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Newsletter February 2021FacebookTwitter
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PPO Presenter Collage

Are you looking for ways to stay motivated? Could you use new ideas and inspiration for practice? This year’s Parents as Partners Online video series is for you! While the series launched a few weeks ago, it’s not too late to join, and videos will remain available until December 2021.

Each week for the first 10 weeks of the series, five to six videos are released on Monday and accessed through the SAA website. Topics so far have included motivation, encouraging words for parents, and practical practice tips. The videos are kept short on purpose so you can watch them or listen to them when you have a few moments throughout your week. Think of them as listening to your favorite podcast or watching a short Youtube video, all created to support lessons and practice.

New this year: Subtitling in Spanish, Portuguese, and English!

Whether you are a teacher or a parent, this series of short videos, created by our community, is sure to share inspiring ideas and great perspectives from other teachers and parents like you. Many videos have transcripts available as well as subtitles in Spanish and Portuguese. We hope that you will feel encouraged by this series, and it will help fuel your practice sessions and teaching through the year ahead.

AMERICAN SUZUKI JOURNAL NEWS

The Winter Issue of the American Suzuki Journal is coming to your mailbox soon! In your copy, you’ll find:

  • Tips to help your student think and practice like an expert

  • Ideas on how to stay motivated as the seasons pass

  • Interviews with a member of the SAA Board of Directors and a Chapter Affiliate president

  • Viewpoints from teachers and institute directors on navigating remote and socially distanced programming

  • A reflection on leadership from the president of the Mexican Suzuki Association

  • Institute listings for 2021

And so much more! Support your colleagues and friends by reading their work.


Contribute to the American Suzuki Journal!

We are looking for small illustrations of every Suzuki instrument, as well as more general music-related drawings (music notes and staff, orchestra, music stand, etc). These illustrations will be kept on file and used in future journals. All ages and artistic levels are welcome to submit, including teachers, parents, and students. Please send images to editor@suzukiassociation.org.

We are also looking for teen and student contributors to write columns about the student experience. Columns could be about practice and motivation, community, listening, balancing music with school work, etc. Please spread the word to your children and students. If you have an interested student, please email allie@suzukiassociation.org.


Membership Directory Cover 2019

Membership Directory

Based on feedback received from our Active Members, we will be limiting the press run of the printed Membership Directory for 2021. If you are an Active SAA member in North America, you may indicate in your profile settings if you prefer not to receive the Directory by mail. We need to hear from you by March 25! (Note: Active Latin American Members and Active members outside the SAA region do not receive publications and notifications by mail, except by special mail subscription.)


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NEWS & INFORMATION

Suzuki in the Schools Committee News

Suzuki in the Schools Learning Labs Continue!
The Suzuki in the Schools Committee has continued online learning labs throughout the winter. January and February topics included online instruction, literacy preparation and transition, concepts of games and imagery, “What is a typical spring ‘concert’ in the pandemic?”, “What should a Suzuki in the Schools curriculum include?” etc. We have begun to offer individual professional development credit certificates for school districts for each lab as well.

Next Lab: Sunday, March 21st will be our final learning lab this spring.
Times: 8 PM EST, 7 CST, 6 MST, 5 PST(90 minutes)

 Register: Email   one week in advance of each lab.

Please contact us at if you would like to register to attend the next lab and if you would like to offer questions or ideas!

Our future plans include an early summer introductory Suzuki in the Schools Learning Lab and a new Learning Lab series beginning next fall. We are excited about our growing community and our developing communication with one another!


Suzuki in the Schools Summer Courses Online!

Suzuki in the Schools Units 1 and 2 are being offered online this summer. We are currently working to prepare online versions of these courses. While we long to be in person, this summer provides us with a unique opportunity to expand and develop our courses in new ways.

Suzuki in the Schools courses presents sequences and strategies for incorporating Suzuki philosophy and methodology in beginning and developing instruction in a string classroom setting. Core Suzuki pieces and other sequenced repertoire that support beginning and intermediate levels of study in group situations will be presented and opportunities for transfer to other learning situations will be discussed. Effective learning sequences that focus on the development of excellent fundamental skills will be the focus of each class session.

As Suzuki in the Schools courses include pedagogy, materials, methodology, literacy, ensemble skills as they pertain to group teaching and learning, private teachers have been finding the course content applicable, interesting and useful. A recent course participant said, “As a Suzuki studio teacher for over 20 years this course was like a “a breath of fresh air” and such an important review of what and why we do what we do as Suzuki teachers. To understand the realities and challenges of school teachers made me appreciate even more the work they do. It was more important than ever to understand the importance of ‘mastery’ as the core of our teaching…”


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Teacher Trainer Meeting Updates

News from Cello Trainers

The Cello and Bass Trainers have been meeting monthly since late summer and have discussed many issues such as:

  • How to support Institutes during these challenging times
  • The transition to online teacher training
  • The Teaching Strategies course
  • The pros and cons of requiring memorization in training courses
  • Where to include the study of the Bach Suite movements in our courses
  • How we are including DEIA issues into our courses (coming in March)

In addition to these discussions, we are also proud to have adopted a revised Cello Syllabus for our training courses.
—Sally Gross & Marilyn Kesler


Activities with Violin and Viola Teacher Trainers

From February through April, SAA Violin and Viola Teacher Trainers are taking part in a series of inspiring and informative pedagogical discussions. Topics include Observations: Hidden values and the bigger picture; Power of Listening; Tools of Memorization; and Course Projects and Assignments. Sessions are creating enthusiasm and generating ideas for teacher training, both online and in person!


Meetings with Piano Trainers

Since our last update, piano trainers have continued to get to know each other – literally, and to highlight current mutually stimulating aspects of the role of Piano Trainer.  Trainers take turns hosting the sessions, being time keeper, etc. We are trying to hear everyone’s voice.

Trainers have continued to explore the values of Teaching Strategies.  We have recently heard ‘testimonials’ from North American teachers who have taken the course (having already learned from our Latin American trainers).  In January, we invited Donny Landers (MA) who elaborated on the value of Strategies from his point of view.  At the same session, we met Yumi Kim, a young teacher from the Chicago area, who initiated our overview of where and how Suzuki piano fits in the greater music world.   Pam Brasch participated in this session to review with us some pertinent stats of piano and piano training in the SAA.

Piano trainers continue to be busy in an ongoing email thread, expressing their opinions and suggestions about present and future topics that should be initiated in our sessions: you will never guess!  By popular demand, at our March meeting four trainers individually will elaborate on how to introduce Twinkle Variation A to a Unit 1 class of trainees.  And, Variation B will follow in April! 


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Communications Updates:

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If you are not receiving messages from the SAA, remember that you can always update your email and web settings under your SAA Account. You also may wish to add the suzukiassociation.org domain to your email providers whitelist and add the email address to your contacts. If your mailbox is full or your email provider has overly aggressive SPAM settings, messages might not be delivered because of your email provider. All messages sent by the SAA are DKIM verified and signed and sent through Amazon AWS.


OUR SUZUKI COMMUNITY

Last Recital

Last recital

Submitted by: Marcy Tourville
This was our son Caleb’s last recital at a local park. We want to thank our teacher Nancy Snustad (CO) who had an incredible impact on our family from 2nd grade to senior, and even now.

Have a great picture to share? We are looking for photos of students performing in their community. Did you invite the neighborhood to a book recital? Or the general public to a group concert? Have you played in an assisted living facility, street fair, or mall? Submit your own picture today!




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