About Us

John Schultz enjoys a wide-ranging career serving in leadership roles in many areas of the industry. John is co-founder, with his wife Rebecca, and President of Schultz Strings which serves over 30 communities with string instrument sales, rentals, repairs, identification and advocation. In addition to leading operations John provides restoration services, identification services and teaches through the Schultz Strings school. As an educator, John has a great love of developing the next generation of musicians and his students have earned spots in major conservatories such as Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and more. They have been featured in and on renowned programs such as From the Top, National Youth Orchestra, Sterling DeLay Symposium and more. His students have been featured soloists with over a dozen symphonies and many have become educators in public and private music programs around the country and are members of major US symphonies. In addition to teaching at Schultz Strings he has taught at institutions such as the Preucil School of Music, Cornell College and has founded several youth orchestras and chamber music and orchestral festivals. As a performer, John has had a lifelong passion for chamber music. He has performed with numerous chamber music ensembes such as the Kenwood Piano Trio, Arreaux String Quartet, Corridor Piano Trio, and now the Cadence String quartet. He is an active recitalist performing many times a year with collaborators and has been featured as a soloist with many ensembles and orchestras. John enjoys performing regularly with symphonies such as Orchestra Iowa and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony. John most regularly performs on a rare violin from Brescia, Italy c.1550. John earned a BA and MM from the University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he studied chamber music and violin with Myron Kartman and chamber music Stefan Kartman. John is a proponent of the Suzuki Method and has studied pedagogy with Nancy Jackson, William Preucil Sr., Mark Bjork, and Alice Joy Lewis. John studied viola with Lewis Rosove. Aside from music, John is very active in volunteer work and has served on leadership roles with numerous boards and has helped to found several not-for-profits. He is actively involved with Rotary serving primarily in youth exchange. John has a deep passion for riding bicycle and has ridden across many countries several times. John resides in Cedar Rapids with his wife Rebecca and their two children.

Robbie Gearhart started his formal musical training at the age of nine and began studying bass at thirteen. He attended St. Ambrose University, where he graduated in 2018 with a degree in Music Education. Following his undergraduate studies, he continued his classical bass training for four additional years under the tutelage of John Hall. With a background in both jazz and classical bass performance, Robbie has developed a multifaceted career as an educator, performer, and arts leader. Since 2019, he has maintained active private studios through Schultz School of Music and Northeast Iowa School of Music. Many of his students have gone on to earn high stand placements in various honor orchestras, reflecting his commitment to technical excellence and comprehensive musical training. In 2025, he collaborated with Orchestra Iowa School to create “String-A-Palooza,” a week-long program for beginner string musicians that culminates in a final performance under the guidance of professional musicians. In 2020, Robbie became Director of the Schultz School of Music, a position he continues to hold. In this role, he has helped build and expand the program from the ground up and oversees teacher and client contracts, shapes program policies, and leads executive decision-making. In 2022, he was elected to the Board of Directors at the Northeast Iowa School of Music, where he continues to serve and contribute to long-term organizational planning and governance. In 2026, Robbie was appointed Executive Director of Cadence Chamber Music. In this role, he works alongside Artistic Director John Schultz to oversee the contracting of professional musicians and the coordination of performances in a variety of settings. In addition to his work in education and arts administration, Robbie has performed with the indie rock group “The Horse Theory” and the jam band “Glass Leaf Company,” demonstrating versatility across multiple musical genres.