Suzanne Wijsman is an Associate Professor in the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, a position she has held since 1997. Born in the USA to European parents, she received her formal musical training at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the International Cello Centre in the UK, and the Eastman School of Music. Her degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991), Master of Music (MMus) from the same institution (1986), Bachelor of Music (BMus) in Violoncello and Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors in Religion from Oberlin College and Conservatory (1981), and Master of Arts in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan (1981). Before joining UWA, she lectured at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (1990-1996), served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Eastman (1992), and taught at Colgate University and as a teaching assistant at Eastman. As a professional cellist, Wijsman has performed extensively in chamber music and recitals across the USA, Australia, and Europe, including with the prize-winning Augustine String Quartet (1985-1989) and the Stirling String Quartet (1990-1996).

At UWA, she has held leadership roles such as Chair of Strings (2015-2021) and current Chair of Lower Strings (2021-present), along with Graduate Research Coordinator (2000-2006, 2015) and Teaching and Learning Coordinator (2008-2009). Her research specializations encompass musicians’ performance health, musicians' health literacy, health promotion in music teaching, and musical iconography in medieval Hebrew manuscripts and early modern Jewish sources. She developed the internationally adopted Sound Performers online course in 2012, which addresses posture, injury prevention, and performance psychology, and led the Musicians’ Health National Curriculum Initiative in 2009. Wijsman has supervised numerous postgraduate and honours students to completion and collaborates internationally, including forming the Musicians Health Literacy Consortium in 2018. Key publications include “Educating Australian musicians: are we playing it safe?” (2019, Medical Problems of Performing Artists), “Uncovering the Oppenheimer Siddur: using scientific analysis to explore scribal and artistic processes” (2018, Heritage Science), “On a Harp of Ten Strings I Will Sing Praises to You: Envisioning Women and Music in the Oppenheimer Siddur” (2023), and contributions to Resounding Images: Medieval Intersections of Art, Music and Sound (2015). Among her honors are the Polonsky Visiting Researcher Fellowship at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (2020) and Fulbright Award. Her work has significantly impacted music education and performer health globally.

Professional Email: suzanne.wijsman@uwa.edu.au