SUSAN SPIER has extensive professional experience as a violinist, musicologist and teacher. Her approach is to develop an appreciation for classical music while making it enjoyable and accessible. She tailors musical programs to each situation. Her students have successfully completed Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exams, participated in recitals for the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA), and pursued studies at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, Humberside Collegiate, and universities.
Susan actively ran Creative Strings Studio from 2002-2020. Prior teaching included Dawson College in Montreal; and Ecole de LaSalle,and Canterbury High School in Ottawa. She was a violin faculty member of the Royal Conservatory Community School in Toronto, and music specialist at the Toronto French School (Mississauga Campus). She has lectured in music appreciation in Continuing Education departments at Ryerson and McGill Universities.
Susan was a tenured violinist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (including recordings), and has worked with such distinguished conductors as Franz-Paul Decker, Zubin Mehta, and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. She also wrote program notes for the orchestra. Freelance work has ranged from classical chamber orchestras, to opera, ballet, CBC radio and TV, Gilbert and Sullivan, and popular artists. (...when they used local professionals on their tours: Liberace, Shirley MacLean, Tony Bennett, Ginette Reno to name a few...). A chamber music enthusiast, Susan has performed with colleagues in recitals at the McMichael Art Collection, the Varley Art Gallery, Glendon University's Journée Internationale de la Francophonie, the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association events, the Waldorf School, Sunnybrooke Hospital, Living Hope Baptist Church and others. In 2016 Susan and pianist Catherine Maguire released the CD "Schumann and his Circle".
Susan is a violin graduate of McGill University's Faculty of Music and the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (music) from Concordia University and a Master of Arts in musicology from l'université de Montréal. She also has an Honours BA in translation from York University and achieved the status of certified French to English translator with the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO).
Susan is the author of the violin scale book Creative Strings: Scales with Susan (2010). She edited Soundplay - Eight Character Pieces for solo violin by Susan Griesdale (2011) and performed the world premiere of these pieces.
Susan was a writer/researcher for The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and a music subject editor for The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. She has written and translated many articles on performers, composers, and other artistic topics.
In 2015, Susan attended the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School in New York City. In 2016, she participated in "Joachim at 185" - a musicological conference honouring this great violinist, held in Boston, MA.
Susan actively ran Creative Strings Studio from 2002-2020. Prior teaching included Dawson College in Montreal; and Ecole de LaSalle,and Canterbury High School in Ottawa. She was a violin faculty member of the Royal Conservatory Community School in Toronto, and music specialist at the Toronto French School (Mississauga Campus). She has lectured in music appreciation in Continuing Education departments at Ryerson and McGill Universities.
Susan was a tenured violinist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (including recordings), and has worked with such distinguished conductors as Franz-Paul Decker, Zubin Mehta, and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. She also wrote program notes for the orchestra. Freelance work has ranged from classical chamber orchestras, to opera, ballet, CBC radio and TV, Gilbert and Sullivan, and popular artists. (...when they used local professionals on their tours: Liberace, Shirley MacLean, Tony Bennett, Ginette Reno to name a few...). A chamber music enthusiast, Susan has performed with colleagues in recitals at the McMichael Art Collection, the Varley Art Gallery, Glendon University's Journée Internationale de la Francophonie, the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association events, the Waldorf School, Sunnybrooke Hospital, Living Hope Baptist Church and others. In 2016 Susan and pianist Catherine Maguire released the CD "Schumann and his Circle".
Susan is a violin graduate of McGill University's Faculty of Music and the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (music) from Concordia University and a Master of Arts in musicology from l'université de Montréal. She also has an Honours BA in translation from York University and achieved the status of certified French to English translator with the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO).
Susan is the author of the violin scale book Creative Strings: Scales with Susan (2010). She edited Soundplay - Eight Character Pieces for solo violin by Susan Griesdale (2011) and performed the world premiere of these pieces.
Susan was a writer/researcher for The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and a music subject editor for The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. She has written and translated many articles on performers, composers, and other artistic topics.
In 2015, Susan attended the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School in New York City. In 2016, she participated in "Joachim at 185" - a musicological conference honouring this great violinist, held in Boston, MA.
