Boston Conservatory Announces Charlene Kluegel as Assistant Chair of Instrumental Studies

Boston Conservatory at Berklee is pleased to appoint Charlene Kluegel to the new role of assistant chair of instrumental studies within the school’s Music Division. Effective immediately, Kluegel will support Boston Conservatory's Instrumental Studies Department alongside chair Matthew Marsit. In this new role, she will manage the daily operations of Boston Conservatory’s large ensemble program while working to build and maintain a network of community partners in support of the Music Division’s performances and curriculum.

“I am thrilled for Charlene to be joining this incredible leadership team at such an inflection point for the division,” says Boston Conservatory at Berklee Dean of Music Michael Shinn. “She brings to us remarkable artistry, a real sense of curiosity and collaboration, a wide array of experience, and warmth of spirit that will contribute tremendously to the thriving community here.”

Kluegel is an acclaimed violinist and advocate for new music, known for her versatile artistry that transcends the traditional boundaries of classical music genres. Hailed for her “unsentimental verve, musical feeling and great technical skill” (New York Classical Review), she has performed across North America and Europe as a chamber musician and soloist, appearing with renowned ensembles such as the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, the Cuarteto Casals, and more. As a soloist, she has appeared under the baton of Gemma New, Lee Mills, Kemal Akçag, and with the Baltimore Baroque Band and the Cornell Symphony Orchestra. 

Kluegel is the cofounder and violinist of Duo FAE, whose upcoming album of music by suffragettes champions sonata repertoire as the most intimate expression of chamber music. An advocate of new music, Kluegel has premiered works by Dan Visconti, Julia Adolphe, Stacy Garrop, Steven Snowdon, and Austin Wintory, and will be releasing an album of works for scordatura solo violin of the last 40 years. Her collaboration on Patois’s explorative CD of Latin jazz, Canto America, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Latin Jazz Album.

In addition to an illustrious performance career, Kluegel is a well-known educator committed to the advancement of emerging artists, with residencies and master classes at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, the University of Texas at Austin, and many others. 

She received a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University, a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Institute of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from Cornell University. Her primary research is in the practical intersection of pedagogy and performance practice, which led to a tenured position on the Editorial Board of the American String Teacher journal. She previously held appointments at the Peabody Institute and Carthage College.

Learn more about Charlene Kluegel and Boston Conservatory’s music programs.