Suzuki Association Chapter Wise
January 2019
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SAA News

Creating the Future Together!: Paving Pathways for Success

Our 13th biennial Leadership Retreat will again be held at Deer Creek Conference Center in Central Ohio, May 23-26, 2019. A relatively small event, the retreat is a friendly, engaging and inspiring gathering of committed Suzuki people. This year’s event will be composed of committee and group work, discussions, some general presentations, and many breakout working sessions. With “Paving Pathways for Success” our theme for this May, we will look at clarifying and strengthening guidelines in some areas of Suzuki education and creating Best Practices guidelines in other aspects of our Suzuki community. Teacher Trainers, Institute Directors, Conference Team (both 2020 and 2022), Chapter Boards and other organizational leaders, and others interested in ensuring that we have clear steps in place to ensure a successful future for Suzuki in the Americas.

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Spotlight
North Carolina Suzuki Association

Making Connections in North Carolina

“We hosted a state-wide teacher retreat and play-in in Charlotte in January, 2018. This was a great time to help teachers encourage and gain insights from each other, and provided a sense of community amongst parents and students from across the state. We also held our annual meeting in July during the NC Suzuki Institute. Teachers from across the state attended and gave great ideas on how we can continue to grow. It has been very encouraging to see even more teachers become involved in our chapter.”
- NCSA Annual Report


Suzuki Association of Ontario

Scholarship Success in Ontario

The Suzuki Associaion of Ontario has been developing their scholarship program (more details here), and were pleased to report that this year they were able to disburse:
- Ten teacher development scholarships
- Two cross-studio bursaries
- Three Board member Travel Bursaries—which made it possible for our two Board members from Ottawa to attend our Annual Conference

One way that SAO promotes their program as well as using it to benefit their whole community is by asking scholarship recipients to write an article about their experiences that is shared in the SAO newsletter.

Solution Finders
Southeast Texas Suzuki Association

Post Hurricane Harvey Kick Off Event in Southeast Texas

“We estimated over 90 students attended with families. We signed up 43 family memberships and some new teachers too.We received donations to our general fund and our scholarship fund, and also kept the event within budget. We had record participation from the cellists! There was cake and food and fun and parents and teachers were talking and enjoying the community feel. Our ‘event fair’ display boards included flyers, info and applications and we even raffled off a free registration to most of our events to encourage interest. The Amati Violin Shop sent a representative with a display table and a raffle prize, and so did the inventor of the Sure Tone Shoulder Rest. In addition to the group classes and the play-in, there were games for the kids, a coloring area, a selfie station and more! Aunt Rhody even graced us with her presence!”
-STXSA Annual Report


Suzuki Association of Georgia

Gathering in Georgia

“One of the biggest hurdles of SAGA is that we are scattered all over the state of Georgia. We are trying desperately to find locations, and events, that will pull our students together more often. One particular event is “Bach in the Subways”. We are planning on organizing one of these concerts in the Atlanta subway in March, 2019. This past year, Athens teachers and students performed for “Bach in the Subways”. Since Athens does not have a subway, the teachers were very creative and performed at the local bus station. Another teacher takes her students to area churches to perform one or two times throughout the year.”
-SAGA Annual Report

Leadership Links

Small Steps

The rush of energy after the New Year towards grand resolutions (illusions? delusions?) has passed and it’s time to think about small, manageable steps forward instead of great leaps into the future visions we hold of ourselves and our organization.

There is a business and psychological pattern nicknamed “The Kaizen Way” which advocates a ridiculously small step toward your goal. Instead of being determined to floss your teeth twice a day everyday for the rest of your life, aim to floss just one tooth today. See? If the goal is so small that you laugh, or say, “well, of course!” that is The Kaizen Way. Here is why this method can be so effective to change our patterns and head towards growth.

Here are a couple of other small steps to help lead your organization:

Just three things we need to say more often.

Leadership growth through small steps within ourselves.


❦ Connect: Build community among all students, parents, and teachers.

❦ Educate: Provide resources and/or support to teachers and parents, incoming and current, concerning Suzuki teaching and philosophy.

❦ Support: Financially benefit teachers and students for further enrichment (i.e. scholarship programs for conferences, institutes, workshops).

❦ Celebrate: Arrange Concerts, Graduation, Celebration, Cross Instrument Recitals, Honors Recitals, etc. to rejoice in music together.

❦ Respect: Support the Suzuki name/brand/legacy by requiring SAA membership for teachers as well as broadening membership and providing grassroots feedback to the SAA.


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Suzuki Association of the Americas
PO Box 17310, Boulder CO 80308
Phone:1-888-378-9854
https://suzukiassociation.org