Casey McGrath, violinist, holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Casey is in her sixth season as concertmaster for the Fox Valley Orchestra, and has also served as concertmaster for the Salt Creek Ballet and DuPage Symphony orchestras. She is first violinist for the Navitas string quartet and violin soloist for Tango Espejo, an ensemble dedicated to the authentic performance of works by Astor Piazzolla. Karin S. Hendricks is an assistant professor of Music Education at Boston University, with previous appointments at Ball State University and the University of Illinois. She is an award-winning music teacher and taught orchestra in the public schools for 13 years. Dr. Hendricks has presented research and practitioner workshops nationally and internationally and has published papers in professional and peer-reviewed journals such as the American Suzuki Journal, American String Teacher, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Early Childhood Research and Practice, Gender and Education, International Journal of Music Education: Research, Music Educators Journal, Research Studies in Music Education, Philosophy of Music Education Review, and Psychology of Music.

Tawnya D. Smith is an online course facilitator and dissertation advisor in the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. She completed a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University.