Daniel Strawser
Term Instructor, Cello
Music Education
Fine Arts 211
(907) 474-5004
dmstrawser@alaska.edu
Office Hours:
TBA
Dr. Daniel Strawser is an active cellist throughout the United States who has taught at all levels of music education. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Strawser studied music education at Denison University and holds masters and doctoral degrees in cello performance from the University of Memphis, where he studied with Brazilian cellist Leo Altino.
Active in symphonic, chamber, and solo performance, Dr. Strawser has performed throughout the Midwest, the Mid-South region, Alaska, and beyond. The principal cellist of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, he previously served as principal cellist of the Delta Symphony Orchestra while also performing with the Starkville Symphony, The Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and the Memphis-based Eroica Ensemble. Additionally, he has performed with orchestras in Ohio, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Washington, and Italy. Dr. Strawser has also been active in regional chamber music, performing with the Arkansas State Piano Quartet and pursuing duet performances with colleagues. Dr. Strawser has performed solo recitals on a variety of repertory in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Ohio. The little-known Austrian composer Hans Gál is a particular favorite of his, and Gál's cello music was the subject of Dr. Strawser's doctoral dissertation.
Working in disadvantaged urban schools, Dr. Strawser taught in the public school system in Memphis, Tennessee for nine years. Dr. Strawser organized and maintained active orchestra programs throughout the city of Memphis in some of the most impoverished and crime-ridden neighborhoods in the United States. This time in public education gave Dr. Strawser a great passion for helping the disadvantaged have access to the classical music experience and access to excellent training in the field.
Dr. Strawser has served on the faculties of Arkansas State University and Union University as an instructor of cello, where he helped to develop each school's respective cello program by teaching their very first performance majors on the instrument.
As instructor of music education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr. Strawser brings a strong commitment to excellence and community. Students studying Music Education at UAF are guided through a variety of unique experiences that help to prepare them for classroom teaching. These include participation in professional organizations, such as the collegiate NAfME chapter and AMEA that involve students in fundraising, conferences, and other professional activities. Students are also encouraged and given opportunities to work alongside local advocates for music education in Fairbanks, and are given many opportunities in both curriculum and outside of it to practice their teaching in real classroom settings.