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 has 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; and chamber music with Roycroft Chamber Music Festival in East Aurora, NY, The
Georgetown Festival of the Arts in Georgetown, TX and the Ariadne String Quartet in Ithaca,
NY. Her orchestra and chamber orchestra credits include the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra in
Ithaca, NY; Skaneateles Festival Orchestra in Skaneateles, NY; Pro-Musica Chamber Orchestra
in Columbus, Ohio; and the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee. She has been
featured as a soloist with the Academia Filarmonica at the University of Oklahoma, Columbus
Bach Ensemble, Cornell Chamber Orchestra, Ithaca College Contemporary Music Ensemble,
West Chester University’s String Orchestra, and in countless recitals. She 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, an adjunct Artist in Residence at Temple University
Preparatory division, on the executive board of the Local 77 Mucian’s Union, and a private
instructor