Brook and Jessie Bennett will be Bethany’s string instructors for the orchestra programs. Brook and Jessie are professional musicians and instructors. They are looking forward to returning to Bethany this year and working with students and faculty.
Brook grew up in Chandler, Arizona, where he began playing cello at the age of 10. He holds a bachelor of music degree in cello performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a master's degree in music from the State University of New York at Purchase College. He was a member of the Alaska Quartet, which toured throughout Alaska. He received his Suzuki teaching certification from the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute and the Chicago Suzuki Institute. Brook is currently associate principal cellist of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, assistant principal cellist of the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra, principal cellist of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra, and a member of Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. He has also played with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He has taught privately and locally at Goshen College Community School of Arts and Culver Academy. He has served as string coach at Bethany and at Concord High School. He was music director at the New Horizons String Orchestra and currently serves as a sectional coach for the South Bend Youth Symphony.
Jessie was born and raised in Goshen and began violin lessons at the age of 6 in the String Preparatory Program at Goshen College. She studied at Goshen College with a focus on violin performance. She is a member of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and is a regular substitute violinist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Southwest Symphony Orchestra. She has taught privately for over 20 years in her own private studio as well as at Goshen College’s Community School of the Arts. Jessie served as string coach for the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra, Elkhart County Youth Orchestras, Bethany, and Concord High School.
Brook and Jessie have two children, Eliza and James.