The Director: Paul Manulik
Director Paul Manulik founded Princeton String Academy in 2005 after several years of running a private teaching studio in the Princeton area. In addition to directing the Academy, Mr. Manulik enjoys a diverse career as orchestral player, chamber musician, teacher and recitalist. He teaches both violin and viola using the Suzuki Method of Talent Education. One of his principal teachers of this method was Doris Preucil, who is internationally recognized for establishing one of the first US Suzuki schools, and from John Kendall, another highly respected founder of the Suzuki Method in the U.S. Mr. Manulik also conducts master classes for high school orchestras and serves as guest clinician at summer festivals.
Mr. Manulik has studied with Evalina Chao, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra associate principal violist, and with Jerry Horner and William Preucil. He holds a master’s degree in viola performance from the University of Iowa and has taken additional teacher training from Mimi Zweig, professor of violin and viola at Indiana University and Director of the Indiana String Academy.
Wan-Yi Pan – Cello
Wan-Yi Pan joined Princeton String Academy cello faculty in 2020. A native of Taiwan, Ms. Pan excels in both orchestral and chamber performances. She attended the Interlochen Arts academy for high school and earned her bachelor degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. After her graduate school study at SUNY Purchase College where she was granted chamber music honors all two years of attendance, Ms. Pan was accepted as a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey with a fellowship grant and is currently finishing this program.
Her orchestral and chamber music performances include the Erie Youth Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony, Cleveland Institute Orchestra, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and Kaohsiung Philharmonic. She has also participated in the Kneisel Hall Summer Chamber Music Program and the Quartet Summer Program.  Her teachers have included Peter Wiley of the distinguished Guarneri String Quartet, Richard Weiss of the Cleveland Orchestra, Jonathan Spitz, principle of the New Jersey Symphony, Merry Peckham of the Cavani Quartet and Allan Harris. She has also taken master classes with The Tokyo String Quartet, The Juilliard String Quartet, Fred Sherry, and David Finckel.
Ms. French is currently a founding member of Fenimore Chamber Orchestra, and was a tenured violinist with the New Mexico Symphony and Santa Fe Symphony Assistant Concertmaster. Additional engagements include Follies at the Kennedy Center, Glimmerglass Opera Oman Tour, onstage solo viola for the Glass Menagerie with Barrington Stage, Hollywood Festival Orchestra in Asia, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Harlem Chamber Players, Canterbury Choral Society, and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music since 2004.
Additionally, Susan is a Certified Music Practitioner®, trained by the Music for Healing and Transition Program. She holds a B.A. with M.M. and B.M. degrees in Violin Performance from University of Michigan, and was a recipient of a Margaret Dow Towsley Scholarship. Her principal teachers include Lisa Kim, Burton Kaplan, Stephen Shipps, Leroy Fenstermacher and Thomas Halpin. She enjoys traveling in Asia, yoga, cooking for friends, and fitness.
Celeste Belknap – Violin
Celeste Belknap joined the Princeton String Academy as a violin teacher in 2023. She is a current PhD student in Musicology at Princeton University. Before coming to Princeton, Celeste completed a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance at Pennsylvania State University, and a Master of Arts degree in musicology, also at Penn State.
Celeste studied violin under Professor James Lyon, and was a member of the Penn State Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras led by Gerardo Edelstein. During her time at Penn State she was involved in local orchestras including Penn Woods Music Festival orchestra, the Williamsport Symphony, and the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra. She has also been a member of the Princeton University orchestra.
In addition to teaching violin at the Academy, Celeste teaches beginning and non-music-major undergraduate students at Princeton University. She loves watching her students of all ages improve each week!
Kevin Maa – Cello
Kevin Maa is a passionate performer and music educator. He holds a Bachelor’s in Cello Performance from Montclair State University and a Master’s degree in Cello Performance from Mannes School of Music. As a cellist, he has performed in internationally famous concert halls such as Lincoln Center, The Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall, Congress Graz Stefaniensaal in Graz, Austria. During his undergraduate time at Montclair State University, he won the 2018 Concerto Competition with a complete live performance of Elgar Cello Concerto in 2019.
Mr. Maa has studied with great cellists such as Jonathan Spitz, Nicholas Tzavaras, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Yehuda Hanini. He has performed in Masterclasses with Robert DeMaine, Yumi Kendall, David Finckel, Peter Stumpf, and Lawrence Stomberg.
Youngbin Jo – Violin & Viola
Youngbin Jo earned a Master of Music (M.M.) in Violin Performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she studied violin with Elizabeth Chang and viola with Kathryn Lockwood. She also received a Performance Diploma with a concentration in Jazz Violin from Berklee College of Music, studying with renowned faculty members Rob Thomas and Matt Glaser.
Ms. Jo has been teaching violin and viola since 1997 and has served on the faculty of numerous music schools in South Korea and the United States. In addition, she teaches violin at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton and the Princeton String Academy. Previously, Ms. Jo has taught at Westminster Conservatory of Music at Rider University, Trevose Day School, Neshaminy Montessori School, and Allegra School of Music and Arts in Hillsborough. As a performer, she has appeared with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Ms. Jo is an active member of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association (NJMTA), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA). In recognition of her dedication to music education and student achievement, she has received Outstanding Teacher Awards from the New York International Music Competition, the Prima Volta Music Competition, and Music Fest.
Cara Turnbill – Double Bass
Cara Turnbull is a double bassist with over 20 years of performance experience. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in double bass from Ithaca College, and has studied at international summer music academies including Orford Music Academy, the International Music and Dance Academy at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, and Aigue-Vives en Musiques. She also has a Master of Arts in Music, Science, and Technology from Stanford University and a PhD in Musicology from Princeton University, which she completed in 2025.
Cara studied double bass under Nicholas Walker and Shawn Conley and has played in masterclasses with renowned soloists François Rabbath and Joel Quarrington. She has performed in collegiate orchestras since 2012, including the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia, and the Princeton University Orchestra and Princeton Sinfonia. As a member of these ensembles, she has also toured nationally at Lincoln Center and internationally in Greece, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic.