Brenda Brenner is Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Education Department in the Jacobs School of Music. She specializes in string music education, teaching applied violin as well as courses in violin and string pedagogy. She received a BM and BME from Wichita State University, and an MM and DMA in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to her appointment to the Music Education Department, she serves as co-director of the IU String Academy, a position she has held since 1993. Her String Academy students are featured in concerts in major venues throughout the United States and have presented tours throughout Europe, Asia and South America. As director of the Fairview Project - a program in which over 120 students in an underserved school are taught violin as part of the curriculum - Brenner researches the cognitive, academic and social outcomes of early instrumental music instruction. A performer of chamber music throughout the United States, Brenner partners with her husband, organist Christopher Young. She also teaches and conducts at the IU Summer String Academy, and is Assistant Director of the IU Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists. She is an active international clinician, with recent appearances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the ASTA National Conferences, and at Music Educators Conferences throughout the United States. Brenner is the Past-President of the American String Teachers Association.