Susan Spafford has a rich background as a violinist, educator, and advocate for the arts. She is a member of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and has been a regular performer with the Harrisburg Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Albany Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica, and numerous regional orchestras. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Erie Chamber Orchestra and given recitals at Mansfield University, the Library of Congress, and in Seoul, South Korea. Recent chamber music performances have included concerts in the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s Chamber Music Series and the Lancaster Café Concert Series.

In addition to her performing, Ms. Spafford has taught strings and directed orchestras in public and private schools while maintaining a private studio for many years. In 2006, she was the featured Faculty Violin Guest Artist for the String Institute at Ithaca College. Along with having obtained New York State K-12 teaching certification, Ms. Spafford has completed teacher-training courses for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and participated in the Essentials of Orchestra Management seminar offered by the American Symphony Orchestra League. As an advocate for the importance of music in education, she has actively lobbied at the local, state, and national levels of government, been invited to address state legislatures on the issue of the Performing Arts in school curriculum, and has collaborated with other organizations such as VH1 and MENC in joint efforts to promote the importance of this issue. She has presented hundreds of lectures, performances, and workshops at schools and community events throughout the country and has been a featured guest in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Family Concert Series and statewide Music Educators Association’s Conferences.

Ms. Spafford earned her M.M. and B.M. from the Eastman School of Music in Violin Performance and Music Education. In addition to her performing and teaching she is currently the Manager of Education for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Personnel Manager for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra.