"Erica Shirts is a gifted young teacher with the knowledge and passion to nurture young violinists to a level of excellence."
Mimi Zweig, Professor Jacobs School of Music and Director of the String Academy
As a Teacher:
As Director of the Duke University String School in Durham, North Carolina, Erica teaches private lessons, violin group classes, and chamber music. Before joining the String School in 2015, Erica was on the faculty of world-renowned String Academy at Indiana University where she had a thriving studio focused on correct technique and beautiful tone within a judgement-free atmosphere. She received pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig as well as Suzuki certification.
If you are interested in your child joining the Duke University String School, please visit the DUSS website HERE.
As Director of the Duke University String School in Durham, North Carolina, Erica teaches private lessons, violin group classes, and chamber music. Before joining the String School in 2015, Erica was on the faculty of world-renowned String Academy at Indiana University where she had a thriving studio focused on correct technique and beautiful tone within a judgement-free atmosphere. She received pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig as well as Suzuki certification.
If you are interested in your child joining the Duke University String School, please visit the DUSS website HERE.
As a Performer:
Erica, a native of Utah, is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the Fayetteville Symphony in North Carolina and is also active in the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, and regularly plays violin and viola with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. In the past, Erica has performed as Principal Second Violin of the Indiana University orchestras and as a member of the Lansing Symphony in Michigan. Erica has enjoyed working with conductors such as Grant Llewellyn, David Effron, Cliff Colnot, Carl St. Clair, Andrea Quinn, Timothy Muffitt and Kenneth Kiesler. She also regularly plays chamber music on the violin, as well as the viola.
After receiving her Bachelors of Music at the University of Michigan, Erica gained a Masters in Music as well as a Performer Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She has primarily studied violin with Mimi Zweig, Aaron Berofsky and Gerald Elias, as well as Quartet studies with the Pacifica Quartet and Orchestral studies with Jorja Fleezanis and Steven Shipps. She is also the founder of StringPedagogyConnect.com, a database of teachers who have received pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig.
Erica, a native of Utah, is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the Fayetteville Symphony in North Carolina and is also active in the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, and regularly plays violin and viola with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. In the past, Erica has performed as Principal Second Violin of the Indiana University orchestras and as a member of the Lansing Symphony in Michigan. Erica has enjoyed working with conductors such as Grant Llewellyn, David Effron, Cliff Colnot, Carl St. Clair, Andrea Quinn, Timothy Muffitt and Kenneth Kiesler. She also regularly plays chamber music on the violin, as well as the viola.
After receiving her Bachelors of Music at the University of Michigan, Erica gained a Masters in Music as well as a Performer Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She has primarily studied violin with Mimi Zweig, Aaron Berofsky and Gerald Elias, as well as Quartet studies with the Pacifica Quartet and Orchestral studies with Jorja Fleezanis and Steven Shipps. She is also the founder of StringPedagogyConnect.com, a database of teachers who have received pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig.
CLICK HERE to learn more about joining her studio and lesson fees
CLICK HERE to learn more about Erica's approach to teaching
Upcoming Performances and Events, 2017
- December 15 @ 8:00, North Carolina Symphony, Messiah Choruses and more, Memorial Auditorium, Chapel Hill
- January 12 @7:30, Fayetteville Symphony Quartet, A Little Night Music, St. John's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville
- January 28 @ 4pm, Duke University String School Faculty Concert, Fundraiser for the Dorothy Kitchen Scholarship Fund, Nelson Music Room, Durham
- February 25 @7:30, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, The Wild Wild West, Huff Concert Hall, Methodist University, Fayetteville
- March 1 @ 7:30, North Carolina Symphony, Lang Lang, Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
- March 4 @ 4pm, Duke University String School Violin and Cello Choir Spring Concert, Nelson Music Room, Durham
- March 5 @ 6:30, Duke University String School Spring Orchestra Concert, Baldwin Auditorium, Durham
- April 7 @ 8, North Carolina Symphony, Britten's War Requiem, Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
- April 8 @ 8, North Carolina Symphony, Britten's War Requiem, Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
- April 29 @ 4pm, Duke University String School Violin and Cello Choir Concert, Nelson Music Room, Durham
- April 30 @4pm, Berlioz: Te Deum & Poulenc: Gloria, Duke Chapel, Durham
- May 7 @6:30, Duke University String School Orchestra Concert, Baldwin Auditorium, Durham
