Yuliya Smead

Yuliya Smead

Many people look up to famous leaders or war survivors, those who have done incredible feats of bravery or have won many awards of intellect. Many people recognize a hero as a man or woman of honor. My hero is a woman of honor, though not universally recognized. She, although traversing more than a few countries and receiving several awards, chooses to pass her knowledge on to the younger generation. She decides to assist children rather than become a famous concert violinist. Her name is Yuliya Smead.

Yuliya was born in the Ukraine. There she learned violin, piano, and guitar. Wisely, she continued violin and quickly became concert master of the State Chamber Orchestra Trembita and the Symphony Leopolis. Both of the orchestras toured many different countries including but not limited to Germany, Switzerland, France, and Poland. She won many awards including first in the Young Talents State Competition not only once, but twice. In 1999, Mrs. Smead moved to a little part of Wisconsin called the Fox Valley and began teaching violin at Lawrence Academy of Music. She went on to become the concert master for the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra and assistant concert master for the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra. She performed as a soloist with three different orchestras accompanying her.

Ms. Yulia cares about her students, their goals, and their family. Many times she would stop me in the halls and ask about my family. Because she has a life more than just music, she also enjoys cooking and gardening. My family and I had the pleasure of staying at her house for several hours to discuss the prospect of buying a new violin, although she wasn’t supposed to work that day, and she cooked some delicious food for us there. This illustration is just one of the many examples that makes Yuliya Smead such a great teacher. Mrs. Smead goes above and beyond the duty of a regular teacher. Apart from being more than qualified, she gives up her own personal time to help her students accomplish personal goals.