Maria Mastropaolo was born in Louisville, KY. At the age of 3 she began violin in the Suzuki Method.  Maria has been on faculty at the University of Evansville in their Suzuki Violin Program, under the direction of Carol Dallinger, since 1997.  She received a bachelor’s degree in performance from the University of Evansville in 1997.  Maria is trained and registered in Suzuki Violin Units 1-10, Violin Practicum, ECC, SPA, Levels 1,2, & 3 of Suzuki Early Childhood Education, plus additional supplemental courses.  In 2011 she was one of the first Suzuki teachers in the nation to receive the Certificate of Achievement from the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Maria has given lectures on the aspects of the Suzuki method and teaching for different conferences, including the SAA’s Parents as Partners conference.  She serves as Co Treasurer on the board for the Suzuki Association of Indiana and also directs the UE Suzuki Program’s annual workshop. Each summer she is on faculty at the Louisville Suzuki Institute.  Besides teaching, Maria plays in the first violin section of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (member since 1993). She lives in Evansville, IN with her husband Gardner, their music appreciating dachshunds, Bailey and Chester, and their 7 year old son Avery, who is learning the violin through the Suzuki Method.