Johanna Beaver leads the orchestra and teaches private violin and viola lessons at CDS. She began teaching twenty-five years ago while pursuing her Masters degree in violin performance. Since then, she has served on the faculties of the University of Virginia, Interlochen Arts Camp, Opus 118 Violin Program in New York, and the Stony Brook Pre-college. Johanna performs with the Richmond Symphony, at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, and as a member of the Afton String Quartet. Johanna holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where her mentors were Katherine Murdock, Mitchell Stern, and the Emerson String Quartet. Johanna is a trained Suzuki teacher, and she combines the Suzuki philosophy with her own method that focuses on note reading and individualized lessons.