Illinois High School Orchestra Clinic

Dr. Rebecca B. MacLeod is Professor of Music Education and Daniel J. Perrino Endowed Chair in Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she teaches string education and conducts the University of Illinois Philharmonia Orchestra. Her research on working with underserved populations, vibrato technique, music teacher education, and music perception has been presented at the International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition, Music Research and Human Behavior International Conference, International Society for Music Education, National Association for Music Education National Conference, American String Teachers National Conference, Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Society for Music Teacher Education, and music educators state conferences.

Dr. MacLeod is author of Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom and coauthor of Clifford K. Madsen’s Contributions to Music Education and Music Therapy: Love of Learning. She is also a contributing author to Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21^st Century, Rehearsing the Middle School Orchestra, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra. Her research is published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Music Education, Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, String Research Journal, Psychology of Music, The Strad, American String Teachers Journal, and various state music education journals. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the String Research Journal, and as guest reviewer for the International Journal of Research in Music Education. She has received the UNCG Junior Research Excellence Award and the Researcher Award from the American String Teachers Association.

In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Dr. MacLeod has conducted region and all state orchestras in over 20 states. She enjoys expanding musical boundaries by incorporating a variety of cultures and styles into the orchestra and has premiered collaborations such as The Glass, Electric Guitar Concert by Demir Demirkan; Love Me and Fly for Folk Band and String Orchestra by El Rich; and At the Purchaser’s Option by Rhiannon Giddens featuring banjo, fiddle, and vocalist; among others.

Prior to joining the UIUC faculty, she was Professor of Music Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for 18 years. She is recipient of the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance Outstanding Teaching Award, and a semifinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

During her early career, Dr. MacLeod taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestras in Hollidaysburg and Beaver, Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and her MME and PhD from Florida State University.

Dr. MacLeod currently serves as immediate past president for the American String Teachers Association.

Dr. Heather Lofdahl is Assistant Professor of Music Education at The Ohio State University, where she directs the string education program. In addition, she serves as Music Director of the Newark-Granville Youth Symphony and music education specialist for Play Us Forward, a community partnership aimed at increasing access to string instruction for underserved students. Dr. Lofdahl is the recipient of the 2025 Ohio State School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award.

Dr. Lofdahl is published in the String Research Journal and American String Teachers Journal. She has presented research and pedagogy sessions at the Symposium for Music Teacher Education; International Society for Music Education Conference (Glasgow, Scotland and Helsinki, Finland); American String Teachers Association National Conference; and various state conferences. In addition, Dr. Lofdahl serves on the ASTA Content Committee and is President-Elect of the Ohio String Teachers Association.

Dr. Lofdahl holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance from Augustana College, Master of Music degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a PhD in Music Education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is an active guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and abroad.

Dr. David Pope serves an Associate Professor of Music Education at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. In addition, he serves as a string clinician for Alfred Music. As an active adjudicator and clinician, he has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, regional honor orchestras, and served as a guest clinician for numerous orchestra programs, university summer camps, and music education programs. Dr. Pope has presented string pedagogy clinics and his research at the European String Teachers Congress (ESTA), the American String Teacher Association (ASTA) National Conference, The Midwest Clinic, the International Music Education Summit, and numerous regional/state conferences. He is currently the Editor for the String Research Journal. He recently served as a co-editor for volume 4 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra and as a co-author for Sound Orchestra. Dr. Pope has been recognized with the Ohio ASTA Collegiate Educator of the Year (2022), a Distinguished Music Educator Award by the Yale Symposium for Music in Schools (2015), ASTA’s Presidential Service Award (2021), and ASTA’s Emerging String Researcher Award (2020). He has also served as Chair the ASTA National Conference (2020, 2021, 2023) and is the current President of the Ohio String Teachers Association (OSTA).