Elise Winters

Master of Science, Social Work

Beginning violin at the age of four, Elise Winters-Huete studied with internationally renowned Suzuki teacher Ronda Cole and with Elisabeth Adkins, then associate concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra. She is a graduate summa cum laude of Rice University in English and Music, studying with Kathleen Winkler and playing under the baton of Larry Rachleff. A member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra for 12 years, she is highly sought as a chamber musician and soloist in the Austin area. She has been on faculty at the Austin Chamber Music Center for 12 years, and has twice co-coordinated their summer chamber music workshop.

Elise’s interests outside of music have extended to developmental psychology, linguistics, neurolinguistics, cognition, communication, biomechanics, and self-organizing systems. She was a Presidential Scholar at the University of Texas, where she received her Master of Science in Social Work in 1999. She received her Kodaly training at the University of Indiana under Brent Gault and Georgia Newlin.

After teaching in the Suzuki method for eight years, Elise saw a need for a method that would provide students with a smoother learning sequence and a complete music education. She has found her home in developing Kaleidoscopes, a multi-disciplinary, theoretically grounded book for young players, marrying her gift for the violin with her love of psychology, philosophy and creative expression.