Preucil School of Music has dedicated faculty and staff who are both accomplished musicians and skilled teachers. The school has achieved international renown through the success of its students and the excellence of its faculty.
Director Emerita
Doris Preucil
(319) 337-4156
Doris is the founder and Director Emeritus of the Preucil School of Music. An honors graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she was a violinist with the National Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic. She has served on the faculties of Western Illinois University, the University of Northern Iowa, and Interlochen Arts Camp, and performed and presented workshops throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, and Korea.
A Suzuki teacher since 1963, she is the author of the Suzuki Viola School, and a Past President of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She was named “Teacher of the Year” by the Iowa String Teachers Association in 2005 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Eastman School in 2004.
Director
Sonja Berven Zeithamel
Sonja co-founded the Preucil School of Music in 1975 as Assistant Director and was named Director of August 1997. She is an honors graduate of the University of Iowa School of Music. As a member of the Preucil School of Music faculty, she teaches violin, viola, coaches string quartets and conducts string orchestras. She is a registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and travels throughout the United States as a clinician at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Assistant Director
Lisa Guttenberg
Lisa is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where she received a BM in Violin Performance and a MM in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. At CIM, she was a student of Linda Cerone, David Russell, and Michele George. Lisa also studied for a summer with Koji Toyoda at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. She has been a member of the faculty at the Preucil School of Music, the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki School, and the New World School of the Arts. She was Assistant Concertmaster of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Orchestra and also played with the Cedar Rapids Symphony. Prior to moving to Boston, where she taught at the All Newton Music School and Winchester Community Music School, she lived and taught in Valencia, Spain. Lisa returned to the Preucil School faculty in 2014.
Violin Faculty
Alyssa Ottmar
A native of Coralville, Iowa, Alyssa grew up playing piano and viola at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. She studied viola with Bill Preucil Sr. and chamber music with Doris Preucil. Alyssa went on to graduate from the University of Northern Iowa in 2016 with a degree in Viola Performance from the studio of Dr. Julia Bullard. Her musical success earned her the Music Meritorious Award and Conspicuous Award upon graduation. Alyssa has performed across the state of Iowa, the Chicago Symphony Center, Severance Hall, throughout the United States and across Europe, performing with the Nueva Orchestra Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca, România and most recently in Great Britain. Currently, Alyssa plays with Orchestra Iowa and Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony.
Amy Redhage
Amy (Bradbury) Redhage grew up in Marshalltown, IA. She was part of the Marshalltown school string program and then in high school she came to Iowa City to study with Doris Preucil. She has a degree in violin performance from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Sally O’Reilly and Mark Bjork, and an MM in violin performance/Suzuki pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Linda Cerone and Michele George.
Amy and her husband, Dan, have spent the last 18 years raising five children while Dan attended seminary and served churches in Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and now Lowden, Iowa.
Along the way, Amy has directed a school orchestra program, taught violin at a community school of the arts, and played with various orchestras, including the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and South Dakota Symphony.
Hannah Howland Jacobs
Hannah holds a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Mark Bjork, and Master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Northern Iowa, where she studied violin with Dr. Ross Winter and viola with Dr. Julia Bullard. Growing up, she was a student in the UNI Suzuki School and studied with Lisa Guttenberg and Therese Fetter, among others.
Hannah also teaches one day a week at the UNI Suzuki School, serves as Music Librarian for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, and is String Specialist at West Music in Coralville. She performs regularly with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Southeast Iowa Symphony, and other ensembles throughout Eastern Iowa, as well as in a duo with her husband, Austin Jacobs, a violinist/guitarist and orchestra director at Southeast Junior High in Iowa City.
Janet Ault
Janet received her BA in History from Grinnell College and her Bachelor’s Degree in music Education from Cornell College. She studied Suzuki pedagogy with Rebecca Sandrok, Doris Preucil, William Preucil, Sr., and John Kendall. Janet is now retired from teaching in the public school orchestra program in Mt. Vernon where she taught for over twenty years. Janet joined the faculty of the Preucil School in 1976. Four of Janet’s five children are Preucil School alumni.
