David Sawtelle is a graduate of West Texas State University, with a BME in all-level music education and holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting. David has served in a variety of conducting and teaching capacities in his career. He has been assistant director of the El Paso Youth Symphony and the Pacific Palisades Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted the Pflugerville Youth Orchestra and the Heart of Texas Suzuki Organization Chamber Music Orchestra. And he has taught instrumental music in the El Paso, Los Angeles, Georgetown and Austin school districts. Mr. Sawtelle is a prize winner at the Accademia dell’Arte di Firenze Symphony Conductors Competition in Florence, Italy. David is also former director of the Alpena Symphony Orchestra in Alpena, Mich. and the Little Traverse Choral Society in Petoskey, Mich. At the Crooked Tree Art Center in Petoskey, David taught string students in the Dorothy Gerber String program. He currently is a teaching artist for the MusicWorks musical outreach program in Fort Myers, where he directs the advanced string orchestra and loves teaching the art of violin and viola performance to advanced students.