Courtney Castaneda

Courtney Castañeda is the Orchestra Director at the University of Texas Elementary School, and the former Assistant Director of the UT Austin String Project. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both cello performance and psychology from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Music degree in cello performance from Sacramento State University where she was a teacher in the Sacramento State String Project.  Most recently, she completed her Master of Music degree in Music and Human Learning from the University of Texas, Austin, and also earned her k-12 teaching certification. A native Texan, Courtney began playing violin and cello thanks to her public elementary school in Houston, and is a strong supporter of public school music education. She taught privately for seven years in northern California, coached chamber music for the Sacramento Youth Symphony’s Summer Chamber Music Workshop, and played in music festivals in Paris and Eisenstadt. Before moving to Austin, Courtney was the Operations Manager for the Sacramento School of Music, and served as the Business Administrator for the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas for two years. She has received Suzuki Cello Teacher Training from Carey Cheney and Tanya Carey, and Suzuki in the Schools training from Dr. Laurie Scott.  Courtney is also a cellist in the Austin based orchestral folk band, American Dreamer, and plays with singer/songwriter Ray Prim.