Joshua Palazzolo
Joshua began studying the violin at five years of age after being inspired by his first teacher, Rachael Harding Claus, a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He grew up studying with members of several prestigious orchestras including the associate concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and others including the Nashville, Alabama and Iris Orchestras. Joshua has played in master classes for well-known violinists such as Almita Vamos, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Gerardo Ribeiro and Frank Almond. An avid chamber musician, Joshua has performed concerts at Ball State University, Vanderbilt University, and the Gerhart Chamber Festival among others, and advanced to the live rounds of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Palazzolo Trio. Joshua has also collaborated extensively with new music and early music ensembles, performing with University of Memphis based Colligium Musicum, the Contemporary Chamber Players with Dr. Kamran Ince, also in Memphis, and the University of Iowa’s Center for New Music. A pre-college honor student at the Blair School of Music, Joshua holds a B.M in Violin Performance from the University of Memphis and an M.A. in violin from the University of Iowa. Joshua is currently the teaching assistant to the violin studio of Dr. Scott Conklin at the University of Iowa pursuing a D.M.A in Violin. Joshua has performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra among others, and is currently a tenured member of the violin section with Cedar Rapids Iowa based Orchestra Iowa. Joshua is happily married to his harpist wife Kimberly.
Linda Judiesch
Linda received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Chicago Musical College, Roosevelt University, and is a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. She has been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, National Symphony of Chile, McMaster Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Hamilton. She has been on the faculty of the University of Costa Rica, the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music, the Music Center of the North Shore, and the Suzuki School of Music in Bermuda. She was the founding president of the Ontario Suzuki Teachers’ Association, and has been a frequent institute clinician. She has been on the Preucil School faculty since 1997 and is member of Orchestra Iowa.
Lisa Guttenberg
Lisa is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where she received a BM in Violin Performance and a MM in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. At CIM, she was a student of Linda Cerone, David Russell, and Michele George. Lisa also studied for a summer with Koji Toyoda at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. She has been a member of the faculty at the Preucil School of Music, the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki School, and the New World School of the Arts. She was Assistant Concertmaster of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Orchestra and also played with the Cedar Rapids Symphony. Prior to moving to Boston, where she taught at the All Newton Music School and Winchester Community Music School, she lived and taught in Valencia, Spain. Lisa returned to the Preucil School faculty in 2014.
Marit Hervig
Marit holds a Bachelor of Music from Western Illinois University and a Master of Music from Arizona State University in viola performance and pedagogy. Marit’s teachers include Doris Preucil, William Preucil, Dr. Roland Vamos, William Magers and William Lincer. She completed her Suzuki Teacher Training with Sonja Zeithamel and Doris Preucil. A former Preucil School student, Marit has taught at the University of Memphis Suzuki Institute, is a registered Music Together teacher, and has been a member of Orchestra Iowa and the Quad Cities Symphony.
Mary Neumann
Mary received a BA in music from Grinnell College and an MA in violin performance from Western Illinois University. She completed long term Suzuki teacher training at WIU with Lois Shepherd and Moshe Neumann. Growing up a Suzuki student herself in Macomb, Illinois, she started violin at the age of four with Doris Preucil and later studied with Almita Vamos. Mary joined the PSM faculty in 1995.
Scott Conklin
Scott Conklin earned Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from The University of Michigan School of Music as a student of Paul Kantor. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with David Updegraff. During his youth, Conklin was a Suzuki student of Carol Dallinger at the University of Evansville (IN). Conklin regularly performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, and is currently Associate Professor of Violin at The University of Iowa School of Music.
