Erika Lord-Castillo

Erika Lord-Castillo (violin, viola) has been a faculty teacher in the SIU-Edwardsville Suzuki Program since 2009 and became a Suzuki Violin Teacher Trainer in 2021. Originally from Iowa City, Iowa, Erika earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature, Sciences and Arts from the University of Iowa. She holds a Master’s in Music Education from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and studied Suzuki pedagogy Violin Books 1-10 with Vera McCoy-Sulentic. Erika has performed with numerous community orchestras in Iowa and Oregon, with the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony, and is a regular member of the Edwardsville Community Symphony and the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Orchestra. Erika is also a regular contributor to the American Suzuki Journal. Erika received the Suzuki Association Certificate of Achievement Level 1 in the summer of 2015.