Gretta Sandberg is the orchestra director at McLean High School and Haycock Elementary School, in Fairfax County, VA. She has been teaching at these two schools since 1995. Prior to coming to McLean HS, Ms. Sandberg taught instrumental music in Arlington County, VA from 1970-1995. Among her many accomplishments while teaching in Arlington County was founding and directing the Arlington Honors Orchestra, an orchestra for selected 5^th – 8^th grade string students, co-founding and directing the Arlington All-County High School Orchestra and co-founding and being artistic director of Chamber Music of Arlington (1986-1996), a summer camp for high school string and piano students. Before Ms. Sandberg taught in Arlington, she taught general and instrumental music for two years in a one-room schoolhouse in southern Indiana near Bloomington.

Ms. Sandberg grew up in Two Harbors, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior. She began studying the violin in the 4^th grade in the public school string classes at  her elementary school. She graduated, with honors, from the University of Minnesota, Duluth with a Bachelor of Science in music education. She received a Master’s Degree in Education (IET – Initiatives for Educational Transformation) in May 2005 from George Mason University. Ms. Sandberg played violin with the Arlington Symphony from 1969-1990. During the last ten years, she was principal second  violin.

Ms. Sandberg lives in Arlington with her husband, Lew Freeman (an opera singer!) and her cat, Pee-Wee. They all like to go on hikes at their mountain house near Monterey, VA.  Ms. Sandberg also likes to read, play string quartets, go to concerts and movies, cook gourmet meals with her husband, mow the lawn and weed the gardens and play with their granddaughters, Willow Anne and Maya Rose! Lew and Gretta have three children, Tama (the mother of Willow and Maya!), Oliver and Dennis.

Ms. Sandberg is a Member-at-Large, Public School Adviser of the Board of Directors of the Virginia chapter of the American String Teachers Association.    She is also a member of MENC (Music Educators National Conference) and VMEA (Virginia Music Educators Association). Ms. Sandberg was recently awarded the “Orchestra Director of the Year 2007” by the Virginia chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

Ms. Sandberg can be contacted at: Gretta.Sandberg@fcps.edu

School telephone (703) 714 – 5817