Sonja Berven Zeithamel
Sonja co-founded the Preucil School of Music in 1975 as Assistant Director and was named Director of August 1997. She is an honors graduate of the University of Iowa School of Music. As a member of the Preucil School of Music faculty, she teaches violin, viola, coaches string quartets and conducts string orchestras. She is a registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and travels throughout the United States as a clinician at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Tabitha Rasmussen
Tabitha received her Bachelor of Music and Teaching Certificate and Master of Music Education at the University of Iowa. Tabitha is an alumna of the Preucil School where she studied with Diane Dahl-McCoy and Doris Preucil. She taught public school orchestra in Lamoni and Davenport, Iowa and currently teaches orchestra in the public schools in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Her children are currently violin students at the Preucil School.
Viola Faculty
Alyssa Ottmar
A native of Coralville, Iowa, Alyssa grew up playing piano and viola at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. She studied viola with Bill Preucil Sr. and chamber music with Doris Preucil. Alyssa went on to graduate from the University of Northern Iowa in 2016 with a degree in Viola Performance from the studio of Dr. Julia Bullard. Her musical success earned her the Music Meritorious Award and Conspicuous Award upon graduation. Alyssa has performed across the state of Iowa, the Chicago Symphony Center, Severance Hall, throughout the United States and across Europe, performing with the Nueva Orchestra Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca, România and most recently in Great Britain. Currently, Alyssa plays with Orchestra Iowa and Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony.
Hannah Howland Jacobs
Hannah holds a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Mark Bjork, and Master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Northern Iowa, where she studied violin with Dr. Ross Winter and viola with Dr. Julia Bullard. Growing up, she was a student in the UNI Suzuki School and studied with Lisa Guttenberg and Therese Fetter, among others.
Hannah also teaches one day a week at the UNI Suzuki School, serves as Music Librarian for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, and is String Specialist at West Music in Coralville. She performs regularly with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Southeast Iowa Symphony, and other ensembles throughout Eastern Iowa, as well as in a duo with her husband, Austin Jacobs, a violinist/guitarist and orchestra director at Southeast Junior High in Iowa City.
Janet Ault
Janet received her BA in History from Grinnell College and her Bachelor’s Degree in music Education from Cornell College. She studied Suzuki pedagogy with Rebecca Sandrok, Doris Preucil, William Preucil, Sr., and John Kendall. Janet is now retired from teaching in the public school orchestra program in Mt. Vernon where she taught for over twenty years. Janet joined the faculty of the Preucil School in 1976. Four of Janet’s five children are Preucil School alumni.
Marit Hervig
Marit holds a Bachelor of Music from Western Illinois University and a Master of Music from Arizona State University in viola performance and pedagogy. Marit’s teachers include Doris Preucil, William Preucil, Dr. Roland Vamos, William Magers and William Lincer. She completed her Suzuki Teacher Training with Sonja Zeithamel and Doris Preucil. A former Preucil School student, Marit has taught at the University of Memphis Suzuki Institute, is a registered Music Together teacher, and has been a member of Orchestra Iowa and the Quad Cities Symphony.
Mary Neumann
Mary received a BA in music from Grinnell College and an MA in violin performance from Western Illinois University. She completed long term Suzuki teacher training at WIU with Lois Shepherd and Moshe Neumann. Growing up a Suzuki student herself in Macomb, Illinois, she started violin at the age of four with Doris Preucil and later studied with Almita Vamos. Mary joined the PSM faculty in 1995.
Sonja Berven Zeithamel
Sonja co-founded the Preucil School of Music in 1975 as Assistant Director and was named Director of August 1997. She is an honors graduate of the University of Iowa School of Music. As a member of the Preucil School of Music faculty, she teaches violin, viola, coaches string quartets and conducts string orchestras. She is a registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and travels throughout the United States as a clinician at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Tabitha Rasmussen
Tabitha received her Bachelor of Music and Teaching Certificate and Master of Music Education at the University of Iowa. Tabitha is an alumna of the Preucil School where she studied with Diane Dahl-McCoy and Doris Preucil. She taught public school orchestra in Lamoni and Davenport, Iowa and currently teaches orchestra in the public schools in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Her children are currently violin students at the Preucil School.
