Strings Abroad was created to offer a boutique experience in which music study is fused with cultural immersion in the world’s musical capitals. A team of leaders in various musical fields provides an educational and cultural experience that will remain with participants long after departing.
Strings Abroad Faculty
Dr. Emily Ondracek-Peterson, Executive Director
Dr. Emily is a preeminent figure in performance, education, and arts organizational leadership. She has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. As first violinist of the acclaimed Voxare String Quartet, she was awarded Chamber Music America’s prestigious ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and often appears on TV and in the world’s leading concert halls. As educator, she has given the keynote seminar at the College Music Society’s National Conference and is Director of String Studies and Chamber Music at MSU Denver. She’s also on faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University. With esteemed flutist and TV personality Eugenia Zukerman, Dr. Emily started Noted Endeavors, a video archive (published in association with Musical America) of interviews with leading musicians and administrators. Her students have been prize-winners in leading international competitions and have been accepted into schools such as Juilliard, Harvard, and Columbia. She is also Artistic Director of the Crested Butte Music Festival, a seven-week performing arts festival. She received her degrees from Juilliard and Teachers College, Columbia University.
emilyop.com
voxarequartet.com
notedendeavors.com
crestedbuttemusicfestival.org
Dr. Erik Christian Peterson, Director of Chamber Music and Music History
Dr. Erik Christian Peterson is the founding member and current violist of the acclaimed Voxare String Quartet. With Voxare, Dr. Peterson has performed at every major concert venue in New York, including as soloist at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic and been awarded Chamber Music America’s ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. As an orchestral musician, Dr. Peterson has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and Milwaukee and New World Symphonies. He is Co-Artistic Director of the Crested Butte Music Festival along with his wife, Emily Ondracek-Peterson.
As artist-in-residence, Dr. Peterson has held positions at institutions such as Dartmouth College, the University of Leeds (UK), the University of Virginia, and the International Computer Music Conference. As a musicologist and theorist, Dr. Peterson as lectured at Princeton University, the British Library, and New York University, among others.
Dr. Peterson also works in technology as a recording engineer, producer, and editor. As an accomplished photographer, Dr. Peterson’s works have appeared in The New York Times and other publications.
Dr. Peterson received his Bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
violaland.com
voxarequartet.com
crestedbuttemusicfestival.org
Julia Luyten, assistant chamber music coach
Julia Luyten, of Denver, Colorado, serves as assistant chamber music coach. Since beginning her violin studies at the age of 2, Julia has won numerous local and regional competitions and has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras. A recipient of merit scholarship support from the Young Musicians’ Foundation of Colorado, Julia is a frequent performer in the Denver area. Chamber music has long been Julia’s favorite pursuits, and she has studied and performed at the Lone Star Young Artists’ Program, the Encore Music Festival, and the Killington Music Festival in addition to chamber study and performance in Denver. Julia loves sharing her passion for music with younger players and looks forward to coaching at Strings Abroad.