Meet Our Amazing Music Educators
Susan Pombo
Susan grew up on Long Island, New York, the eldest of five children. She earned a BA in Music from Binghamton University and received a Masters of Music from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. After singing in the MET Opera Chorus she came to Switzerland as an apprentice at the International Opera Studio of the Zürich Opera. An engagement as soloist at the Basel Theater followed, where she performed over 20 leading roles.
After marrying Esteban and becoming the mother of Alex, Susan wondered how to combine her musical skills with her love of children. She learned about Kindermusik, completed her training, and started the Basel program in January 2000. Susan is proud that Kindermusik International has continually honored our school as one of the top 5% programs world-wide.
Elizabeth-Claire Bazin
Elizabeth-Claire first started to play the piano at 7 years old after being inspired by hearing Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto. She caught the music bug and added the cello, organ, and voice to her piano classes, finishing up by taking her Royal Schools of Music Grade 8 examinations in both piano and voice at the age of 16.
Despite a deviation by way of a career in the law (she holds a degree in Law from Cambridge), she managed to keep up with her music by singing in various choruses and choirs and also running a recorder group in a local school. In October 2006 she moved with her husband to Basel, Switzerland where she discovered the joys of being a full-time mum and the relief of having Kindermusik to go to every week!
It was a natural next step to combine her music and second career as a preschool teacher by becoming a trained and licensed Kindermusik educator. Elizabeth-Claire joined the Kindermusik team 15 years ago, teaching all age levels. Under the umbrella of the Kindermusik Studio, she also offers private piano classes to students of all ages, with a focus on young beginners.
Elizabeth-Claire has 2 sons that have both participated in Kindermusik with gusto. Her younger son has special needs, and Elizabeth-Claire is constantly in wonder at the connection and involvement she has with him through the Kindermusik program.
Susie Atkinson
Susie grew up in Cambridge, UK, playing the piano, cello, and singing in choirs. Since she moved to Alsace, France in 2000, she has continued to sing regularly and has added Morris Dancing (traditional English dancing) to her musical happy places. She recently founded and leads the first Swiss group of the UK charity Singing Mamas.
Susie is the mother of four children, all of whom loved the Kindermusik program. Susie is a trained and licensed Kindermusik teacher, leading classes for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, and she also holds a diploma in perinatal education.
Alongside Kindermusik, she teaches prenatal classes, prenatal and postnatal yoga, baby massage, baby yoga and baby signing, and breastfeeding support — bringing great experience and many tools of infant (and parental) development to each Kindermusik class.
She loves the connections that both music and the community in each class create, and feels that making music together builds amazing support and friendships, as well as helping adults and children to take care of their well-being.
Susie holds a BA honors degree in Anthropology, Philosophy and Classics from Durham University, and a diploma in education from the University of Worcester.
