Ijoister Pyle-Harris
Ijoister Pyle-Harris is MYSO’s String Orchestra Central Music Director and a Prelude Orchestra Coach. He is a multi-disciplined artist with an emphasis in string orchestra. He has been active with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (Band Buddies), the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Arts in Community Education (ACE) Program, Summerfest Band Camps, Wisconsin School Music Association as a Solo & Ensemble Festival adjudicator, and with the Rochester Symphony and Cardinal Stritch Orchestra as a violinist. He is an alumnus of MYSO/MFY (Music For Youth) and Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Ijoister serves as an orchestra clinician and private violin instructor, most recently he directed UW-Madison’s Summer Music Clinic.
Ijoister spent 35 years in MPS as an orchestra director leading students in grades 3-12 to excellence in string performance and in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. Ijoister received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a string emphasis from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is IB MYP music certified, and has a bronze level ballroom dance certification. Ijoister was a co-pilot teacher that helped develop the World Drumming Curriculum being used around the world in conjunction with Dr. Will Schmidt, Remo, and UW-Milwaukee.
He received teacher of the year in 2013 from Milwaukee Public Schools, MMABSE, Civic Music Association, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Golda Meir School began an annual Harris Music Legacy Award in his honor. Ijoister is on the MSO Education Board, PianoArts Board, and is the Middle School State Honors second violin coach. He currently performs with the Ricky Price Ensemble. When he’s not directing an orchestra, he enjoys ballroom dancing and learning to play the accordion.