Located in Portland, OR, Emma Downing has been playing cello since 2001 and has been involved with the music scene wherever she is for nearly all her life. After studying with Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (Madison, WI) for six years, Emma went on to teach WYSO chamber groups for two years. Emma has been teaching independently since the fall of 2009 and has continued developing her studio since completing her BM in Cello Performance at UW Madison under the instruction of Uri Vardi in December of 2014. Emma is also trained in the Suzuki method through Cello Book 4 under the instruction of Tanya Carey (ECC- Book 3) and Anne Grabe (Book 4). She has had the opportunities to study with accomplished cellists such as Dr. Lawrence Leviton, Amy Frost, and Marta Simidtchieva. Emma was also chosen to participate in Master Classes instructed by Matt Haimovitz and Mark Kosower. As a teacher, Emma believes in prioritizing bodily and mental awareness during musical study. Through music, she strives to spread kindness and understanding to oneself and others. Emma also believes in helping her students become the best musicians and persons they can be by adapting to their learning needs with an open environment. She completed her Master's Degree of Arts in Teaching in 2021 and now teaches as a general music teacher in the public schools. Emma strives to improve her teaching every day and will continue her education in being the best educator she can.

Fangyue He, violin, was born in Shanghai, China, At age of eight she entered primary school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. During her study there she won the fourth prize in the Seventh National Violin Competition. At age of 19 She attended Bard College Conservatory and studied with Ms. Ida Kavafian and Laurie Smukler. During the undergraduate study period she performed as soloist with the American symphony orchestra in the Richard B. Fisher Center for performing arts and duo violin concerto by George Tsontakis in the Harvard’s Sanders Theatre. She attended several music festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, the New York String Seminar and Kneisel Hall chamber music festival. In 2012 Mrs. He attended the graduate program in Manhattan School of Music under Ms. Laurie Smukler. In 2015 she was selected to perform in the Queen Elizabeth competition in Brussels, Belgium. The same year she joined the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in Portland, OR as a sectional violinist. In 2022 she joined Boise philharmonic as a sectional second violinist until 2024, she will be assistant second principal for 2024-2025 season.

Laura Elena Jáuregui Wynter (aka Laurita), is a Mexican-American native of Portland, OR. Ms. Jáuregui began her Suzuki violin studies at age five with Dorothy Kroo. She joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at age nine, & later at age eleven was accepted into the studio of Raphael Spiro. She began teaching Suzuki Violin at age 16 with the support of her mother, a Suzuki Piano teacher. Later in her 20’s she became a registered SAA violin teacher, & recently was awarded the Certificate of Achievement Level 1 Seal. For several years she was a member of the faculty at both the Community Music Center & Ethos, Inc. & now currently directs the Suzuki Stumptown program in North & North East Portland.

After graduating from Portland State University under Carol Sindel’s mentoring, she received her Bachelor of Music in Performance, & went on to play professionally with the Jalisco State philharmonic, the Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, & la Orquesta Blas Galindo in Mexico. She was member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for 10 years.

Laurita has been guest clinician at the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute & at international Suzuki Festivals & Workshops in Mexico, Guatemala & Puerto Rico. Over the past 20 years she has taken her students on tour to both Mexico & Puerto Rico. You can read articles she has authored in past publications of the American Suzuki Journal. She has been a featured presenter at several Suzuki Association Summits & Conferences. She is the former Secretary of the Oregon Suzuki Association & was the Assistant Director of the Oregon Suzuki Institute for several years.

Miyuki Sakiyama began playing piano at the age of four in her native Japan. She graduated from Hokkaido University with a DDS, and was a certified physician of orthodontics at the University of Tokyo. After moving to the US, she began working at the Sycamore Strings Academy and the Crowden Music Center both in California as a piano accompanist. Currently, Miyuki is part of the Community Music Center faculty and plays for various instruments and ensembles for recitals and competitions, along with choirs. She loves music and enjoys working with young musicians! She has also studied the traditional Japanese instrument koto, and is a certified instructor and a current member of the Oregon Koto Kai. She is a mother of two violinists who have both studied through the Suzuki program. Outside of music, she enjoys spending time with her family.

Wendy Tangen-Foster is a Suzuki violin educator, clinician, and professional violinist with more than 30 years of teaching experience. Based in North Portland, Oregon, she teaches students both in person and online through Ms. Wendy’s Suzuki Violin Studio. She is also a faculty member with Suzuki Stumptown, where she teaches violin group classes, parent education, and Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) classes for young children and their caregivers.

A dedicated leader in the Suzuki community, Wendy is a past president of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota and served as co-founder and director of the Education for Happiness Virtual Suzuki Institute from 2020 to 2024 in partnership with Gabriel Kitayama-Bolkosky. She has taught at the Greater Washington, American, Intermountain, and Ozark Suzuki Institutes and has appeared as a guest clinician at workshops throughout the United States. Her students have earned leading chairs in youth symphonies and All-State Orchestras, and her graduates have received scholarships to St. Olaf College, Augsburg University, Lawrence University, Luther College, and the University of Minnesota.

Wendy began her own Suzuki journey at age five and started Suzuki teacher training at 15 with Craig Timmerman. She later apprenticed with LeRoy Bauer and Linda Wharton at Giant Steps School in Moscow, Idaho, while teaching through Palouse Suzuki Strings. Wendy has completed registered training in all ten Suzuki violin books, as well as Violin Practicum, Suzuki Principles in Action, Violin Teaching Strategies, and Stage 1 of Suzuki Early Childhood Education. Her teacher trainers have included Ronda Cole, Edmund Sprunger, Nancy Lokken, Ann Montzka-Smelser, David Strom, Charles Krigbaum, Daina Volodka Staggs, Allen Lieb, and many others. She is currently working toward becoming a Suzuki violin teacher trainer.

Alongside her classical and Suzuki training, Wendy has explored musical traditions that continue to enrich her teaching. While studying at the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton School of Music, she developed a love of jazz and improvisation. She later studied with jazz violinist Randy Sabien and performed with his swing ensemble, Rhythm and Bows. Wendy also spent nearly a decade performing Argentine tango with the Minneapolis-based ensemble Rogue Tango. In 2023, she received the Tango Society of Minnesota’s Tango Treasure Award in recognition of her contributions to the Twin Cities tango community. She continues to perform with Rogue Tango during visits to Minnesota and incorporates improvisation, jazz, tango, fiddle, and other alternative styles into her Suzuki teaching.

Wendy lives in Portland with her partner, Django Amerson, a multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and Irish fiddler, and their young son, Maceo, who was named after saxophonist Maceo Parker. Maceo is now beginning his own Suzuki journey through violin lessons and Suzuki Stumptown’s SECE program. Together, the family enjoys making music, spending time outdoors, and building community with other Portland families.