Janis K. Wittrig has devoted much of her professional life as a teacher synthesizing the pedagogic insights of Paul Rolland and Shinichi Suzuki, finding in both approaches effective answers to the many challenges students face in acquiring mastery of the violin and viola.

Janis received a BA in Violin Performance and an MS in Music Education from the University of Illinois. There, she was a violin student of Paul Rolland for five years and a member of his pedagogy class for two years. Additionally, Janis focused on chamber music with Gabriel Magyar, cellist of the renowned Hungarian String Quartet. She continued working with members of the Hungarian Quartet at the Banff String Quartet Academy in Alberta, Canada. She did further advanced study at the University of Southern California, where she was first violinist of the Graduate String Quartet.

Janis has taught with the Pasadena and the Wheaton College Suzuki Programs and is currently a faculty member at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. She has been a clinician at workshops throughout the continental United States, as well as in Hawaii, Canada and Singapore.

Ms. Wittrig served as Concertmaster of the DuPage Symphony Orchestra (DSO) from 2005 through 2013 and continues to perform with the Orchestra and the DSO String Quartet.

Ms. Wittrig’s students have been first-place contest winners, have performed as soloists with orchestras in the Chicago area, and have been selected for SAA (Suzuki Association of the Americas) conference master classes.

In 2016, in recognition of her “pursuit of excellence in teaching” and affirming that her “talent and skills as a fine violin teacher have produced a record five outstanding concertmasters,” the Youth Symphony of DuPage’s retiring music director, Meng-Kong Tham, presented Janis with a Golden Apple Award.

Ms. Wittrig was honored with the appointment to serve as the Violin Coordinator for the 2018 Conference of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.