Cello Faculty
Amy Phelps
A native of Iowa City, Amy began cello lessons at the Preucil School of Music. In 1989, she obtained a double degree in Cello Performance and French Literature from Oberlin College and Conservatory.
After her undergraduate education, Amy’s multiple interests led her to France, where she studied at the Conservatoire National de Région de Marseille and performed with the Marseille Opera Orchestra. She earned a Masters in Music in 2004 and the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Cello Performance in 2010 from the University of Iowa, where she was appointed the Teaching Assistant and performed extensively with the Center for New Music.
In addition to teaching Applied Cello at Coe College since 2008, Amy teaches String Seminar, String Ensemble and Literature, and String Pedagogy. She is the Assistant Principal Cellist of Orchestra Iowa, section cellist of the Quad City Symphony and she frequently subs with both the Des Moines and Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphonies.
Anthony Arnone
Anthony Arnone is conductor of the Preucil School String Orchestra (PSSO). He is also the Assistant Professor of Cello at The University of Iowa School of Music. A native of Honolulu, Mr. Arnone received his Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Colin Carr. He left graduate studies with Bonnie Hampton at the San Francisco Conservatory to accept a position with the Orchestré Philharmonique de Nice, France, where he remained for two years, continuing his studies with Paul and Maude Tortelier. He later returned to the United States to complete his master’s degree in conducting at Wichita State University.
Before coming to the University of Iowa, Mr. Arnone was principal cellist of the Madison Symphony, and taught at Ripon College in Wisconsin. He has also taught and performed at the Madeline Island Music Camp, Eastern Music Festival, the Stonybrook Music Camp, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. and the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy where he was co-principal cellist for seven years.
Kate Vos
Kate studied at the Preucil School for 10 years. She received her Bachelor of Music and long-term Suzuki Pedagogy training at Western Illinois University with Prof. Tanya Carey. Kate completed her Master of Music degree in cello performance at the University of Michigan where she studied with Anthony Elliott. Kate has been teaching at the Preucil School since 2001 and is a member of the Preucil faculty quartet. She is also a member of the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra.
Laura Shaw
Laura Shaw is a registered Cello Suzuki Teacher Trainer. She completed her long term Suzuki training with Pamela Devenport at the Hartt School of Music. Ms. Shaw earned her DMA from the University of Iowa, studying with Anthony Arnone and Hannah Holman. She has a Masters of Music from the University of Hartford, and a BA from Luther College.
Laura Shaw is an Associate Principal of the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Falls Symphony and as a member of the Corridor Piano Trio. She has won numerous awards, including the Pelzer Award at the University of Iowa, and the Fort Dodge Concerto Competition.
Ms. Shaw has been teaching for over 15 years and is an alum of the Preucil School of Music.
Bass Faculty
Jeanette Welch
Jeanette received her BA in Music from the University of California at San Diego where she studied with Bertram Turetzky. She received an MA in Bass Performance at the University of Iowa under the direction of Diana Gannett in May 2000. She has also studied with Ed Barker, principal bass of the Boston Symphony, Klaus Trumph in Munich, Germany and is now studying with Volkan Orhon at the University of Iowa. She performs with Orchestra Iowa, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, and occasionally with the Quad Cities Symphony. She is also on the faculty of Kirkwood Community College, and enjoys playing with her band “Brace for Blast” which can best be described as “eclectic neo-hardcore rock.”
Piano Faculty
Barb Michaelson
Barb studied piano with the Eugene Hudson at Wartburg College, and received her B.M. and M.A. degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa where she studied with Kenneth Amada. She was a winner in the IMTA Collegiate Piano Competition, and Wartburg College Concerto Competition. Barb received her Suzuki piano training from Cheryl Holmes in St. Paul, MN. She is featured as the pianist on the CD recordings of William Preucil’s “Suzuki Viola Book 7”, and flutist Claudia Anderson’s “American Flute”, and has appeared frequently as an accompanist in the Iowa City area.
