Mimi Zweig is professor of music in violin at the IU Jacobs School of Music and director of its String Academy. American Public Television released the Emmy-nominated documentary Circling Around—The Violin Virtuosi, featuring String Academy students, in spring 2006.

Brenda Brenner is Eugene O’Brien Bicentennial Executive Associate Dean (Interim) and associate professor of music in music education at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She recently completed her tenure as president of the American String Teachers Association.

Christina Hightower earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Utah, where she studied with Leonard Braus, served as concertmaster of the University Philharmonic, and was a member of the Honors Quartet. She earned a Master of Music degree from Jacobs as a student of Mimi Zweig.

Gwen Chan earned a Master of Music from the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Mimi Zweig, and a bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music. She has extensive experience as a teacher at both the college and pre-college levels, and serves as violin and viola faculty at Anderson University.

Danielle Girard began graduate studies in Music Education at the Jacobs School of Music in 2022. She previously completed Master of Music Performance (violin) and a Bachelor of Music Performance (violin) degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario, respectively. For several years, she held a violin teaching position at Sistema New Brunswick, a non-profit organization in New Brunswick, Canada.

Kiyoun Jang is pursuing his master’s degree in violin performance at Indiana University where he is a student of Mimi Zweig. He previously taught pre-college students at various art and music institutes and youth orchestras before joining the IU String Academy.

Michael Klinberg is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music performance, studying violin with Mimi Zweig. An academy alumnus, he has been teaching students at the String Academy for three years, studying pedagogy under Mimi Zweig and Brenda Brenner.

Sarah Le Van is pursuing a master’s in violin performance at IU and is studying with Mimi Zweig. She has taught for California Music Lessons and taught at the Aspen Music Festival’s P.A.L.S. program. She graduated from Princeton and has a Performer Diploma from the Jacobs School.

Emily Nehus studied violin and music education at the IU Jacobs School of Music with Brenda Brenner, Mimi Zweig, and Ik-Hwan Bae, and baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. In addition to 20 years of teaching for the String Academy, she created the Bloomington Project School’s grant-winning strings program, where she taught for seven years. 

Helen Shively Ford was previously on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, where she also served as String Department chair and chamber music coordinator. She was a member of the Minneapolis-based Sartory String Quartet and performed with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble, and other regional ensembles.

Eunice Kim is pursuing her doctorate at Indiana University where she studies with Eric Kim. Before moving to Indiana, Eunice received her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory. She was a teaching artist for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Josiah Quincy Orchestra program, and the Boston String Academy.