Elizabeth (Libby) Meyer moved from Chicago in October of 2000 to teach violin and viola for the Copper Country Suzuki Association. She received a B.M. in music theory and composition from Michigan State University and a M.M. and D.M.A. in composition from Northwestern University. She has taught violin, viola, theory and composition at the Merit Music Program, The Allegro Music Studio, and the Maine East String Academy. Additionally, she established a youth string orchestra in Park Ridge, Illinois, which she directed for two years.

Maggie Twining has lived most of her life the great Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She attended MTU for a year and a half (1995-1997) and studied math with the hopes of getting an education degree. While at MTU, she played in the KSO and directed a youth musical for area middle and high school students.

Music has always been a great love of hers so she transferred to NMU in the fall of 1997 to pursue a music education degree. While at NMU, she participated in as many musical opportunities as she possibly could, including playing in the Marquette Symphony Orchestra, playing with small ensembles, in the NMU Orchestra, in musicals (put on by the Theater Department), took up playing trombone and played in the Marching Band, and taught private lessons for cello and bass students. After graduating NMU with a BA in Music Education in April 2001, she moved to Escanaba to teach music in the public schools. She taught General Music, grades K-6, Beginning Strings and Orchestra, grades 5-8, and Beginning Band, grades 6-8. Although she enjoyed teaching music, she has taken the past year off to enjoy the benefits of being recently married.

Adrienne Shipley began teaching Suzuki piano and the Music and Movement class for the CCSA in the fall of 2005. She has been serving as the Music Director at Trinity Epsicopal Church in Houghton since 2002, where she is the organist and the director of both the choir and the handbell choir. Adrienne has been teaching traditional piano since 1996 and has been teaching Suzuki piano since completing her Suzuki training at the 2002 Suzuki Institute in Steven’s Point Wisconsin.

Adrienne began playing Suzuki violin at age 3. From age 8 to 18 she studied the piano and the violin at Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, New Jersey. Adrienne continued her study of music at Indiana University’s School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, from which she received a Bachelor of Music in Harpsichord Performance with an Honors Notation and a Music Honors Notation in 2001. During the course of her studies at Indiana University, Adrienne also studied abroad in Paris, France (in 1999) and participated in the Vancouver Early Music Festival (in 1997 and 1999). Adrienne moved to the Copper Country in 2001 and spends most of her free time playing with her four-year-old son, Shane.

Bette Premo, Ph.D., is a scientist and owner of the environmental consulting firm, White Water Associates, Inc. She loves music and with her family band, called White Water, performs over 70 concerts each year. White Water’s folk and traditional music has been recorded on eight albums. Bette sings and plays fiddle, mandolin and hammer dulcimer with the group. She also plays viola with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the Marquette Symphony Orchestra. She dances with the Northern Lights International Folk Dance Group.

Since 1985 Bette and her family have been organizers of The Second Sunday Folk Dances and School Performances program that serves to bring in top quality folk performers for an evening of entertainment at Fortune Lake Camp and daytime performances and workshops at local schools. The programs begin each year in October and are held once each month until April. Bette Premo and her family have developed and organized this event since inception, providing the opening act for each program, and supporting the program with promotion, grant writing, securing performers and school venues. Web address for this program is: www.white-water-associates.com/second.htm

Bette and her family are also involved with the Richard Davis Bass Conference a three-day conference for about 80 young bassists with clinics, master classes, solo performances and bass orchestra led by 12 nationally known bassists at University of Wisconsin, Madison. At this conference Bette Premo organizes and direct the “Siblings Orchestra” made up of the brothers and sisters of young bassists who come to the conference wanting something to do. With whatever instruments they bring the group works on music and performs for dinners and at the grand finale concert. To read more about Bette and White Water check out the website www.white-water-associates.com