Dr. Cortney Combs Baker

Dr. Cortney Combs Baker, a native of Athens, Georgia, began her violin studies at the age of three in the University of Georgia Pre-College Suzuki program. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University in 1995, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 and 2002, respectively. She was the winner of the University of Texas Concerto Competition in 1999.  Dr. Baker has performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Abilene Philharmonic and the Victoria Symphony where she was principal second violinist for several seasons. From 1995-2002, she taught and then served as Assistant Director for the University of Texas String Project, a teacher training program in Austin.

As a guest clinician, she has served on the faculty of Furman University Band and Orchestra Camp, the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute and various regional workshops. She co-directed the Sunshine Suzuki Strings in Davie, Florida and the South Carolina Suzuki Institute. She completed her Level 1 training in Music Mind Games in 2016 and has since enjoyed playing music games with both teachers and students in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.  Dr. Baker currently has a violin/viola studio, Pineland Suzuki Strings, in Cary, North Carolina and performs with the North Carolina Opera Orchestra and the Pro Cantores Orchestra at Duke University.