Erica Shirts
Director of the Duke University String School and Teacher of Violin, Viola, Chamber Music, Beginner Violin, and Violin Choir III
Erica, a native of Utah, regularly performs in the North Carolina Symphony and North Carolina Opera. Erica has served as the Associate Concertmaster of the Fayetteville Symphony, violinist of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and also the Lansing Symphony in Michigan. She frequently plays chamber music on the violin, as well as the viola. Erica has served as Violin Director for Kidznotes, an after-school program for under-served students in Durham and Raleigh based on the model of El Sistema.
After receiving a Bachelors of Music from the University of Michigan, Erica Shirts earned a Masters of Music and a Performer Diploma at Indiana University. She received her pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig as well as certification in the Suzuki method. Erica taught private violin lessons, group classes and theory classes at the world-renowned Indiana University String Academy, part of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Erica has primarily studied violin with Ms. Zweig, Aaron Berofsky and Gerald Elias, as well as quartet studies with the Pacifica Quartet and orchestral studies with Jorja Fleezanis.
Erica performs on a violin made by Carlo Carletti in 1899. For her performing schedule and more information on her pedagogical philosophy, please visit www.ericashirts.com
Erica enjoys hiking, cooking, watching movies, and exploring North Carolina with her husband and two busy kids.