Dr. Susan Boettger is the Director of the Piano and Chamber Music Department at Irvine Valley College, where she also serves as the Artistic Director of the IVC Keyboard & Chamber Music Series. In addition to her leadership roles, she created the Piano Pedagogy program, empowering piano teachers to build thriving studios. Her students have successfully transferred to prestigious institutions such as UCLA, USC, CSUF, CSULB, Azusa, and Rice University. Through her visionary leadership, Dr. Boettger has established herself as a key figure in the Southern California music community.

In 2003, Dr. Boettger founded Junior Chamber Music (JCM), a program that has expanded to six branches across Southern California, from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Under her guidance, JCM has earned both national and international acclaim, including recognition from the New York Concert Review for a performance at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. The program has also been featured on KUSC’s Sundays Live. JCM offers elite honors performance tours to renowned destinations such as Germany, Austria, Estonia, Norway, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Korea, Japan, New York, and Boston. In addition to these global opportunities, JCM students participate in concerto performances with orchestras, master classes with esteemed musicians, and community outreach programs.

An accomplished performer, Dr. Boettger has excelled as both a soloist and a chamber musician. She won Juilliard's Contemporary Concerto Competition, leading to her selection to premiere solo works with the New Juilliard Ensemble at Lincoln Center. She has also performed concertos with orchestras such as the Ventura Symphony, Conejo Symphony (now New West Symphony), Peninsula Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, and the Orange County Chamber Orchestra. Her dedication to contemporary music is further exemplified by her work with the Classical Edge Trio, with whom she recorded the CD Edge, featuring original compositions and premieres.

Dr. Boettger holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano Performance from the University of Southern California (USC), where she minored in business, composition, and music education. She also earned a Master of Music (MM) degree from The Juilliard School and completed a Bachelor of Music (BM) in piano and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in mathematics from Rice University. Additionally, she holds a Teaching Credential in Mathematics and taught high school math for seven years.

Beyond her musical endeavors, Dr. Boettger is an entrepreneur. She was featured in Orange Coast Magazine for founding Lyceum Village, an after-school program in Tustin modeled after Aristotle and Plato’s Lyceum. Lyceum Village provides students with a comprehensive environment where they can engage in music, academics, and athletics all in one location. The program is designed to support working families, particularly mothers, by offering a wide range of extracurricular activities without the need for additional transportation.

Dr. Boettger's dedication to family and community has also been highlighted in Irvine Community News, where she was featured twice for raising three children who have thrived in music. She remains active online, sharing her passion for incorporating the joy of music into the lives of families and community members.