Julie Wheeler
Accompanist
Julie Wheeler has been accompanying soloists and musical groups for over 25 years starting with her junior high school choir in Esbon (north-central Kansas) where she grew up. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in piano and trombone from Kansas State University in 1983 and her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and Research from Kansas University in 1991. She worked in the Kansas City, Kansas, public school system as an accompanist and as a Gifted Education teacher for several years before staying home with her two sons.
Julie accompanied the Suzuki Violin Program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, for 8 years before joining the Ottawa Suzuki Strings. She is active as a volunteer in her sons’ schools, scouting programs, and in the Johnson County Extension Master Gardener program.
Julie lives in Shawnee, KS, with her husband, Tom (also a musician), who is a financial planner with UBS/PaineWebber. They have two sons: Ben – a Suzuki violin student, and Mark – who studies guitar and plays bass in his school strings program.