II Nat’l Suzuki Workshop-Huánuco
June 10-13, 2005
Lucha del Rio and I traveled to Huánuco on a tiny airplane. It was so small that the co-pilot had to kneel before us as he gave the flight instructions. Huánuco is situated high in the mountains, close to the Peruvian jungle. Our flight went smoothly and the view was awesome. Upon landing, we came across the sign “Welcome to Huánuco, the city of eternal spring”. I later learnt from the local residents that Huánuco has the reputation of having the best climate in the world. After the damp, grey Lima winter, it was a pleasure to enjoy the sunshine and blue sky. We were met by el Maestro Wilfredo Tarazona and one of the workshop’s organizing committee, Cristian Cachay.
The workshop took place in two locales; the course work was given in Huanuco’s Central Club and the master classes were held in the Superior Institute of Music “Daniel Alomia Robles.” Rosario Kong, known as Charo, had told me they were hoping to have the participation of 40 teachers. They did not expect that over 90 teachers would appear.
Lucha and I had asked for equipment for PowerPoint and VCDs. I had two young men on hand throughout the course who not only ran the equipment, but suggested how I could use it better, flashing pertinent information up on the big screen instead of laboriously writing on the whiteboard. The teachers took philosophy in the morning and early childhood music in the afternoon. Meanwhile over sixty children took violin, cello and recorder lessons.
SAP teachers Annika Petrozzi, cello, Alexis Guillen, recorder, and Isaac Garcia had traveled for twelve hours by bus from Lima to work with the children. Isaac also brought with him three of his own students accompanied by their mothers. I gave violin master classes to enthusiastic young children eager to learn. All parents were present during their lessons. The children and their parents simply arrived at the beginning of the afternoon and waited their turn. Some were waiting for more than three hours before they received their lessons. It was liberating to feel free to stop the lesson when the lesson was over and not be ruled by the clock! The final concert was a huge success with the space filled to capacity. In addition to the Suzuki repertoire, the guitar students led by “profesor Isaac” and three young violinists gave a moving performance of the music the whole city is so proud of: El Condor Pasa.
Offering philosophy and early childhood music simultaneously turned out to be an excellent combination. The teachers left having profoundly changed their way of thinking and, thanks to the early childhood music course, were able to put ideas into practice immediately. The day after the course finished as Lucha and I were walking in the main square, we met a young man who had been in the courses. With a big smile and full of joy he said “Ya empecé!” (I’ve already begun!). He had just been teaching the children at his school.
As we had our last lunch at the local vegetarian restaurant, our waitress asked us when we were coming back to Huánuco. She said the participants had told her that it had been a wonderful experience taking the courses, and that they would now change the way they treated their students and their own children.
Charo is already planning to take a tour group to Tingo Maria in the jungle, just two hours from Huanuco. She is determined to bring the philosophy to the schools and change the whole approach to education. Dr. Suzuki was right. We can change the world, one person at a time.
Last updated September 27 2007