Jackie Skara

Dr. Jacqueline Skara currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola and Music Education (Strings) at the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University. She is also the Director of the Greenwood School of Music Preparatory Academy and Coordinator of Music Education, overseeing curriculum development, community partnerships, and teacher preparation initiatives.

Deeply committed to community engagement, Dr. Skara has collaborated with organizations such as Cheerful Heart Mission in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Kabarek University in Kenya, and the Fairview Violin Project in Indiana to develop and support string programs both locally and internationally. Her global teaching experience reflects a strong commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy and proficiency in distance learning modalities.

Dr. Skara has contributed service and leadership to the profession through roles on the ASTA Conference Planning Committee, the Advisory Board for the Music Educators Journal, the Committee for Fine Arts in Oklahoma State, and as Student Advisory Committee Chair for the National ASTA. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the ASTA National Conference, the NAfME National Research Conference, the Big Ten Academic Alliance Music Education Research Conference, and the Desert Skies Research Symposium. Her research interests include pedagogical and descriptive analyses of string shifting, as well as the intersections of parental involvement, attitudes toward music in school curricula, and social/cultural capital.

An avid chamber musician, Dr. Skara was a founding member of the Allium String Quartet and enjoys performing in ensembles that explore music beyond the Western art tradition. She performs regularly as a member of the GSM String Faculty chamber ensemble and with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, maintaining an active presence as both educator and artist.

Dr. Skara earned bachelor’s degrees in viola performance and French from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music; a master’s degree in viola performance and chamber/orchestral literature from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music; and a Ph.D. in music education, with a minor in viola performance, from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her primary viola teachers include Robert Becker, Pam Goldsmith, Roland Vamos, and Steve Wyrczynski, and she completed her doctoral studies under the mentorship of Dr. Brenda Brenner, who served as her dissertation chair.