A passionate music educator and performer, Betsy Mendel is a violist and violinist based in Northern Kentucky. Before moving back to Kentucky, she was Assistant Director of the Black Swamp Fine Arts School in Bowling Green, OH, where she taught string orchestra, general music, creative movement, and private lessons. Ms. Mendel was the string orchestra director at JOY Music in Napoleon, OH, and the band director at TEACH Homeschool co-op in Toledo, OH. She also worked as an adjunct professor at BGSU to teach Classroom Techniques to undergraduate music education majors. Besides her work in arts administration and classroom teaching, Ms. Mendel maintains an average studio size of 20 private lesson students at any given time.
Originally from Kentucky, Betsy began studying violin with Jenna Potts, and continued with Gabe Pegis and Catherine Lange-Jensen of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She has studied viola with Dr. Holly Attar, Matthew McBride-Daline, and Kalindi Bellach, and cello with Dr. Amy Gillingham. Ms. Mendel was a recipient of the American String Teachers Association “Exemplary Student Service Award,” and was chosen to be NKU’s “Outstanding Graduate in Music" when she completed her first degree in music education.
In the spring of 2018 Ms. Mendel co-presented a session on Entrepreneurship in Arts Education with Sophia Jarrell at the American String Teachers Association National Conference in Atlanta, GA. She also co-presented a session on teaching adult music learners with Dr. Lisa Gruenhagen at the Ohio Music Educators Association State Conference in Columbus, OH. Ms. Mendel holds a MM in Music Education from Bowling Green State University (published thesis: Investigating the Motivations, Musical Goals, and Preferences of Adults Learning Orchestral String Instruments in Community Music Classes), and a BM in Music Education (Summa Cum Laude) from Northern Kentucky University.