Craig Jordan
Originally from Ames, Iowa, Craig is currently pursuing his Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Iowa in the studio of Dr. Réne Lecuona. He is also the president of the collegiate chapter of MTNA.
Craig completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Miami studying with Professor Tian Ying where he most notably performed the Seaborne Concerto for percussion sextet, orchestra, and film as a winner of the 2021 concerto competition.
During this time, he had the privilege of performing often with the Frost Symphony Orchestra (piano, celeste, and harpsichord) under the direction of Conductor Gerard Schwarz. Craig received his Bachelor of Music from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in the studio of Dr. Catherine Kautsky. Craig is also the staff pianist at the First Presbyterian Church in Marion.
Chiaki Kubota
Chiaki graduated from Kobe-Yamate University School of Music in Piano Performance. A native of Japan, she joined the APA Chamber Music Association after graduation and continued to study Piano Performance and Chamber Music. Chiaki was on the faculty of the Yamaha Music School in Kobe, where she also worked as a chamber musician and accompanist. Following a move to Ohio, she worked as an accompanist for a Suzuki cello studio in Columbus as well as accompanying for other studios and recitals. After moving to Detroit, Chiaki worked as an accompanist for the Suzuki Royal Oak Institute of Music in Detroit and other string studios, including those of Anthone Eliott and Caroline Coade at the University of Michigan. The students she accompanied played in competitions and master classes, including one by Yo-Yo-Ma. Chiaki has accompanied most of the instruments, including voice. She is a Suzuki mom to two children (cello and piano; and viola) who are now majoring in music in college and love chamber music. Chiaki joined the Preucil School in 2013.
Debra Helene Hernstrom
Deb received her Bachelor of Music from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and her Master of Arts in Musicology from the University of Iowa. Being blind since birth, she is always accompanied by her wonderful dog, Wade. Although Deb is blind, she offers a unique set of skills to her students. She has a highly attuned and keenly enhanced sense of hearing, which enables her to know exactly which note is being played and precisely which finger is playing it, without ever seeing the keyboard. She has the ability to transpose on the spot, identify and play back advanced harmonic progressions, and has an amazing memory for music – in fact she always performs from memory, including when she plays organ at St. Wenceslaus Church. Deb incorporates her passion for music, education and music history into her teaching of theory, certificate program class piano and Suzuki piano. She joined the Preucil School of Music faculty in 1982 and is currently co-chair of the piano department. Deb has been a keyboardist for St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Iowa City since 2000.
Lauree Christman
Lauree is a graduate of Dickinson State University (Dickinson, ND) where she studied piano and bassoon. She also holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa where she studied with Kerry Grippe and John Sims. Lauree completed her Suzuki Teacher Training at the American Suzuki Institute in Steven’s Point, WI where her teachers included Haruko Kataoka, Doris Koppelman, Loraine Landefeld, Carole Bigler, and Valerie Lloyd-Watts. She has taught at Cornell College, Viterbo College and at Suzuki Institutes in Korea. Lauree joined the Preucil School of Music faculty in 1981 and has been head of the Piano Department since 1986.
Paul Casiano
Born and raised in the Philippines, Paul Casiano started taking piano lessons at the age of ten. Immediately, he began accompanying choral groups and church congregations. Paul completed his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of the Philippines College of Music in 2018 with Professor Richelle Rivera. In 2021, he obtained his Master of Music in Piano Performance at Western Illinois University with Dr. Jeffrey Brown, where he received a graduate assistantship award. Paul is in his fourth year of his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Iowa, under the tutelage of Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.
For the academic year 2024-2025, he will be serving as a piano instructor at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois teaching individual and group piano as well as teaching ear training for music theory. Paul is working on his dissertation about the selected piano works by a Filipino composer Lucrecia Kasilag.
