Idalynn Besser - violin & viola
Idalynn Besser has taught at Belmont Academy since 1998. In addition to teaching viola and violin, she serves as Coordinator of String Instruction for the Academy. Idalynn received the B.Music in Performance from the University of Louisville, where she studied with Paul Kling. She holds a M. Music in Performance from Belmont University, with additional graduate studies at Indiana University School of Music and the University of Victoria (Canada). Major teachers include Georges Janzer, Jaroslav Karlovsky, Kathryn Plummer and Monisa Angell. She has participated in string pedagogy workshops with Mimi Zweig, and has completed and registered Teacher Training with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Her students have been selected for leadership positions in the Curb Youth Symphony, MTSBOA Mid-State and TN All-State Orchestras, TN Governors School for the Arts, and UTK Honors Orchestra Festival, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Viola graduates of her studio at Belmont Academy have won scholarships to the Eastman School of Music, University of Memphis, and Centre College, among others.
As a free-lance violist, Idalynn performs regularly with the Nashville Symphony. She has also appeared with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the Nashville String Machine, and in chamber music performances at Piccolo Spoleto (Charleston) and CityStages (Birmingham). Before moving to Nashville in 1994, she played with the Alabama Symphony, Victoria Symphony and the Louisville Orchestra.
Idalynn does not teach on Sunday. She prefers to play at home with her husband, violist Bruce Christensen and their Golden Retriever, Scarlett.