Institute Administration

Suzuki Institutes are multi-day gatherings in June, July, and August for teachers, students, and parents to learn joyfully, make music, and build community. Institute programs center the Suzuki Method® repertoire and learning for young musicians, in addition to teacher development courses for new and experienced Suzuki teachers. Institutes take place throughout the US and Canada, and throughout Latin America, Festivals offer similar gatherings!

SAA Institute Guidelines

Updated 2/20/2026
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I. Application Procedure & Deadlines
II. Institute Approval and Conflict Issues 
III. Student Schedules and Offerings 
IV. Teacher Schedules and Offerings 
V. Benefits and Services for Approved Institutes 
VI. Limitations for Non‐Approved Institutes 
VII. Additional Policies 
VIII. Conflict Resolution Guidelines
IX. Additional resources


I. Application Procedure and Deadlines for the 2026 Institute Season

Institute Directors, please consult the emailed meeting summary from 10/10 for updates on fees and some exciting pilots coming for the 2026 institute season.

November 1

Activate your institute by November 1 and save $25 on your activation fee — pay only $100 when you sign up early. After November 1, the activation fee is $125 USD. New institutes pay $150 for the first year only; this rate has not changed.

Here is a quick video showing you how to activate your institute. (Please note that the video was made for the 2025 season, and the fee was different.) If you want to submit a new institute OR if there isn’t a link on your profile to activate your institute, please email [email protected].

Once you’ve paid your 2026 fee and your institute is activated, you can start submitting student institute events and teacher workshops through the institute portal, accessible from your personal profile under Helpful Links. When you submit student institute event, you can put any number in the tuition box. It will only be visible if SAA is collecting all payment for your student institute tuition. You must submit at least one event to be included on the institute list and in the institute ads.

If your institute has been activated and you need additional support, please email [email protected] for assistance.

For details about course prerequisites, class and observations hours, visit the Teacher Development Program page.

This season, we are piloting 3-day student institutes – see details below under Student Schedules and Offerings.

We are also piloting increased course maximums for stand-alone unit courses at institutes this season:

In person courses: up to 20 participants
Hybrid courses: up to 15 participants
Online and dual-delivery: up to 12 participants

For new institutes, or institutes that have changed their scheduled week, potential conflicts may need to be discussed with nearby established institutes. As you review submitted teacher workshops and student events on the institute portal, please stay alert to any such conflicts and connect with other directors as needed.

Student institutes and teacher workshops will be approved on a rolling basis starting from when they are submitted. Please start by submitting your student institute dates as an event from the institute portal as soon as possible after activating your institute. Once your events are approved by the SAA, you are welcome to publish them on your own institute website.

Approved institute events will be visible on the SAA events page and on your institute listing in the Organization Directory.

As you update your institute website with teacher workshops for the upcoming season, direct potential participants to your listing in the Organization Directory or to the approved course event links on the SAA website, accessible from your Sponsor Landing Page.

Please verify that course participants are on the SAA roster before accepting their tuition payment for a course. This allows the SAA system to verify that all necessary memberships, auditions, and prerequisites have been fulfilled. Institutes may be subject to fees for non-compliance. 

November 10

Institutes that are activated and have submitted student dates by Nov 10th will be referenced in the American Suzuki Journal. A QR code will point to the SAA website list which includes the institute name, location (city & state/province), student dates, and website URL.

December 15

Dec 15 is the deadline to submit teacher workshops that you would like included in the email ads. There is no additional fee for email ads and nothing additional to submit beyond the event request/s. The email ad will link directly to your institute’s public page in the SAA organization directory, which populates automatically with your approved student institutes dates and teacher workshops. You can edit the description from the institute portal.

Email ads will be sent starting in January for June institutes and in February for July and August institutes.

8-10 weeks prior to institute start date

Please verify that course participants are on the SAA roster before accepting their tuition payment for a course. This allows the SAA system to verify that all necessary memberships, auditions, and prerequisites have been fulfilled. Rosters should be correct by the first day of class. Institutes may be subject to additional fees for non-compliance. 

