This is Judy Gerratt’s eighteenth year teaching in the Westborough Schools, where she created the current innovative beginning strings curriculum. Ms Gerratt graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in violin performance. She went on to a successful career as a professional violinist performing extensively with such groups as Emmanuel Music, the Boston Baroque and Handel & Haydn Society Orchestras, the Boston Ballet and Opera Orchestras and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler. She has also has performed in various improvisational settings in both Europe and the US including klezma, flamenco, rock, and fusion. During her teaching career, Ms. Gerratt has served on the faculties of the Longy School of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Morely College in London, as well as maintaining a private violin studio in her home. Before coming to Westborough, she held a teaching position in the town of Weston. Ms. Gerratt holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Cambridge College and has been a London trained, S.T.A.T. certified teacher of the Alexander Technique of kinesthetic re-education for over 30 years.
In addition to her work in the Westborough Schools, Valerie Clemans is concertmaster of Symphony Pro Musica and performs with the Trillium Trio and the Serata String Quartet. Before moving to Massachusetts, Ms. Clemans served as concertmaster of the Maryland Symphony for four seasons and was an active freelance violinist in the Washington D.C. area. Previously, she was co-concertmaster of the New World Symphony in Miami, and in 1997 she was selected by Sir George Solti to participate in his Carnegie Hall Orchestra. Ms. Clemans has given solo recitals across the United States, Argentina, France, and the UK. Following a solo appearance in Washington DC, the Washington Post raved that Clemans played “with splendid assurance, presence and an electrifying level of communication.” She has recorded for Nau’s the Time, Élan, London, and Argo/Decca labels. Ms. Clemans holds a degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and she earned a Masters Degree in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan. She currently lives in Westborough with her husband and two children.
Theresa Cleary is in her second year as director of the 6th Grade Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Viola Performance from UMass Lowell (magna cum laude). Prior to teaching in Westborough, Ms. Cleary taught strings in the Fall River Public Schools and various outreach programs and private lesson studios. She has adjudicated for the Junior and Senior SEMSBA Festivals and various student solo competitions. She currently maintains a private lesson studio and is a chamber coach and for the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras. Ms. Cleary is currently principal violist for the New Hampshire Philharmonic as well as a member of Symphony Pro Musica. Ms. Cleary is excited to be soloing with the New Hampshire Philharmonic this May. Ms. Cleary also enjoys playing as a studio musician in recording sessions and is a member of a folk rock band and an indie rock band, both of which have performed in some of the largest venues in Boston and opened for national acts.