Susan Younghans

Susan Younghans is currently in her eighteenth season conducting the Dallas String Ensemble and the Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra program, working with exceptional musicians in grades 8 – 12. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Younghans is recognized as an accomplished teacher, conductor and performer in the Dallas area. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, where she studied with Charles Joseph, and a Master of Music Education degree as a violin major with a concentration in piano from the University of North Texas, where she furthered her studies with Mary Nan Mailman, Philip Lewis and James Lerch. She has been published in the ASTA journal for string educators. Younghans founded the string orchestra program in Lewisville ISD in 1993 and directed middle and high school strings for seven years, where her focus was program building. As an outreach of the GDYO program, she is in her sixth year assisting in the Dallas ISD, where she mentors teachers and students. She maintains a private teaching studio, and her students have won numerous contests at the local and state level. Younghans is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician and has guided many students to careers in music performance and education. She also performs regularly in regional orchestras, string quartets and other freelance ensembles. She is in her fifth year at SMU, where she is an instructor of string techniques and string pedagogy and supervises student teachers and interns as they embark on their careers. Instilling the love of music in the next generation has always been where she finds her greatest joy.