Elizabeth Huffman

Elizabeth Huffman is the Assistant Director of the Oak Park String Academy, a Suzuki Program in Oak Park, Illinois. An experienced private instructor, Elizabeth has been working with students for over 15 years, blending traditional string pedagogy with the philosophy of Suzuki Talent Education. Past positions include violin instructor at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, IL and violin instructor at Beachwood Middle School in Beachwood, OH. Prior to joining the faculty at OPSA, Elizabeth taught at the Allegro Music Center in Park Ridge, IL building and maintaining their first violin program. During the spring and summer of 2011, Elizabeth taught at the Western Springs School of Talent Education as a visiting private instructor.

Elizabeth has received Suzuki training with some of the most established pedagogues and Suzuki Teacher Trainer’s in the world, including: Nancy Lokken, Ed Kreitman, Doris Preucil, Carol Dallinger and Tom Wermuth.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Elizabeth began studying violin in a Suzuki program at the age of 6. She is grateful for the solid foundation she received as a student of Mary Ellen Meyer. She went on to complete her Bachelor’s in Violin Performance Cum Laude from Western Michigan University, and a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Elizabeth’s principal teachers include Jerome Franke, Renata Artman Knific, Linda Cerone, Stephen Rose, and William Preucil Jr.

Elizabeth is an active professional musician, and has performed with multiple artists and orchestras across the country. She has shared the stage with many prestigious artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Mark O’Conner, Barbra Streisand, Kurt Masur, James Levine, and Seiji Ozawa. Elizabeth has had the opportunity to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, while attending some of the nation’s top music festivals including: Tanglewood Music Center, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Round Top Music Festival, Encore School for Strings, The Henry Mancini Institute and the Colorado College Music Institute.

In the past, Elizabeth has performed with the New World Symphony, the Lake Forest Symphony, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the Canton Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, the West Shore Symphony Orchestra (Concertmaster 2001-2002), and the Kalamazoo Symphony. Elizabeth was a member of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra from 2009-2012 and performed in the Goodman Theater’s revival of Brigadoon in 2014. Recent performances include Chicago Opera Theater and Concertmaster of the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra.

Elizabeth currently performs as Acting Concertmaster of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, a group in which she holds the title of Assistant Concertmaster, in addition to serving as the personnel manager. She also performs as a member of the violin section of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra.