Eileen Brownell

Eileen Brownell is an avid performer and instructor of music. She has taught cellists from the ages of 5 to 85 privately, in sectionals for youth orchestras from Michigan to Nevada, held positions at the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and the Flint and Ann Arbor schools for performing arts. She has been a musical ambassador in the Washoe County Nevada public schools with the Discover Strings program for the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra for the past 14 years. She do-directed and taught and performed for 10 years with the Black Glove Cello Society in St. George, Utah, where cellists of all ages gathered from all over the country to play in small and large cello ensembles for a full week every summer. Dr. Brownell is a dedicated and active performer. She is a contracted member of the Reno Philharmonic orchestra, a frequent performer with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, and for a decade was the artistic director and performed frequently with the Tahoe Chamber Music Society. She is passionate about new music and its performance. She co-founded reNEW music Ensemble in 2019, a group dedicated to the commissioning and performance of new music by Nevada composers and musicians. Since it's founding, the group has held a composer workshop, performed over 10 live concert events, and during the pandemic, held an international call for scores that generated many short works that are featured on the reNEW website. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Denver and a Master and Doctor of Music Performance from the University of Michigan. 

My teaching style is focused on problem solving as a means to make progress. I incorporate ideas from the Suzuki philosophy, information gathered from research on neuroscience, and mindfulness as means to optimize practice and performance habits. I focus on the student's individual goals and help them each find their own voice as they work through the repertoire we work together to select. My students in the last decade have all gained entry to the orchestras and colleges they have auditioned for. My students are leaders in their youth orchestra sections here in our community. They have gone on to study at many different institutions of higher learning and achieved many different artistic goals.