Meet Chromatic’s founder and director, Dr. Sarah Wittekind
Dr. Sarah Wittekind (Macey), an accomplished violist, is an active recitalist, orchestral and chamber musician, recording musician, adjunct professor, and music teacher living in the Chicago area. She is currently in-demand as a viola and violin instructor and performer. She offers local in-person lessons when safe to do so, as well as video lessons worldwide.
Dr. Wittekind earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master’s of Music from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she attended on a performance-based scholarship. While at CCM, she studied under the tutelage of Dr. Catharine Carroll-Lees. Dr. Wittekind received her Bachelor of Music from Butler University where she received instruction from Richard Auldon Clark. She has also studied with Masao Kawasaki, Larry Shapiro, and members of the Ariel Quartet. In addition, she has participated in masterclasses with Kate Lewis, James Dunham, and Spencer Martin.
Dr. Wittekind has given several solo recitals and performed with many chamber ensembles in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Montreal, and Chicago. She has enjoyed many performances as a substitute with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she has experience in orchestral leadership positions. Dr. Wittekind served both as principal and assistant-principal viola in the Butler Symphony Orchestra, CCM’s Philharmonia, and L’Orchestre de la Francophonie. During her time in Montreal, Québec as a member of L’Orchestre de la Francophonie, she recorded a CD of works by Montreal-based composer, Airat Ichmouratov.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Wittekind was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) in addition to participating in the CYSO’s Chamber Players and Chamber Music programs. She also performed in the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival for two consecutive summers. Dr. Wittekind has been featured on radio stations such as WFMT, WGUC, and CJPX.
In addition to her many performance opportunities, Dr. Wittekind specializes in the performance of transcribed works for the viola. Because of her passion for transcribed works and their influence on the viola repertoire, she crafted a transcription of her own. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Wittekind transcribed Dvořák’s Romance in F minor for Viola (originally for violin). The piece has since been published on the International Music Score Library Project’s website- imslp.org.
Dr. Wittekind has extensive experience in teaching both at the collegiate and pre-collegiate levels. She currently serves on the faculty at CCM as an Adjunct Professor, where she instructs private lessons to undergraduate and graduate students, formulates courses, coaches chamber ensembles, and advises independent studies. She is currently instructing courses that she designed on String Repertoire and String Pedagogy to undergraduate, artist diploma, master’s, and doctoral students. Prior to that position, Dr. Wittekind was a graduate assistant to the viola studio at CCM. In the role of graduate assistant, she taught scales and technique lessons to undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, Dr. Wittekind has maintained a full studio of pre-college students with Cincinnati Strings and City Strings. She previously taught with the Butler Community Arts School (BCAS) in Indianapolis, Indiana and independently in Chicago. Dr. Wittekind has also spent many of her summers teaching for string camps with upwards of 120 students.
Dr. Wittekind is dedicated to string pedagogy and being the best music educator possible. During her doctoral degree, she specialized in pedagogy and andragogy- which helped her realize her goal of teaching and achieve her dream of establishing the Chromatic Music Conservatory.