Emiliano Carrera-Ybanez, Steven Pruss, and Piano Trio (Steven Pruss, violin; Trevor Petersen, cello; Marissa Mathia, piano; coach Dr. Olga Smola), perform beautifully for guest artist Dr. Brenda Brenner, as part of the Spring 2021 String Area Guest Artist Series. 

Dr. Brenner is Eugene O’Brien Bicentennial Executive Associate Dean (Interim) and associate professor of music in music education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She specializes in string music education, teaching applied violin and courses in violin and string pedagogy.

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. 

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 past-president of the American String Teachers Association.