, and are kept quite busy by them, their mischievous corgi, and their cat.
Rachel Keyser
Violin, Viola, Chamber
Rachel Keyser, a Suzuki trained violinist from Vermont, started playing at the age of six. She began private and group lessons with Pam Reit, and later studied under Ira Morris and Evelyn Read. Rachel participated regularly in Vermont ensembles, and played with the Vermont Youth Orchestra for 3 years. Rachel attended Idyllwild Arts Academy in California to study violin her junior year of high school.
Rachel attended the University of Vermont for 2 years while beginning her teaching at the Richmond Elementary School with the Green Mountain Strings program. She was then accepted at Denver University where she completed her Suzuki Book 1-8 Teaching Certificate while studying under James Maurer, founder of the Colorado Suzuki Organization. Rachel began teaching violin at a studio in Denver while completing her course work. She is an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has attended many lectures and workshops about the art of teaching violin, including the Suzuki Institute for teachers at Indiana University. In 2016 she became director of the Burlington After-School String Program. She teaches group lessons at Edmunds Elementary and with Vermont Suzuki Violins weekly and often played with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra.
Rachel is currently teaching in the Burlington area. She enjoys working with both young children and adults. Rachel’s other interests include photography, theater, pure barre, and the outdoors. . Rachel has just completed Suzuki Early Childhood Education Level 1 and is excited to begin working with 0-3 year olds. Rachel is married to Bill and has a 7-year-old daughter named Sienna.
Ira Morris
Adanced Chamber Music
Ira Morris graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1985. He has been playing the violin since he was 8 years old. He studied with Lilo Kantorowicz Glick, Matthew Raimondi and Benjamin Hudson, and attended numerous workshops with Kato Havas. He has been concertmaster of Columbia University Orchestra, Barnard-Columbia Philharmonia, Burlington Chamber Orchestra and the American Ballet East/Maine State Ballet Orchestra in Portland, Maine. He founded and was concertmaster of the Green Mountain Chamber Orchestra in Burlington, Vermont from 1995 to 1996. Since 1998, Ira has been a member of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, Massachussetts. He has also been known to help the Vermont Symphony on violin or on viola. He is an avid chamber musician; he was a long-time member of the Queneska String Quartet, and is now one of the founding members of the Jennings Quartet. Ira has been teaching and coaching advanced chamber music students through Vermont Suzuki Violins (VSV) since 1996. He has coached chamber music and orchestra sectionals for the Vermont Youth Orchestra, Dartmouth College, and Springfield (MA)Youth Orchestra.
Anne Brown
Cello
Anne Brown
Pam Reit
Violin, Viola, Chamber Music, Founder & Director
Pam Reit grew up in Vermont. She received her Bachelor of Music from Peabody Conservatory in 1984 and her Masters of Music from Rice University in 1987. She began her Suzuki studio in Houston in 1986 and trained with Paul Landefeld, Mihoko Hirata, Lorraine Fink, Doris Preucil, Stevie Sandven and extensively with Ronda Cole. Pam also took workshops with Kato Havas and deeply incorporates Kato’s joy and ease into her teaching.
Pam founded HASSA (Houston Area Suzuki Strings Association) in 1990 and had the privilege of co-directing workshops, observing countless lessons, teaching for, taking Suzuki Book 1A with and being greatly influenced by Ms.Judy Offman in Houston. Also in Houston, Pam had the opportunity to study the Alexander Technique with Joanie Mercer.
Pam has taught at Suzuki Institutes in Fort Worth TX, Hartford CT, Washington DC, Maine, and has been on the faculty of the Green Mountain Suzuki Institute in Vermont since 2004. She has been the GMSI Institute Director since 2015.
Pam has attended every National Suzuki Conference (except two) since she began attending in 1990 in San Francisco (where she met Dr. Suzuki). In 2012, Pam was awarded the Suzuki Association of the Americas Creating Community Award entitled “The Heart and Soul of Green Mountain Suzuki.”
Pam has directed and taught at countless workshops around America, written an article for the SAA journal (“International Musical Co-operation”) and was a presenter for the 2013 SAA Parents as Partners Online.
She maintains a private studio at home in Hinesburg, VT. She was the Principal Second Violinist of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra from 2007 to 2019, and she is the Founder and Director of Vermont Suzuki Violins, Inc, a non-profit community group class and chamber music program, which (for 30 years!) has been committed to nurturing and inspiring young musicians to play, perform and appreciate classical music.
She also offers Suzuki Teacher Class, mentoring and updating new and current Suzuki teachers. Pam plays the violin and the viola professionally and teaches her advanced students to play both instruments.
Pam has two daughters, Abby who is a voice-over artist and podcaster (check her out at abbyrosemorris.com) and Layla who is a cellist at Oberlin Conservatory. Pam is married to Ira Morris, who is an amazing violinist, violist, chamber coach, former lawyer, skier, cook, father and husband. They still have an ancient cat named Charlotte.