Chris Brainard teaches elementary and middle school strings in the Lexington Public Schools, where she’s been inspiring young musicians since 2010. Prior to that, she taught strings in the Quabbin District in central Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Boston University, where she studied violin with Yuri Mazurkevich, and received a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Connecticut.
She has taught at the American String Teachers’ Association (ASTA) Conference in both Maine and Massachusetts, and has been a guest conductor at the String Fling for ASTA in Connecticut, and the March String Fest in Dracut, MA. Ms. Brainard also joined the faculty of the Rivers Youth Orchestra at the Rivers Conservatory in Weston MA in 2016, conducting the Primo orchestra. She’s been involved with the Massachusetts Music Educators’ Association as an adjudicator and also as a festival orchestra manager at both the junior district and All-State levels.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Brainard is an active performer, playing both violin and viola (but not at the same time) with symphony orchestras, musical theater/pit orchestras and chamber groups across New England. She is also an occasional member of the Occasional Brass & Strings. Fun fact about Ms. Brainard: she has ridden a bicycle from Seattle WA to Washington DC, and has hiked the entirety of both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. She has also hiked about a third of the Continental Divide Trail, and hopes to finish it someday.