Sasha Garver
Sasha is a popular clinician at institutes and conferences around the country and world, as well as previously teaching as applied flute faculty at several institutions: Community School for Music and Arts in Mountain View, CA, Dominican University, Regis University, Colorado Christian University, Colorado Suzuki Institute, Desert Suzuki Institute, Santa Fe Talent Education, Santa Fe Suzuki Institute, Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, and the 2009 Suzuki World Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Sasha has also taught at the Suzuki Institute in Mexico City and was Flute Ensemble Conductor for the 2010 and 2012 SAA Conference. She has lectured at the Suzuki World Conference, three National Flute Conventions and at five Suzuki Association of the America’s International Conferences.
Sasha holds her DMA from CU-Boulder and MM from The University of Cincinnati. She has two BM degrees in flute and voice.
As a flutist, she has taught and performed throughout the United States and Internationally. Sasha performed as second flute/solo piccolo of the Macau Orchestra, and while in Asia, she studied with Suzuki flute founder, Mr. Takahashi. Former chair of the music program at Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico, she has also been a soprano soloist and piccolo/flute with the Santa Fe Symphony.
Sasha is a columnist for Flute Focus International Flute Magazine (NZ) and has contributed to the American Suzuki Journal. Her students have won various local, regional and state honors with MTNA, NFMC, NATS, Royal Conservatory, NAfMe and have participated in Honors, Youth and All-State Orchestras in California, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as receiving scholarships to study music at New Mexico State, UNM, UNC-Greeley, CU Boulder, University of Cincinnati and UNLV.
Flute Faculty
Sasha Garver
Sasha is a popular clinician at institutes and conferences around the country and world, as well as previously teaching as applied flute faculty at several institutions: Community School for Music and Arts in Mountain View, CA, Dominican University, Regis University, Colorado Christian University, Colorado Suzuki Institute, Desert Suzuki Institute, Santa Fe Talent Education, Santa Fe Suzuki Institute, Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, and the 2009 Suzuki World Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Sasha has also taught at the Suzuki Institute in Mexico City and was Flute Ensemble Conductor for the 2010 and 2012 SAA Conference. She has lectured at the Suzuki World Conference, three National Flute Conventions and at five Suzuki Association of the America’s International Conferences.
Sasha holds her DMA from CU-Boulder and MM from The University of Cincinnati. She has two BM degrees in flute and voice.
As a flutist, she has taught and performed throughout the United States and Internationally. Sasha performed as second flute/solo piccolo of the Macau Orchestra, and while in Asia, she studied with Suzuki flute founder, Mr. Takahashi. Former chair of the music program at Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico, she has also been a soprano soloist and piccolo/flute with the Santa Fe Symphony.
Sasha is a columnist for Flute Focus International Flute Magazine (NZ) and has contributed to the American Suzuki Journal. Her students have won various local, regional and state honors with MTNA, NFMC, NATS, Royal Conservatory, NAfMe and have participated in Honors, Youth and All-State Orchestras in California, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as receiving scholarships to study music at New Mexico State, UNM, UNC-Greeley, CU Boulder, University of Cincinnati and UNLV.
Harp Faculty
Pam Weest-Carrasco
Pam received her music degrees from Indiana University where she was a student of Peter E. Eagle. In addition, her Suzuki teacher training took place at the Texas Christian University Suzuki Institutes with Mary Kay Waddington, and she has been teaching Suzuki harp since 1992. She plays second harp for Orchestra Iowa and Quad City Symphonies as well as with the University of Iowa Ensembles. Before moving to Iowa City in 1990, she free-lanced in the Washington, D.C. area, playing with the Arlington Symphony and at Ford’s Theatre (“A Christmas Carol”). Her free-lancing has included concerts with Julio Iglesias, Lainie Kazan, Jack Jones, Toni Tenille, Mark O’Conner, the Moody Blues and Josh Groban. All three of her children were students at the Preucil School.
