Rate My Professor Eliza Jeffords

Eliza Jeffords is Associate Professor, holder of the Anita Windecker Endowed Chair, and Director of Strings in the School of Music at Texas Lutheran University, a position she has held since August 2010. In this multifaceted role, she teaches applied violin and viola lessons, violin and viola laboratory, chamber orchestra and chamber music, musical style and literature, string methods, music appreciation, and freshman experience courses. She coordinates all string recruitment, advises students individually and groups such as Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and Service Through Music, oversees capstone and senior recital program notes, assists in recruiting and managing adjunct string faculty, and advises the TLU/Mid-Texas Symphony Community Music Academy. Jeffords earned her Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music in 2003, Master of Music in Viola Performance with a cognate in Violin Pedagogy from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2006, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Viola Performance with a cognate in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2010. Her doctoral document, "Marcel Tabuteau and His Art of Phrasing: Applied to Suite No. 6 for Cello (Transcribed for Viola) in G Major, By J.S. Bach," explores interpretive techniques in performance.

As an active performer, Jeffords serves as assistant-principal violist with the Mid-Texas Symphony, acting as a liaison between the symphony and the university while sitting on its Music Committee; she also appears frequently with the San Antonio and Corpus Christi Symphonies and previously held positions with the Spokane Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and New World Symphony. She advocates for new music by premiering works for solo viola, chamber ensemble, and orchestra, and has recorded chamber music for MSR Classics in "Winning Works of the 2010 Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition." Jeffords presents workshops at the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference and Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention, including "Expressive Musicianship: Concrete Tools to Teach Musical Performance," "Intonation Bootcamp," "Tone Toolbox," and "Vibrato from A to Z." She founded and directs TLU Viola Day and serves on the Texas ASTA Board. Her university service includes the Brandes Religious Fund, Krost Life Enrichment, Faculty Procedures Committees, Political Science and Sociology Search Committee, and Civic Engagement Committee.