10 Jun 2025 AVS Educator Mini-Grant Recipients Announced
The AVS Education Committee is pleased to announce the winners of our 2025 AVS Educator Mini-Grants supporting viola pedagogy and education. This program invests in viola teachers, providing our valuable educators with funding to enhance the quality and/or scope of their teaching. Previous grantees have used Educator Mini-Grant funds to host Viola Days, commission new works, purchase equipment and supplies, gain important training (such as Suzuki teacher training and Rolland certification), support innovative uses of technology in the classroom and studio, and much more.
Congratulations to this year’s recipients, who will pursue a broad variety of projects:
Colette Abel will attend the 50th International Viola Society Congress to gather new repertoire for her students and will complete a video project with them upon her return.
Ayn Balija will commission a viola ensemble work for her viola studio, allowing them to meet and work in person with a living composer and premiere the resulting work.
Nicole Herrera will embark upon a multi-year project of developing a curriculum that integrates genres from the American vernacular (including gospel, jazz, country, and hip hop) into the Suzuki repertoire sequence, helping to expand access to underserved communities and promote and preserve American msuical heritage.
Hannah Levinson will work with student composers to commission two multi-level viola ensemble works, allowing her students to work with livind composers and creating more inclusive experiences for participants in her school’s Viola Day.
Ashley Overby will use funding to build a library of multi-level and flexible instrumentation scores to enhance student experiences at her symphony’s Viola Day.