Remembering Sue Mann

Founder

Sue Mann is the founder of Magical Strings West, and continued as the Musical and Executive Director until her passing on February 12, 2021. She was loved by all and will be greatly missed. Sue left an enduring legacy in the children she taught and in the program she built. Without her, Magical Strings West would not exist.

Sue began her musical training with Betty Haag, and receiving her Suzuki teacher certification, she taught in Berlin, Germany for over 20 years, privately as well as at the Musikschule Berlin-Wilmersdorf. She has taught violin and directed violin performance groups for 30+ years, in Germany, Chicago (at the Betty Haag Academy of Music), and since 2010 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Invitations to be a guest clinician at string workshops brought her on numerous occasions throughout Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland. Performance experience included 12 years as a violinist with the Brandenburg Chamber Orchestra and 7 years in the Billroth String Quartet. From 1999 to 2010 she taught students in the Chicago area, in her private studio as well as at the renowned Betty Haag Academy.