SUPERIOR STRING ALLIANCE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Strings Club Director
Adam Hall was born in Seattle, Washington where he began his cello studies at the age of four. He currently attends the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow where he is studying with Alison Wells. Until his departure from DePaul, Adam was a founding member of the Pavo String Quartet which was the quartet-in-residence at the Upper Peninsula Chamber Music Festival this past winter.
His primary teachers include Peter Williams, Rajan Krisnaswami, and Stephen Balderston. This will be Adam's second year at SSA Summer Music Camp.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
April just finished her third year studying Music Therapy at Eastern Michigan University, with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She grew up in Manistique, Michigan, started taking private violin lessons when she was 13, and eventually switched over to viola as her principal instrument before beginning university. She has played viola with the EMU Symphony Orchestra for three years, and has also taken beginner/intermediate lessons for piano, guitar, and cello. April's favorite camp hobbies include: making friendship bracelets, the 60's party song, and being outrun by campers during capture the flag.
Says April: "SSA is one of my favorite things I do all summer, and I absolutely love working with the rest of the staff, and spending time with all of our amazing campers. My favorite thing about working at SSA is the camper talent show; I love all of the goofy talents and the original songs/skits that our camp community comes up with."
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Music Director
This will be Dani's 8th summer as the Music Director of the SSA Summer Music Camp. In addition to having the privilege of waving a conductor's baton at a room full of talented string kids clad in tie-dye T-shirts, Danielle is now the Executive Director of Superior String Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Jeanette is from Escanaba, MI and began playing the double bass in 5th grade. Having been coming to camp first as a camper and later on as a staff member, Jeanette is very excited to be back yet again for another awesome summer at SSA!
Almost done with her studies at Lawrence University, Jeanette will be graduating in 2019 with a degree in Music Performance the double bass. She often performs with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, the LU Jazz Band, Fiddlers of Lawrence University, and the Marquette Symphony Orchestra.
Says Jeanette: "Camp is such a special place to me. I just love coming back every year and sharing that with all the campers and staff, helping create the tightly knit camp culture and community."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Lauren Pulcipher is an Ann Arbor-based performer and teacher. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Music from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin and two Masters Degrees from the University of Michigan in Violin Performance and Chamber Music. Lauren believes strongly in the power of collaboration between players in all forms in order to teach problem solving skills, encourage cooperation and build new relationships, things that can be carried through all of life. As a teacher she has also been a part of the Lawrence University String Project, which taught groups of children violin after school, and the Ann Arbor based El Sistema inspired program at Mitchell Elementary. As a performer, Lauren has been a part of the Khemia ensemble, a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to diversifying and sharing the music of living composers as well as a faculty performer for Superior String Alliance, performing music all through Marquette and for students during the camp sessions.
Piersan first came to SSA as a camper and was invited back to work as a junior counselor after her first year of college. That summer, she received the biggest promotion in the history of SSA, when it was revealed that her certification as a Wilderness First Responder fulfilled the requirements of a camp nurse. Since then, she continues to return to SSA each summer as a full counselor and camp nurse, now utilizing her Emergency Medical Technician licensure. Summer after summer, she is ecstatic to welcome the returning campers after a year of being away and overjoyed to make acquaintance with the newcomers. SSA, for so many reasons, has always been one of the highlights of her summer.
Outside of camp, Piersan attends Michigan Technological University working towards a bachelors in Biological Sciences with a biochemistry focus and an International French minor. Unlike most SSA staff, she does not study music, but continues to allow playing the violin to play a major role in her life. She plays with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra as well as the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and always loves a random jam session with roommates and friends at college. She loves mountain biking and triathlon, along with skiing and being outdoors in every season. Whilst at MTU, she volunteers as an EMT with Michigan Tech Emergency Medical Services.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Teri recently graduated from Lawrence University in 2014, receiving a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Besides keeping a busy schedule as a performer and teacher, Teri's academic area of focus is the psychological and sociological impact music plays in media, film, and society. Teri has been the Assistant Principal Violist of the Fox Valley Symphony for the past five years and is very involved in the FVS Partners in Education program, which sets out to demonstrate musical concepts to elementary school children through the use of a traveling string quartet. Teri is also the co-founder of the Fox Valley Symphony's Operation Overture - a program that aims to place small ensembles from the symphony in unexpected venues (Boys and Girls Club, Cranky Pats Bar, etc).
Having received her Suzuki Teacher Certification from the Stevens Point American Suzuki Institute, Teri has held positions as Violin/Viola Instructor at the White House of Music in Brookfield, WI and for the Neenah Joint School District after-school Suzuki program in Neenah, WI. For fun, Teri likes to do puzzles and loves to play with her Labrador, Jax and Great Dane, Jackpot.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- President of the Board of Directors