Andrew Paa

Akron-based violinist Andrew Paa enjoys a varied career as an educator, performer, and arts advocate. A dedicated teacher, Andrew has worked with students privately and in music schools in South Dakota, Iowa, and Ohio. He maintains a private studio and has previously taught at the Fairlawn and Hudson Schools of Music, and Firestone High School. His students have achieved a high degree of success, earning college scholarships and assuming leadership roles in their ensembles.

Andrew has performed across the United States and internationally in venues such as Cleveland’s Playhouse Square and the Vienna Konzerthaus. Professionally, he performed, for three seasons, in the first violin section of the Sioux City Symphony. He has played with and assumed principle positions with several collegiate ensembles including the Luther College Symphony Orchestra, the University of South Dakota Symphony, the Kent State University Orchestra and the University of Akron Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to performing chamber music, he previously founded several groups including the Cuyahoga String Quartet, Enigma String Quartet, the Rosen String Quartet, and several piano trios.

Andrew earned a MM in Chamber Music and Violin Performance from Kent State University where he studied with Cathy Meng Robinson (Miami String Quartet) and Jung-Min Amy Lee (Assistant Concertmaster with The Cleveland Orchestra). He studied chamber music with members of the Miami String Quartet and the Verve Chamber Players. Prior to Kent, he earned a MM in Violin Performance from the University of South Dakota studying violin with Dr. Eunho Kim and chamber music with members of the Rawlins Piano Trio. He earned his BA in Music from Luther College where he studied with Drs. Virginia Strauss and Jubal Fulks. Additional studies were undertaken with Frederick Halgedahl, Dan Auberbach and Maria Peters.