Heather Lofdahl is assistant professor of Music Education at The Ohio State University. She is a string education specialist. Dr. Lofdahl has over a decade of experience teaching elementary through university orchestra students in Illinois, Georgia and North Carolina. Most recently, she served as a string techniques instructor at the University of North Carolina–Greensboro (UNCG), music director of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra, assistant conductor of the UNCG Sinfonia, program coordinator for the Peck Alumni Leadership Program, and violin and viola teacher at The Music Academy of North Carolina, where she was awarded the Mary Elizabeth King Brown Teaching Excellence Award in 2014.

Lofdahl is published in the String Research Journal and American String Teachers (AST) Journal. She is an active member of the American String Teachers Association and the National Association for Music Education, and she has served on the AST Editorial Committee. Through these organizations as well as the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the International Society for Music Education, Lofdahl has presented research at the Symposium for Music Teacher Education, International Society for Music Education Conference (Glasgow, Scotland), American String Teachers Association National Conference, and various state conferences. Her qualitative, quantitative and community-engaged research is focused on equity and access in music education, best practices of outstanding string teachers, and practice behaviors of string students.

Heather Lofdahl holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance from Augustana College, Master of Music degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance from The University of North Carolina–Greensboro, and a PhD in Music Education from UNCG. She is an active guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States.

Featured Professional Activities

• Zabanal, J. A., Chang, A. C., & Lofdahl, H. A. (2022). A content analysis of the American String Teacher (2000–2019). String Research Journal. Advance online publication.
• Lofdahl, H. A., & Zabanal, J. A. (2019). Incorporating technology in the performance-based orchestra classroom. American String Teacher, 69(3), 19–24.
• Pope, D. A., & Lofdahl, H. A. (2017). Starting a new job: Ten strategies for a successful transition. American String Teacher, 67(1), 30–33.
• Geringer, J. M., MacLeod, R. B., & Lofdahl, H. A. (2015). A survey of practice behaviors among middle and high school string players. String Research Journal, 6(1), 55–69.