Anna Cromwell has taught violin and viola at Eastern Illinois University since 2009. Dr. Cromwell is a dedicated teacher, performer, and chamber musician. She has been on faculty at Western Kentucky University, Minnesota State University, Bravo! Summer String and Keyboard Institute, and Tennessee Valley Music Festival. Cromwell can be heard performing in Duo XXI with cellist Dr. Mira Frisch on the CD, Quest: New Music for Violin and Cello, released in late 2010 by Albany Records. Duo XXI’s second CD, Metal Cicadas, was released by Albany Records in 2014. As an avid teacher and lecturer, Dr. Cromwell has given numerous presentations at state and national conferences. In the spring of 2014, she gave presentations at the Music Teachers National Association Conference, the American String Teachers Association National Conference, and the Illinois Music Educators State Conference. In addition, Dr. Cromwell’s articles have appeared in the NCASTA online journal and the Illinois ASTA journal The Scroll. She co-authored the article “Strings: Ideal Secondary Instruments for College Pianists,” which appeared in the American Music Teacher.

Dr. Cromwell earned both her M.M. and D.M.A. under Sally O'Reilly at the University of Minnesota where she was a Dahl Fellowship recipient. She studied at Rice University under Kathleen Winkler, and graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University where she was a student of Christian Teal. 

Dr. Cromwell’s passion is teaching, and her students are her first priority. As a string teacher she is dedicated to helping each of her students play musically, beautifully, and with confidence. She values her students as people first, and sets high standards within a supportive environment.