Suzuki Summer Institute

Guest Faculty

Fay Swadley Adams is an associate professor of piano emerita at the University of Tennessee and is director of the Suzuki Piano School of Knoxville. She is a registered Suzuki piano teacher trainer and served on the Suzuki piano review committee. In 1996, she was named the Tennessee Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association and has received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Tennessee Governor’s School. She is a former member of the SAA board of directors and past-president of the Tennessee Music Teachers Association.

Sara Stephens Kotrba earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.  She has studied with Doris Harrel, Betty Mallard, David Renner, Kiyoshi Tamagawa, Sophia Gilmson and Amanda Vick Lethco. She has been teaching Suzuki Piano since 1990.  She is especially dedicated to her Suzuki families, helping nurture their love of music through creative practice tools and musical ideas. She is a past president of the Twin Cities Suzuki Piano Teacher’s Guild.  She has taught at workshops around the country, including the Heart of Texas Suzuki Institute, the Houston Suzuki Piano Institute and the Colorado Suzuki Institute.  She has twice presented at the National Suzuki Conference where her students were also invited to perform in master classes.

David Madsen founded what is now the Hartt Suzuki Guitar Program in ‘90. He is the Chair of the Guitar and Harp Dept. of the Community Division at the Hartt School of Music. He became a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas in 2000, and has conducted training courses throughout North America and in Peru and Argentina. Mr. is a member of the SAA Guitar Committee. David teaches the Suzuki Pedagogy courses for the first long term training program in the country for Suzuki guitar at the University of Hartford.

Wynn-Anne Rossi is an acclaimed American composer with vibrant educational outreach.  She has a respect for all genres of music, and her diversity of experience and love of discovery reflect in her expressions as a composer and presenter.  With over 150 publications, her compositions have been widely distributed online and in music stores. Wynn-Anne has a specialty for bringing the art of composition to young musicians. Her two comprehensive series which encourage young pianists to compose are Music by Me (FJH Music) and Creative Composition Toolbox (Alfred Music).  Wednesdays with Wynn-Anne, available on YouTube, is a 2-season video series inspiring creative self-expression.  For more information, visit www.rossi-music.com.

Kavyesh Kaviraj is a pianist, composer and arranger from India. Kavyesh has found acclaim in the US since his move to Minneapolis in 2016. In 2017, He graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Studies. In 2020, Kavyesh graduated with a Master of Music degree, receiving a full tuition grant to pursue a Masters’ degree at Berklee College’s Global Jazz Institute. At the Global Jazz Institute he was under the eminent tutelage of several jazz masters including Danilo Perez, Kenny Werner, JoAnne Brackeen among many others. Kavyesh is known for his versatility and experience working in various different genres although primarily a jazz pianist. Kavyesh is a member of the jazz fusion quintet Mississippi, soon to be releasing an album in 2021.  His many performances include national and local acts such as David Sanchez, Justin Robinson (Roy Hargrove), Roosevelt Collier, Jay Young and the Lyric Factory, Yolande Bruce, Debbie Duncan, Bruce Henry, Nooky Jones, the Kevin Washington Quintet, Jamecia Bennett, Desdamona, Toki Wright among several others. Kavyesh is also a passionate music educator, with experience as a private instructor and experience as an educator at the university level, music academies and public schools alike, and enjoys leading jazz workshops and teaching music classes for children and youth. He is currently at faculty at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis College and Walker | West Music Academy. His compositions and arrangements for various ensembles and configurations have been featured on radio, TV and collaborative exhibitions.