Meet the Directors

Mrs. Nicole Fink, Director

Mrs. Christina Whitson, Director

Mrs. Anna Franckhauser, Teacher

Nicole Fink is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. She started out learning to play the violin at the age of nine, in the program offered by her public school. Her "official" performance career started at the age of 16, when she started to play in her church orchestra and played her very first wedding there. Her teaching career began in college, when, as a performance major at Cedarville University, a fellow musician asked her to take over her private lesson students while on pregnancy leave. She soon fell in love with teaching, and switched her major from performance to education. She has traveled the world, from the US to Europe, to Asia, and the Caribbean Islands- performing, teaching, and ministering.

Nicole has taught music to students at Lakota Local Schools since 1998. Currently the director of Choral Music at Liberty Jr. School, she is affiliated with professional organizations OMEA and NAfME. She serves in her church weekly by playing violin/cello in the worship band. She and her husband, Jay, have two beautiful children, Molly and Malachai.

Christina Whitson comes from a musical family. Her mother was a concert violinist, and all six children play multiple instruments. A yearly reunion is based around playing music together. Her teaching career began in high school, giving piano lessons and accompanying her mother’s violin students. After studying piano performance at St. Paul Bible College in Minnesota, Christina has kept music at the forefront of many years in the business world, co-founding Silver Strings with Nicole Fink in 1999.

Christina served seven years as Choral Accompanist for Lakota West High School, and two years as Music Teacher at Cincinnati Christian High School before opening her private music studio in 2010. A member of the Music Teachers National Association, she enjoys teaching piano, voice, violin, cello, and bass students. Of special delight has been the many years of serving as church pianist, and developing and directing teen choirs and ensembles at her church.

Anna Franckhauser is a third generation strings player in a family with a widely diverse musical history. Her grandparents owned and passionately operated a violin shop, her grandmother not only taught violin at a professional level, but also played concert violin; her grandfather, a retired Federal investigator, trained to become a proficient violin repair man. Anna began taking piano lessons at age 7, and violin lessons at age 8, and played in the Silver Strings program through high school.

Anna spent many years in music ministries through her church, singing in special groups, and playing piano. She enjoyed being part of the team that provided music on a missions trip to Belize in 2010. She joins her extended family yearly to provide music to a large family camp. She and her husband, Andy, are the proud parents of a baby girl, and Anna loves to play piano and violin for her little one.

Anna graduated from Liberty University in 2014 with degrees in paralegal studies, criminal justice, and psychology, and began work in a renowned Cincinnati law firm. She has maintained her love of music and has a high regard for her musical heritage. Anna has enjoyed assisting and subbing in the Silver Strings classrooms, and is looking forward to working with the Intermediate I students this season.