Tricia Windschitl
Preschool Director, 5-Day Full Day Lead Teacher
Tricia received both her B.S. and M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Iowa State University. She has taught preschool children in a variety of settings including the Child Development Lab School at Iowa State, the Iowa City Recreation Center, and the Formative Years Center in Ames. Tricia enjoys the bustle and playfulness of the preschool classroom and delights in helping children explore, discover, and think about their world. She sees her classroom as a community of learners, all influencing one another with their experiences, questions, and curiosities.
Lindsey Evans
2-Day Lead Teacher
Lindsey lives in Iowa City with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys exploring nature, cooking, gardening, and canoeing with her family. She received her B.A. in Cinema and Comparative Literature from the University of Iowa.
She has looked for opportunities to work with children since she was old enough to babysit. After becoming a mom, Lindsey provided in-home childcare for family members and friends. At Preucil, Lindsey delights in following children’s interests, creating playscapes, finding inviting books, and promoting a collaborative environment.
Emily Pritchard
3-Day Music Coordinator
Preucil School of Music
Erin Anderson
2- and 3-Day Assistant Teacher
Erin lives in Iowa City with her professor husband, freshman son, third grade daughter and two cats named Cookie and Frankie. Her favorite color is orange with yellow a close second. Erin likes to walk in Hickory Hill Park, listen to audiobooks, treasure hunt at thrift stores, travel anywhere and stay at home to play board games with her family. Erin attended Wartburg College, majored in religion with an emphasis in youth programing and minored in psychology and chemistry. Erin has had a variety of jobs teaching, planning and programming for kids age 0-90+!! She loves to work and learn with kids of any age.
Katelyn Halverson
5-day Assistant Teacher
Preucil School of Music
Laurie Wyatt
2-Day Morning Co-Lead Teacher
Laurie attended the University of Northern Iowa and received her BFA in Theatre Arts with a Performance Emphasis. After spending more than a decade working and performing in San Francisco and Chicago, she returned to her home state of Iowa with her husband to raise their son. She has worked in the public school system as a para-educator and spent the last several years as a teacher in a preschool here in Iowa City.
She enjoys singing, writing, and being creative in many ways. She also enjoys working her promotions and marketing business when she is not teaching.
Laurie is very excited to join the Preucil family and her love of teaching and learning with our students.
Kirsten Williamson
Atelierista–Lead Art Teacher
Kirsten received her B.A. from Luther College in Art and Elementary Education. She taught K-5 Art for five years in the Des Moines School District and the College Community School District before coming to Preucil. She lives in Iowa City with her husband, two small children, one kitty, and a yellow Labrador. She enjoys sewing, scrapbooking, yoga, and spending time with her family. Kirsten is grateful to work in such a special place that respects children and values their creativity in all forms.
Catharine Gartelos
Music Together® Teacher
Catharine Gartelos holds several degrees in education from the University of Iowa, UNI, and Edgewood College.
Catharine is currently working as a special education preschool teacher in the ICCSD. She holds dear her love of teaching children through a music, movement, and arts lens, so it is very fitting that she received her initial Music Together certification before Covid.
Catharine is excited to practice what she trained for as she joins the Music Together family to lead you this summer.
Director
Assistant Director
Director of Business Operations
Sonja Berven Zeithamel
Sonja co-founded the Preucil School of Music in 1975 as Assistant Director and was named Director of August 1997. She is an honors graduate of the University of Iowa School of Music. As a member of the Preucil School of Music faculty, she teaches violin, viola, coaches string quartets and conducts string orchestras. She is a registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and travels throughout the United States as a clinician at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Lisa Guttenberg
Lisa is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where she received a BM in Violin Performance and a MM in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. At CIM, she was a student of Linda Cerone, David Russell, and Michele George. Lisa also studied for a summer with Koji Toyoda at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. She has been a member of the faculty at the Preucil School of Music, the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki School, and the New World School of the Arts. She was Assistant Concertmaster of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Orchestra and also played with the Cedar Rapids Symphony. Prior to moving to Boston, where she taught at the All Newton Music School and Winchester Community Music School, she lived and taught in Valencia, Spain. Lisa returned to the Preucil School faculty in 2014.
