Snyder named Meigs Teaching Professor

A leader in the classroom and innovator on stage, Hugh Hodgson School of Music faculty member shares her art form in ways that change lives. In honor of her commitment to students coupled with her dedication to craft,  Snyder is one of three UGA faculty members named Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors in 2025.

The professorship is the university’s highest recognition for instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Snyder, professor of viola in the Hodgson School, teaches individual weekly lessons and a weekly studio class; coaches chamber music ensembles; offers technique, orchestral excerpt, and repertoire classes; oversees degree recitals; and mentors master’s and doctoral students. She also teaches popular sections of First-Year Odyssey and GradFirst classes.“I have seen her studio grow, and its trajectory has been steady and remarkable,” wrote Mark Cedel, professor of music and director of orchestral activities. “Not only have the numbers of students increased, but the quality and the level has grown as well.”

Snyder regularly seeks out innovative teaching techniques and develops new courses that she offers beyond her regular academic load to broaden student experience, expertise, and real-life work preparedness. One such course is a GradFirst Seminar that not only prepares first-semester graduate students to better engage in their research and curricular pursuits, but also prepares them for professional life with curation of their dossier of application and audition materials for the performing musician. The class also includes a unit on grant-writing to sustain their research projects beyond the classroom.