Biographies
Mimi's colleagues at StringPedagogy.com
For Mimi's biography, see "A Letter from Mimi".
Hideki Isoda, creator of StringPedagogy.com, is an Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker, composer, and computer programmer. He studied at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Berklee College of Music and earned a PhD in Composition and Music Technology from The University of Sydney. Dr. Isoda composed soundtracks for NHK Japan, PBS America, Sony Music, Panasonic, and special events such as the Atlanta Olympics. As a Tonmeister, Dr. Isoda recorded and produced countless albums of renowned musicians, including Grammy winners. His passion and vast knowledge in computer science contributed to innovations such as the development of audio-streaming technology in the mid-90s and then the creation of StringPedagogy.com in 2001. He previously served as Associate Dean of Technology and Distance Learning at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney (2007-2013), and as Professor of Music and Chair of the Interdisciplinary Program for Creative Contents and Technology at Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul for seven years. In 2020, Dr. Isoda joined the faculty of Texas Tech University School of Music. He is an active researcher in Music Informatics developing a range of new electronic musical instruments and software utilizing AI technologies. Hideki lives in Lubbock with his wife, Hyejin, daughter, and son.
Peggy Wheeler, editor and co-author of Mimi Zweig StringPedagogy, is a violist, music educator and music technology specialist. She has recently retired from more than thirty years of string teaching. She has a BA in music from Carleton College, a MM in viola from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a DMA in viola from the University of Illinois. Her dissertation, The String Chamber Style and the String Quintet Medium in the Nineteenth Century, discusses the history of chamber style and the string quintet in the Classic and Romantic periods. Peggy also studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts with Sally Peck while teaching strings in the Winston-Salem Schools. She has also taught at Allegheny College, Calvin College and SUNY-Potsdam as well as in the public schools of North Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, and Utah. Peggy has had extensive conducting experience with student orchestras. She has worked with students in community music programs, public school groups from fifth grade through high school, youth orchestras, and college orchestras. Truly Dr. Wheeler has conducted repertoire from grade one pieces through standard orchestral repertoire and with players aged six to seventy-six. For the past twenty years, string pedagogy has been her primary research area, working on integrating and correlating studio and school pedagogy. Following her collaboration with Mimi, she co-authored a string technique book for school orchestra programs, Superior Strings in Sixteen Weeks with Carrie Lane Gruselle. Peggy has also been a member of the Iowa Comprehensive Musicianship Project Team. She has regularly presented workshops on string pedagogy and CMP at state and national conferences.
Brenda Brenner is professor of music in music education and director of the Jacobs Academy at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She specializes in string music education, teaching applied violin and courses in violin and string pedagogy. Brenner earned a B.M. and a B.M.E. from Wichita State University and an M.M. and a D.M.A. in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to her appointment to the Jacobs Music Education Department, she serves as co-director of the IU String Academy, a position she has held since 1993. Her String Academy students have been featured in concerts in major venues throughout the United States and have presented tours throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. As director of the Fairview Project—a program in which every first and second grader in an underserved school is taught violin as part of the curriculum—Brenner is researching the cognitive, academic, and social outcomes of early instrumental music instruction. An active performer of chamber music throughout the United States, she partners with pianist Kenneth Huber and her husband, organist Christopher Young. She also teaches and conducts at the IU Summer String Academy and is assistant director of the IU Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists. Additionally, she is an active international clinician, with recent appearances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, American String Teachers Association National Conferences, and Music Educators Conferences throughout the United States. She is president of the American String Teachers Association.
Susan Moses is Co-Director of the String Academy and has been leading the cello department of the Indiana University String Academy since 1996. Ms. Moses earned her degrees with the highest honors at Indiana and Yale Universities before completing her studies at the Jascha Heifetz-Gregor Piatigorsky Master Classes at the University of Southern California. She was awarded a Ford Foundation Prize and has performed throughout the world in recital, with orchestra and as the solo violoncellist of the celebrated I SOLISTI VENETI. She has taught for Boston University and the Conservatoires Regionales de France and founded the Chicago String Trio, which was awarded a special Prize by the University of Milan for outstanding contributions in chamber music. In addition, she has been on the Oberlin College faculty. She records for ERATO and CONCERTO and was nominated for a Grand Prix du Disque. Ms. Moses was recognized by the University of Padua for her outstanding research on the school of Giuseppe Tartini in the 1700s. She also created a special music program for Trinity College's Italian Elderhostel, where she is the principal lecturer and performer. Her students are performing and teaching throughout the world. In January 2015, Susan Moses was awarded the Outstanding String Teacher of the Year Award by the Indiana American String Teachers Association.