MSU Assistant Professor of Double Bass Kevin Brown is Principal Bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
With a deepening bench of renowned faculty and access to professional performance opportunities, the Strings Area at the MSU College of Music is well suited to develop the talent of students pursuing their passion for music.
Impeccable artistry, technical prowess, and extensive teaching and performance experience are the hallmarks of MSU Strings faculty, all of whom boast professional connections that can help students launch careers in performance, arts administration, music education, and more. On-campus performance options in state-of-the art facilities are plentiful at MSU, including with university orchestras, small ensembles, and chamber music groups.
“Our students have access to a particularly strong strings faculty,” said Assistant Professor of Viola Mike Chen. “The faculty here have a strong background in performance and leadership positions in addition to being skilled and experience educators.”
MSU Assistant Professor of Viola Eric Nowlin Principal Violist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Assistant Professor of Viola Eric Nowlin concurred that the Strings Area is continually injected with solid, real-world perspective. For starters, faculty coordinate festivals and masterclasses with guest artists, perform on national and international stages, and are members of esteemed regional ensembles like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
“Students at MSU have all sorts of options they may never have entertained,” said Nowlin. “That’s one of the big things about the MSU Strings Area that makes us different from other places—students here have immediate access to a range of exciting facets in music and performance, and an abundance of support.”
Perspectives and connections
Nowlin, Chen, and Assistant Professor of Double Bass Kevin Brown are three MSU strings faculty with active connections to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Nowlin is the orchestra’s principal violist, Chen is a member of the viola section, and Brown is the principal bassist. College of Music alum Kathryn Miller Ginsburg serves as the DSO General Manager.
MSU Assistant Professor of Viola Mike Chen is a member of the viola section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Brown said having active, working musicians who dual as educators is among the key strengths of the MSU Strings Area. Those faculty connections and perspective, he said, is a unique benefit for students interested in pursuing a performance path.
“One of the big things we can pass on to our students are experiences from our professional orchestra life,” he said. “We can teach them how to interact in a section, provide tips on professional etiquette and priorities, and advise on how to manage situations with conductors. There are so many big and little things we know about working in the profession that can be of benefit to students.”
Before coming to MSU, Chen, Nowlin, and Brown served in orchestras on regional, national, and international scales. The three also performed as soloists and chamber musicians and remain active on the festival circuit world-wide. Collectively, the group of newer faculty have current or past connections with the DSO, the Indianapolis Symphony, Sant Louis Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Peninsula Symphony, Kumamoto Symphony in Japan, and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. Their educational pedigrees shine as well, with Chen a graduate of Northwestern University, Nowlin an alum of The Juilliard School, and Brown a graduate of Rice University.
Violist Eric Nowlin joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2016. He enjoys teaching at MSU where he has maintained an active studio since 2018.
Brown joined the MSU Strings Area in 2017, Nowlin in 2018, and Chen in 2022. All agree that MSU provides opportunities beyond compare, both to teach and to join an established, renowned, international artist-faculty group in the area. Professor of Cello and Chair of the Strings Area Suren Bagratuni, Professor of Violin Dmitri Berlinsky, Assistant Professor of Violin Yvonne Lam, and Assistant Professor of Violin and DSO alum I-Fu Wang all have extensive performance careers and remain quite active with performances around the world and a long list of accolades.
For performance majors curious about teaching, or vice versa, the College recently added a dynamic faculty member that will work closely with the esteemed strings faculty. MSU alumna Jean Lee, an experienced music educator who teaches string pedagogy and strings methods, now works to help strings students aspiring to careers in music education.
Nowlin reiterated that the depth of faculty, performance opportunities, and different types of disciplines and repertoires make the MSU Strings Area stand out. He said the College’s leadership fosters a supportive, engaging environment, one that encourages faculty and students alike to explore and apply creative freedom within a robust pedagogical program.
The study of cello and violin at MSU are led by outstanding faculty members (clockwise from top left) Suren Bagratuni, Dmitri Berlinski, I-Fu Wang, and Yvonne Lam, each of whom bring students extensive experience and expert guidance.
“The goal is to help our students build careers as well-rounded musicians,” he said. “One of the main things I like to impress on students is to not only become a proficient player and a great musician, but to keep your options flexible, and to realize there are all sort of possibilities out there that you may not have ever entertained.”
A mentoring mix
Brown said the practice of mentorship is baked in across the College of Music. He notices that readily in his studio, where his students can range in age from 18 to 30, with some working toward their bachelor’s, others toward their master’s, and others toward their performance diploma or doctorate in musical arts.
“That mix provides a really nice way for people to draw on examples set by others,” he said. “Older students have an opportunity to have informal mentorship roles with younger students. We can see each other developing every step of the way and have reference points for success.”
With their extensive performance experience, Brown, Nowlin, Chen, and all MSU Strings Area faculty serve as role models. They know the turf. They understand the pace and demands. They know what goes into preparing for performance, and how to build and maintain a performance career.
In his studio, Kevin Brown regularly infuses experiences he has had as a professional orchestral musician, sharing that wisdom with his students.
“I feel, too, that we bring something extra to the table in that we can show students how to prepare for an audition, how to prepare excerpts, how to pace yourself and deliver,” said Nowlin. “All of us have a unique perspective that can show students what life is like as an orchestral musician.”
Access to a diverse group of faculty with first-hand, ongoing experience at the highest level is what Chen said made MSU a solid fit for him, and a point he impresses on his students every day.
“MSU students have the opportunity to tap into the knowledge,” said Chen. “As a musician and educator, I aspire to share knowledge with anyone who wants to take it and make it their own, and to use it to create and recreate the wonder and magic of great music in their performance.”
