May Short Score – Canada/SMMC

Suzuki Music/Musique Canada (SMMC) teacher trainers meet monthly to discuss a wide range of topics pertinent to Canadian Suzuki teaching. Frequently trainers will share their particular perspective on a given topic, such as, mentoring, establishing national graduations etc., followed by break-out discussions. These mini-presentations allow teachers to learn from each as well as give valuable insights into various training models from across the Suzuki world.  A sincere thank you to Margot Jewell for organizing our meetings this past year. 

At our April meeting four SMMC trainers shared their experiences from the recent SAA

Summit, which included the ceremony honouring our newest Canadian violin trainer, Philip Kashap (Ontario). Congratulations, Philip!

Last November/December three SMMC TT took part in the pilot hybrid Filosofía/ ECC course offered by Kathleen Schoen, an initiative sparking many ideas of how we might in future offer a similar course in Canada in both official languages.

A sub-committee is working on the development of Suzuki promotional materials including a short video promoting Canadian Suzuki teacher training.

This summer teacher SAA training will be offered at five Canadian institutes with the Long Term Training Program at WLU (Wilfred Laurier University) continuing in September under the leadership of SMMC trainers Paule Barsalou (violin) and David Evenchick (cello).

Creating an efficient system of communication between the elected SMMC Board, the SMMC Advisory committee and the SMMC Teacher Training committee is ongoing.  Currently, a different SMMC Teacher Trainer attends each monthly SMMC Board Meeting sharing news and suggestions reciprocally.  This rotation of trainer representation at each Board meeting contributes to better understanding the needs and perspectives of each leadership team.

SMMC teacher trainers aspire to provide accessible Suzuki training in both official languages, that will one day be available to every interested teacher residing in the 9,984,670 square kilometers (!) of this vast country. In the meantime, teachers are looking  forward to being together in person at the first ever SMMC National Canadian  Conference in Edmonton, AB November 7-9, 2025!