About

Dr. Susan Bengtson Price is a passionate performer and music educator. A native of Richland, Washington, Susan is based in Chicago, where she performs as the violist of the KAIA String Quartet. In 2021, she joined the chamber orchestra Camerata Chicago with whom she also performs regularly. Starting in 2023, she was appointed viola professor at Carthage College and was appointed to the viola faculty at the Birch Creek Summer Music Academy. At DePaul University's Community Music Division, where the KAIA String Quartet is the resident ensemble, Susan coaches chamber music and maintains a private studio.

From 2018 to 2021, she served as Michelle LaCourse’s teaching assistant at Boston University, graduating with a DMA in 2022. In the summer of 2021 and 2022, Susan taught at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute as LaCourse’s Viola Workshop assistant. While completing her doctoral coursework, Susan performed as a violist in the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, taught nonmajor undergraduate violists at Boston University, and coached nonmajor chamber ensembles.

From 2016-2018 Susan earned her master’s degree in viola performance from Northwestern University while serving as Helen Callus’ graduate assistant. During the 2017-18 season, she performed as a violist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and in 2018 toured China and Hong Kong as assistant principal violist of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. In support of broader access to music education, Susan taught strings for Sistema Ravinia during her studies.

Susan completed her undergraduate studies with Jeffrey Irvine at the Cleveland Institute of Music, graduating with academic honors with a Bachelor of Music in 2016. As the first violist to participate in an exchange program between CIM and the Royal Danish Academy of Music, she also studied with Tim Frederiksen in Copenhagen in 2014.