Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study was to examine the life of Phyllis Young (b. 1925) and her contributions to string education. The researcher explored her ancestry, childhood, education, personal life, and career as a cellist and string pedagogue. The study is divided into a prologue, five chapters, and an epilogue, and ends with her retirement from the University of Texas String Project in 1993. Phyllis Young, a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin from 1953- 2007, was Professor of Cello from 1974-2007 and the Parker C. Fielder Regents Professor in Music from 1991-2007. She authored two books, Playing the String Game (1978) and The String Play (1986), and served as national president of the American String Teachers Association. She received that organization's Distinguished Service Award (1984) and the Paul Rolland Lifetime Achievement Award (2002). In 2006, the American String Teachers Association established an award in her name, The Phyllis Young Outstanding Studio Teacher Award. For forty years (1953-1993) Young was associated with the University of Texas String Project, a teacher training program that continues to serve as a model for numerous string programs nation-wide. She was director of the project from 1965-93. Young has given lecture-demonstrations, master classes, and workshops for string teachers in thirtythree countries on six continents and in forty-four of the American states. Her success as a pedagogue is substantiated through her numerous students, many of whom occupy significant musical positions in universities and orchestras, and as leaders in the string education field. Phyllis Young is a dedicated, passionate teacher whose legacy rests not only on her professional accomplishments, but also on her influence on those who have been associated with her. The success of her students, her influence on other string teachers and programs, and her two books, all lasting testaments to her commitment to excellence, can be considered the most significant components of her legacy.