Dr. Kirsten Swanson

The Classical Voice of North Carolina described violist and violinist Kirsten Swanson as a “stunning musician with flawless technique combined with that unique ‘viola’ sound that can melt your soul.”  Feeling equally at ease with “new” and “old” music, in an orchestra or solo, Dr. Swanson enjoys a diverse career that has taken her all over the world.

A committed teacher, Kirsten has studied Suzuki pedagogy with almost too many amazing teachers to list (but I’ll try): Edmund Sprunger, April Losey, Sarah Montzka, Laurie Scott, Joanne Martin, Betsy Stuen-Walker, James Hutchins, and her beloved childhood teacher, Joanne Bath, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Suzuki Pedagogy from East Carolina University. During the summers, she teaches at the North Carolina Suzuki Institute in Greenville, NC and at various camps and festivals throughout the region.

Over the course of her career, she has started hundreds of children on the violin and viola, both privately, and as the head of the Suzuki violin and viola programs at both the prestigious Oakwood School in Greenville, NC, and the Friendship Day School for the Sciences and Math in Charlotte, NC. Equally at home teaching adults and young children, she has guest taught at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Wake Forest University, and Elon College. She is currently an adjunct professor of viola, violin, and chamber music at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and maintains a private studio out of her home.

An experienced chamber musician, Dr. Swanson has collaborated with such artists as Schlomo Mintz, Garth Knox, Jon Nakamatsu, and members of the JACK, Pacifica, and Ciompi String Quartets.
As an orchestral musician, Dr. Swanson held the position of Assistant Principal viola with the Charlotte Symphony from 2005-2007 and 2019-2020. She has won positions in the Winston-Salem Symphony and Greensboro Symphonies and has played full-time as a section member with the North Carolina Symphony in 2013, 2018-2019, and will do so again in the upcoming 2022-2023 season!

Music has taken Kirsten across the United States, Europe, and South America as a guest violist in festivals in Holland, England, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Peru, and Chile.  Nationally, she participated in the Garth Newel Chamber Festival, Kneisel Hall, and, as a New Horizons Fellow, the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado.

She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Longy School of Music, East Carolina University, and the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. Her teachers include John Graham, Roger Tapping, and Scott Rawls.