Rebecca Ansel, DMA, violinist, has studied, taught and performed throughout the United States and in Europe. Dr. Ansel earned her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where she studied with Kathleen Winkler, and Master and Doctorate degrees in Violin Performance from The University of Michigan where she studied with Paul Kantor, and was a teaching assistant for five years. Dr. Ansel studied with some of the most widely recognized and acclaimed string quartets, including the Takács Quartet, American String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet and the Lydian String Quartet. Throughout her career, she has performed a variety of musical styles, including baroque music with the Denton Bach Society in Denton, Texas, the New York Early Music Ensemble in Ithaca, NY; contemporary music with Ensemble X, Kulmusik and the Light in Winter Festival in Ithaca, New York. Dr Ansel has taught violin at the University level since the Fall of 2001, serving as Lecturer of Violin at The Ohio State University, and as Assistant Professor of Violin at Ithaca College. In the 2009 - 2010 academic year, Dr. Ansel was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to her teaching duties, she was also a member of the Holberg String Quartet, the Oklahoma Chamber Players, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. She is currently living and freelancing in the Philadelphia area, where she is a member of the Philadelphia Ballet, the violinist at the Walnut Street Theater, on the Executive Board of the Local 77 Musicians’ Union, and a private instructor.