String Orchestra

Mary Pat Michels is MYSO’s String Orchestra West Music Director.

Since 1997, she has taught in the School District of West Allis-West Milwaukee (WAWM) and is currently the orchestra director at West Allis Central High School and Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate School, director of the WAWM Shining Strings, and the WAWM RCS Sinfonia. She is also music coordinator & curriculum lead for the district where she oversees the music programs of 18 teachers in 15 schools. She maintains a private violin and viola studio, is an adjudicator for the WSMA Solo-Ensemble Festivals, and is currently the WSMA Middle Level Honors Orchestra Coordinator.

Mrs. Michels is also an active free-lance musician and teacher in Southeastern Wisconsin.  She earned degrees in Violin and Viola Performance and her Music Education Certification at UW-Milwaukee (UWM). While at UWM, Mrs. Michels was the orchestra music librarian/project assistant, the assistant to the director of bands, managed the UWM Brass Choir, and was the UWM Youth Wind Ensemble Program Coordinator.  She also has her Master’s degree in educational leadership from Cardinal Stritch University.

Mrs. Michels was principal violist, music librarian and personnel manager of the Wisconsin Philharmonic, where she played for nearly twenty years. She also served as principal viola of the Racine Symphony Orchestra (RSO) from 2000-2007, soloing twice with the orchestra.  She is currently operations assistant and music lIbrarian for the Festival City Symphony where she is a member of the viola section.  Mrs. Michels is also the manager and founder of the Lakeside Strings, which performs chamber music at special events throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.

Mary Pat Michels (née Subjak) is an MYSO/MFY alumna—and played violin and viola in all of the orchestras from 1982-1991. A highlight was the MYSO tour to Scotland and the Aberdeen, Scotland Festival orchestra, as principal viola of MYSO’s Senior Symphony.

From 1991-2000, Mrs. Michels coached various MYSO orchestras and chamber ensembles and served as an administrative assistant. In 2008, she returned to the MYSO staff as orchestra director for the Progressions Program. After twelve years with Progressions, she is thrilled to be the music director for String Orchestra West, which is the first orchestra she played in at MYSO/MFY.

Programs

String Orchestra

Lynn Trinkl is a cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BM degree in Applied Viola. She also holds an MM in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music.

She received her music education certification from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and has also studied at the Aspen Music Festival. She has been a string sectional coach for the Wisconsin State High School Honors Music Project and has taught for the Waukesha, West Allis, and South Milwaukee School Districts, as well as maintaining a private studio.

During summers, Lynn served as Assistant Director and Counselor Coordinator for the Wisconsin String Teachers Elementary Orchestra Camp. Lynn has also performed with several local groups, including the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the Wisconsin Philharmonic and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

A Madison resident, Lynn enjoys spending time with her husband and three children.

Programs

String Orchestra

MYSO alumna Sonora Brusubardis is a violin instructor for MYSO’s Progressions Program and the organization’s Community Artists Coordinator. In addition, served as a coach for MYSO’s String Orchestra North for five years. In 2018, Sonora became certified to teach Suzuki violin and viola. In 2020, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in violin and viola performance. She currently has a studio in the Summit area teaching violin, viola, and beginner piano to students of all ages.

Programs

Progressions

String Orchestra South Coach Alexa Zakutansky-Clark is an orchestra director in the Mukwonago Area School District, teaching at three elementary schools and Mukwonago High School. In addition to her teaching in the Mukwonago schools, she teaches cello lessons to a variety of students ranging in age and ability and currently serves as treasurer for the Wisconsin chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA).

Ms. Zakutansky-Clark has served as a clinician for several string festivals including the Wisconsin Young Artists Honors Orchestra and the UW-Whitewater Symphony Orchestra High School Honors concert and taught lessons for the Lake Geneva Symphony and the UW-Whitewater String Academy.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2018 with a Bachelor of Music Education degree with an instrumental emphasis. While at UW-Whitewater, she served as the president of the collegiate chapter of ASTA for three years. In 2018, Ms. Zakutansky-Clark was awarded the Student Exemplary Service Award, the highest award given to a student, at the National ASTA convention.

In her teaching, she focuses on building strong relationships with her students. She believes that by being empathetic and compassionate, she can not only build strong, well-rounded musicians, but kind humans too.

Programs

String Orchestra

Ryan Fitzpatrick is a registered Suzuki cello teacher and has worked internationally with students, schools, and ensembles as a clinician. As an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, he has completed training with Pam Devenport, Carey Beth Hockett, Barbara Wampner, Dr. Tanya Carey, Dr. Beth Cantrell, Dr. Shu-Yi Scott, Laura Shaw, and Avi Friedlander. He currently maintains an active Suzuki cello studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Prior to living in Milwaukee, Mr. Fitzpatrick was an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he taught cello and Music Education courses preparing students for careers in Music Education. He also taught at the Fairbanks Suzuki School of Talent Education, the Anchorage Suzuki Institute, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Alaska Cello Intensive, and founded the Fairbanks Cello Festival. He has served as President of the Alaska chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and was a conductor for Fairbanks Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been an active member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), served on the board for the Alaska Music Educators Association (AMEA), and been a regular presenter at various state Music Education conferences.

In addition to his teaching, Mr. Fitzpatrick has an active musical career across the United States as a soloist and chamber musician. He has given several regular solo recitals and performed in numerous orchestras, including serving as the assistant principal in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and participating in the Aspen Music Festival. Most recently, he was the principal cellist of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Alaska Trio, which performed with pianists at the 2017 Yamaha International E-Piano Competition.

Mr. Fitzpatrick earned his degrees from Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary cello teachers have included Dr. Carol Semmes, Dr. Emilio Colón, and Daniel McDonough of the Jupiter String Quartet, with additional long-term studies with Richard Aaron, Dr. Helga Winold, and Marc Coppey.

Mr. Fitzpatrick currently performs on a 2017 William Whedbee cello.

Programs

• Prelude Orchestra
• String Orchestra

Ijoister Pyle-Harris is MYSO’s String Orchestra Central Music Director. 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.

Programs

• String Orchestra

String Orchestra North Music Director Lyda Osinga is the orchestra teacher for Golda Meir for grades 3-12 and a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent/Young Adult, Orchestra), a distinction she earned in 2010. In addition, she maintains a private studio as a registered Suzuki teacher.

Previously, Lyda served as Director of Community Music Schools at both the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Memphis, where she led teacher training programs and taught students of all ages. Her work also included instruction in music theory, appreciation, and history. In addition, she has taught in several public and private school districts throughout the Greater Milwaukee area.

Lyda began playing the violin at age four, studying through the Suzuki Method shortly after its introduction to the United States. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance summa cum laude from West Virginia University and a Master of Music degree with honors in performance and pedagogy from the University of Colorado. She also had the unique opportunity to study in Japan with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, founder of the Suzuki Method.

An active performer, Lyda has played with the Kettle Moraine Symphony, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Concord Chamber Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She performs on violin and viola and enjoys exploring new sounds on electric violin and string bass in a variety of collaborative and impromptu musical settings.

Programs

• String Orchestra