We provide tools to build inclusive programs for deserving students.

Music-making is for everyone.

We believe that access and inclusion for students with disabilities creates equitable outcomes and success. We provide the training, tools, and resources needed to build thriving inclusion programs. Whether building a new inclusion program, or strengthening an existing program, StringRise has all the tools needed for success. Scroll below to learn about Box Instruments, our team, and set up a free consult today.

Photos of students by: Benson Park Photography

Box Instrument Kits.

Our buildable Box Instrument kits are pre-prepared, mess-free, and ready to hand to students. Kits include notches and a bow guide that create gorgeous bow arms and a seamless transition to real instruments. Fractional to Full-Size available!

See our special inclusion pricing with full descriptions:

Workshops & Professional Development

We equip music educators through professional development, consulting, and teacher training with high-quality resources for inclusion programming. Services are provided both virtually and in-person, tailored to your program’s needs. See our sessions below:

  • According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2023), approximately 15 percent of public school students received services under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the 2021-22 school year. This presentation highlights important information regarding the legislation surrounding IDEA and how that relates to us as music educators. Additionally, during this presentation we will examine our own internalized biases pertaining to ability when teaching students with disabilities.

  • This clinic will empower educators to create string classrooms that are fundamentally trauma-informed by providing research-based practical tools and pedagogical approaches & sequencing that cultivate students’ safety and capacity to thrive. We will define trauma, discuss how to recognize trauma responses, and provide practical tools for regulating the nervous system. Through a vibrant and dynamic presentation utilizing slides, video, and group discussion, educators will be equipped with effective and innovative tools & strategies that create trauma-informed classrooms.

  • In this workshop, educators will be given the option to pick two tracks to create inclusive classrooms that support students with disabilities to best meet the needs of their programs. Participants will develop their toolbox by first choosing track A or B. Track A will be for educators who are seeking tools to successfully create inclusion in the mainstream music classroom. Track B will be for educators who are seeking to create a fully self-contained inclusion music classroom. Upon special request, a combination of Track A and B will also be available.

    In both workshop options, attendees will be familiarized with different models and verbiage to realize disability and will unpack Individual Education Plans to translate into the music classroom. They will be given the tools to cultivate relationships with both parents and case managers that foster and promote a collaborative partnership, as well as work through practical strategies such as creative funding avenues and tools for structuring the classroom to be supportive for students with significant or severe disabilities.

    Track A and B will dive deep into scaffolded pedagogical sequencing for student needs based around determining individual starting points, adaptive strategies, and cultivating a culture of resilience for both student and teacher. Educators will learn what resources exist and how to modify them for different needs. This deep-dive will also include instructional progression utilizing Box Instruments and other modification tools to ensure success for all students.

    Educators will gain confidence in their abilities to create impactful high-quality inclusive programs, and redefine success in the music classroom.

Tailored to your individual setting -We offer a full range of trainings, professional development, and consulting. All services are available in-person and online.

Reach out below to connect & receive full workshop descriptions and outlines.

Meet the Inclusion Team

  • Nicole Melrose is the CEO & Founder of StringRise. She is a visionary innovator, groundbreaking string educator, clinician, composer, researcher, speaker, and performing violinist. She is an expert in trauma-informed pedagogy and catalyzing equity in string education. Coming from a background of socio-economic hardship and experiencing the struggles of a first generation Arab-American, the violin provided Nicole with a way to express herself and hope for a bright future. She created StringRise so that students and educators far and wide can be impacted by the transformational power of innovative and accessible string methodology, curriculum, workshops, and products.

    Nicole is first-generation college graduate, with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Southern Nazarene University and a Masters in Social Justice from Southern Methodist University. She is a recipient of the B’nai B’rith Award for her commitment to ethics, and the Karis Stahl Fadely award for her intercultural work. Nicole serves as Chair of the Community Music Committee for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), previously served on the ASTA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, and is a Featured Educational Artist and Sponsored Clinician at D’Addario Orchestral. Nicole presents at conferences and universities around the world, and works with numerous symphonies orchestras, schools, districts, and organizations.

Nicole Melrose

Annie Ray

  • Annie Ray hails from a family of musical performers and educators in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and is a graduate of the University of North Texas. She currently serves as both the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Chair at Annandale High School in the Fairfax County Public School system. Annie is an advocate for providing universal access to quality music education and is known for founding and developing creative opportunities to make music accessible to students of all demographics.

    Her creation of the FCPS Parent Orchestra helps over 150 parents annually learn to play their child’s instrument each year, and partners with local music colleges to provide hands-on teaching opportunities for future music educators before and during their student teaching. Annie also created the Crescendo Orchestra program to bring the joy of Orchestra to High School students with severe developmental or intellectual disabilities. In January 2022, this program was featured and acclaimed on the cover of the Metro section in The Washington Post. TEDx reached out and asked Annie to give a talk in April 2022, The Sounds of Success, based on this work. She has presented at numerous colleges and conferences on the topic, including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and American String Teachers Association conference.

    Annie’s collective efforts both in and out of the classroom have received multiple accolades in recognition of her teaching, most recently being named a quarter finalist for both the Grammy 2023 and 2024 Music Educator Award and was named the 2023 Fairfax County Public School Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year.

    She currently resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Irving, their toddler Eloise, and her two favorite four-legged hiking buddies: dogs Baymax and Roo. She is an adventurer at heart, and her biggest bucket list item is to one day run The Amazing Race.

Dr. Annalisa Chang

  • Annalisa C. Chang is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Music Education at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. At Clayton State, Dr. Chang teaches general music education courses, string methods, music for early childhood, music appreciation, and supervises student teachers. Additionally, she serves as the Director of the CSU Music Preparatory School.

    Her research on string teacher education, the inclusion of students with disabilities in string classrooms, and equitable access to music education has been presented at state, national, and international music education conferences. Her work has been published in the String Research Journal, the Florida Music Director, and the ArkMEA Journal.

    ​Dr. Chang is an active member of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), currently serving as the Secretary for the Georgia chapter, and as member of the national Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Research Committee. She is also an active member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) through her participation in the Georgia Music Educators Association as the Georgia CNAfME Advisor, and the Children with Exceptionalities Special Research Interest Group (SRIG), for which she is currently Chair.

    ​As a clinician, Dr. Chang has presented sessions on teaching students with disabilities, string education, classroom management, and traditional (folk) music instruction in the schools at state in-service conferences (Georgia, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina), the American String Teachers Association National Conference, and the Midwest Clinic.

    Dr. Chang holds degrees in Music Education from Florida State University (Ph.D), and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (M.M., B.M) where she was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow.

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