Paul’s Psychic Predictions for the middle of the 21st century:
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Thanks to a generous donation from the All Set, (Think) BIG Foundation, all children in the Americas past the age of three are offered an appropriately sized musical instrument with which they can begin musical training as well as financial support for lessons prior to entering private or public school.
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Music teaching in public and private schools is uniformly excellent and nurturing thanks to the integration of the Suzuki Method into the vast majority of music pedagogy programs in colleges, conservatories, and universities in the Americas.
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Because of the increase in musical instruction for children, there has been an explosion of youth and community-based musical ensembles and choruses making American culture much more participatory and sophisticated. That increased participation on the amateur level has reinvigorated the audience for professional musical organizations so that orchestra series, jazz festivals, oratorio and operatic productions, chamber music concerts, and musical presentations of all sorts are well-attended and well-funded.
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The Suzuki Association of the Americas has changed its name to the Society for the Preservation of the Legacy of Doctor Suzuki and his Method. (SPLDSM). Since the Suzuki approach has been so universally accepted at all levels of both music and general education, it has become common practice for all teachers to be well trained in its approach. That condition has obviated the need for the oversight and registration functions of the SAA, changing its mission to the collection and preservation of information about the history of Dr. Suzuki and his Method. Hence, the change in name.
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Because of the world-wide dissemination and implementation of Dr. Suzuki’s ideas and the ensuing unprecedented increase in both classical and popular music activity on Earth, fewer wars are being fought and widely disparate cultures are helping each other to prosper and grow.
Despite the apocryphal family stories about my Italian grandmother being a witch who could overturn the evil eye (mal occhio) and see the future, I really don’t believe I’ve inherited her psychic ability. As I approach my last months as a governing officer for SAA, I did, however, want to indulge in the little bit of future gazing you’ve just read. One of the most important functions of the SAA Board is to try to imagine how the world can change as the result of our existence. As wonderful as the scenario I’ve imagined is, that ideal condition is perhaps not achievable, much like the absolutely perfect performance of a piece of music is not achievable. Nonetheless, it is our duty as SAA members and exponents of Dr. Suzuki’s approach to continually look to the future and to strive for that ideal outcome.
As a child of the sixties and (I hope) an environmentally conscious person, I have often heard, and still ascribe to, the “think globally, act locally” mantra. For those of us involved in the Suzuki Method, this mantra might also be a helpful guide. We should keep in mind that our small, everyday actions might eventually have a profound, widespread effect. Who would have thought that bringing a touring group of young Japanese violinists to the Americas would have, in less than 50 years, changed the face of musical education in those Americas? In less than 50 years from now, who is to say that our encouraging that one family to begin musical instruction might not snowball into the ideal condition imagined above? I know you’ve heard this from me before in this column, but what we do on a daily basis in our studios, classrooms, and practice dens constitutes the necessary building blocks for achieving the big dreams we dream. My fervent hope is that the SAA continues to provide you with a supportive framework for both acting and dreaming.
