Lillian Klotz has performed in venues throughout the United States and Central America including Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia's Academy of Music, Cleveland's Severance Hall, Panama City's Teatro Anita Villaz, the Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, and “Good Morning Arizona.” A native of Philadelphia, she resides in Oberlin, Ohio where she is a faculty member of Oberlin Community Music School and a strings teacher in the Berea City School District. She recently completed a Master’s degree in violin performance at the Pennsylvania State University where she was a graduate assistant. At Penn State University, Klotz performed in the Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Gerardo Edelstein, and in the Graduate String Quartet. She also played in the first violin section of the Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra. Outside of the university, she taught private and group violin classes with the State College Suzuki Program. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Klotz taught middle school orchestra in Tempe and Phoenix, Arizona.
Lillian Klotz began Suzuki violin at age 7, at the Academy of Children’s Music (Fort Washington, PA). Her early studies took place at the Settlement Music School, and Temple Music Prep, where she was a student of Charles Parker. During high school, she was a summer participant at Interlochen Arts Camp and Luzerne Music Center. Klotz is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied music education and violin as a student of Andrew Jennings. During her studies at Oberlin, Klotz traveled annually to Panama City, Panama with her quartet as a guest teacher and performer in the country’s annual music camp and festival. In Oberlin, she was actively involved in teaching violin in the community and served as the collegiate president for the Music Education Association of Oberlin.
In addition to classical training, Klotz began performing Klezmer music at age 12 with her father in their synagogue band. At Oberlin, she was a founding member of “Oberlin Klezmorim: Spontaneous Oy.” She performed with and managed “OK-SO,” playing at weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, parties, and events throughout the Cleveland area. She has worked with some of the world’s leading Klezmer musicians at Living Tradition's KlezKamp and KlezKanada. Klezmer music has led Klotz to other non-classical experiences, collaborating for recordings with pop and rock artists, and playing an occasional tango or blues number.