Mary Straub has a B.M.E. from Indiana University and a Performance Diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has studied violin with Harry Farbman, Tadeusz Wronski, William Starr, John Kendall, Mimi Zweig, and Kalman Banyak. She is the founder of the Nevada School of the Arts Suzuki Talent Education Program (1981) and she has been teaching the Suzuki Method ever since. Mary Straub’s approach begins to supplement the Suzuki repertoire early in the books to ultimately include the major concerto repertoire, examinations, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire. Mary has presented at and has had student chosen to perform at three national music educators’ conferences (Chicago Midwest, American String Teachers Association [ASTA], and Suzuki Association of the Americas [SAA]) in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2010. She is active as a performer and is frequently a Suzuki workshop clinician throughout the US. She was on the faculty at the Las Vegas Academy from 1994-99 and was co-founder of the Las Vegas Music Festival in 1993.
Mary is currently the Suzuki Talent Education Director, conductor of the NSA Preparatory Orchestra, and a member of the violin faculty at the Nevada School of the Arts. Many of her students have been local, state, and national competition winners and have gone on to study music at major colleges and conservatories.
Mary was past president of the Nevada Music Teachers Association (2008-2010) and the recipient of the 2004 Nevada ASTA “Studio Teacher of the Year Award” and the 2005 Nevada Music Teachers (MTNA) “Outstanding Service Award”.