Private Lessons

Barbara Woodring Brown was raised in the suburbs of Boston and studied piano at Nyack College in New York, Boston University School for the Arts and the University of Arkansas Graduate school where she holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance. She also has a Master of Education from Lesley Graduate School in Cambridge Massachusetts.

In addition to keyboard studies Mrs. Brown has played violin and more recently viola throughout her career as a middle school and high school orchestra director in Longview, Kilgore, Tyler and Dallas school districts, retiring in 2018 after six years at Hillcrest High School in Dallas.

 Mrs. Brown has performed on violin and viola locally with the Sherman Symphony, the New Life Symphony and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving as well as formerly with the Longview, Marshall and North Arkansas Symphonies. She has performed with the Global Missions Project in Brazil, Israel, Guatemala and twice in Italy.

More recently she has studied violin (2018-2019) with Sho-Mei Pelletier (Associate Principal 2nd Violin, DSO) and viola (2020-2022) with Barbara Sudweeks (Associate Principal Viola DSO and SMU Faculty). The focus of study was primarily on technique through state level etudes, 3 octave scales, Bach unaccompanied works and advanced repertoire.

 Ms. Brown has served as a church pianist and organist for many years and enjoys accompanying soloists and choirs in both church and school settings. She has worked for Trekorda for the last five years as a coach and accompanist and independently as an accompanist all over the metroplex.

 She currently freelances as a teacher, accompanist and judge for local music teachers’ associations and the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

Mrs. Brown has lived in Massachusetts, Kenya (where she served with Africa Inland Mission), Southern California, Arkansas, Illinois and Texas. She has three grown children, eight grandchildren and two dogs. She enjoys practicing, reading, hiking and traveling with her husband, Stephen Brown, (semi-retired artist/illustrator) who now drives for Denton ISD

Jacob Surak is an American cellist dedicated to creating the next evolution of cello Pedagogy. Jacob began playing cello at age 10 in his native state of South Carolina. He had the privilege of working with the best teachers available Jacqueline Taylor, Bob Jesselson, and Christopher Hutton. During his youth he won numerous competitions and was an active member of 5 different orchestras by the time he was 16. He now holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cello performance from the University of North Texas School of Music. While at UNT, he studied under world class teachers Eugene Osadchy and Jesse Eschbach(organ). He was also heavily influenced mentors Gundrun Raschen, Johnathan Spitz, and Debbie Brooks, who helped him discover his passion for Cello Pedagogy. Teaching is his greatest passion, constantly challenging him to learn and come up with new ways to keep students engaged and always having fun while learning. Jacob is also the creator of Practicecompanions.com, a business focused on guided practice sessions and the learning of how to practice. When not teaching, he prides himself on being an active chamber musician, orchestral player, soloist, and pedagogue in the DFW area. During his summers he frequently travels and plays concerts and operas all across the world. Jacob is currently working to perform benefit recitals which will send aid to musicians in need in Haiti. If you would like to donate to this cause or have any questions on how you can get involved please contact Surak50@gmail.com.

Andrew Dunlap began playing the double bass at the age of 12. By the time he started High School, he had begun studying double bass with Gudrun Raschen, who is now a bass professor at the University of North Texas.  He placed in Texas All region and Texas All State ensembles, attended the Bass and Cello Conservatory in Dallas, and studied regularly at the North Texas Summer Double Bass Camps.  He performed with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra regularly in High School, and toured China with them in 2015. Andrew has also worked with Joel Quarrington and Robert Cohen, respectively, at Orford in 2018. Since then, he has performed with the Monroe Symphony, Odysseus Chamber Orchestra, and most recently was part of a choral orchestral fundraiser concert in support of The Grace Center Texas.  Andrew is currently working towards completing his bachelor's at UNT, and is an electric bassist for Captain Moon and The Silver Spoons.