Jessica Altfillisch
Jessica brings a wealth of experience in arts education with a focus on business operations and
program development. With over ten years of leadership in nonprofit leadership, she has shaped
organizations dedicated to music education and community engagement.
As the founder of Harmony School of Music in Cedar Rapids, Jessica spearheaded the school’s
growth through innovative programming, fundraising, and building strategic partnerships with
institutions worldwide. Under her leadership, the school has fostered community collaboration and
broadened access to high-quality music experiences, including the popular Community Music Day
event.
Jessica’s has also mentored students at Coe College and established internship programs that
connect arts students with business skills and professional careers.
Jessica is also an accomplished violist holding a Master of Arts degree in Viola and Pedagogy from
The University of Iowa. Her musical training includes study with Bill Preucil, Michael Kimber, and
Christine Rutledge, along with certifications in Suzuki violin and viola teaching.
Residing in Cedar Rapids with her husband, Justin, Jessica enjoys spending time with her two adult
children who live nearby.
Administrative Assistants
Sally Dennison
Finance Administrator
Sally, originally from Iowa, lived in California for 15 years where she earned her associate degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from City College of San Francisco. She returned to Iowa City in 1995.
Sally’s account managing experience began in 1988 where she monitored funds for a local bakery. Since then, she has worked for hotels, bakeries, property management companies, West Wind Education Policy and the Hydroscience & Engineering Department at the University of Iowa.
Pam Weest-Carrasco
Registrar
Pam received her music degrees from Indiana University where she was a student of Peter E. Eagle. In addition, her Suzuki teacher training took place at the Texas Christian University Suzuki Institutes with Mary Kay Waddington, and she has been teaching Suzuki harp since 1992. She plays second harp for Orchestra Iowa and Quad City Symphonies as well as with the University of Iowa Ensembles. Before moving to Iowa City in 1990, she free-lanced in the Washington, D.C. area, playing with the Arlington Symphony and at Ford’s Theatre (“A Christmas Carol”). Her free-lancing has included concerts with Julio Iglesias, Lainie Kazan, Jack Jones, Toni Tenille, Mark O’Conner, the Moody Blues and Josh Groban. All three of her children were students at the Preucil School.
Jenna Battleson
Main Campus
Jenna comes to us with experience in non-profit fundraising, volunteer coordination as well as community outreach. She is a teacher, pastor and former-global worker having served in Chiang Mai, Thailand (2018-2021).
Jenna holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Elementary Education with an additional endorsement in ESL from Greenville University and is an ordained Free Methodist minister.
Jenna has had a lifelong involvement in music playing clarinet through high school and as an alto vocalist performing in community choirs and church worship teams. She is excited to bring her diverse background of experiences with her as she serves the students and families of Preucil.
She is excited to bring her diverse background of experiences with her as she serves the students and families of Preucil.
Molly Leefers
North Campus
Preucil School of Music
Kathryn "Kitty" Chadima
North Campus
Kathryn “Kitty” Chadima is the Administrative Assistant at Preucil North Campus and happy to be here. She comes from a family of professional musicians on her mother’s side. With a background in newspaper marketing and public relations, Kitty is also a part-time news correspondent and wellness consultant.
She has an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Iowa, a teaching degree in secondary English , and a B.A. in English from Luther College. She was a public relations director for a fraternal benefit insurance association that originated for Czechs and Slovaks, for which she traveled to several states with historic Czech halls like Preucil School’s main campus! Serving youth and adults, she spearheaded several newspaper and magazine visual art/writing contests and resulting student publications.
Affiliations