Order ECC books for in-person courses and mini-journals using this form. If changes are necessary, please contact us!

First day of teacher workshops








Last day of teacher workshops

2 Weeks after your student institute


September 15

Please make sure course rosters are correct: everyone in class is on the roster and everyone on the roster is in class!

You might prepare a QR code for each teacher workshop for the first day of class or make sure that your trainers have the event link from your sponsor landing page so they can get any stragglers onto the roster that day. Please note that trainers do not have access to the sponsor landing page at institutes.

Contact the office if you need someone removed from a roster.


Please make sure that on the last day of class, every person who has completed the course gets marked completed. This is ideally done by the Teacher Trainer, but can be done by the Institute Director in communication with the Teacher Trainer!

Report your institute student numbers on the institute portal and create your invoice there. Student fees are due 2 weeks after your student institute ends.


A late fee of 10% will be applied to all institutes who have not paid their student fees by September 15th.


II. Institute Approval and Conflict Issues

We recognize and deeply value the long history of institutes that have contributed to the strength of our teacher development programming and local Suzuki communities for decades. In the past, “Established Institute” status indicated priority in application review and publication. We now approve institute events on a rolling basis to encourage timely planning and to better support all institute directors.

While the term “Established Institute” will no longer be used as a formal designation, institutes with a consistent record of successful operation and timely compliance will continue to be recognized and supported as valued partners. All institutes are considered according to the same criteria: meeting requirements and deadlines, timely payment of student fees, clear communication, and quality programming. Institutes that take a year off or operate on a rotating schedule are welcome to reapply without penalty.

Institutes generally follow a pattern for the dates and locations for in-person events, using the same week year after year. However, sometimes venue changes or other factors require changing a longstanding institute to another week. If this happens, please reach out to the office to let us know and also reach out to the institute directors who may be affected.

We ask institute directors to be aware of other institutes happening at at the same time as yours so you can communicate and minimize any potential conflicts in time, location, or course offerings. On the institute portal, institute directors can see all institute events that have been submitted, even if they are not yet approved. If any conflicts or concerns arise, please see heading VIII below.

The SAA will continue to communicate with institute directors regarding any compliance issues as they arise, providing notice and opportunities for resolution whenever possible.

III. Student Schedules and Offerings (Virtual & In-Person) 

At the core of an institute are lessons (masterclasses), technique classes, and repertoire (group) classes which should be taught by SAA teacher members. Student programs should offer a minimum of 8 hours of core classes across 4 or more days. For students in books 1-3, those 8 hours must be lessons, technique, and repertoire classes. For students in Books 4 and beyond, those 8 hours can also include ensemble or orchestra. Additional hours may include play-ins, Enrichment classes, and performances. See table below.

In 2026, we will be piloting the option of 3+ days for institutes, such that the minimum total hours of core classes is 6 hours overall.

Minimum Hours across 4+ daysCore ClassesAdditional Hours
Books
1-3		2 hrs of core classes per student per day or a total of 8 hrs overall Lessons, technique, and repertoire classesPlay-ins
Enrichment classes
Performances
Books 4+2 hrs of core classes per student per day or a total of 8 hrs overallLessons, technique, repertoire, ensemble, or orchestra

IV. Teacher Schedules and Offerings

Teacher courses must follow guidelines in the Teacher Development Guidelines and the most current Online Training Guidelines. If you have questions, please email us at [email protected]. Please keep in mind, that guidelines change from time to time. We will be sure to provide ample notice for any changes.

Thank you for offering Teacher Training at your Institutes! Please communicate the following to participants on your website. Reach out to us with any questions!

  • Training Prerequisites & Course Order: Teachers need to be 18, have a high school diploma, and be Active Members to take training. ECC is required prior to Unit 1, and unit courses should be taken in order through Unit 3 (Unit 4 for viola). As of January 2025, Teaching Strategies is a prerequisite for Unit 3.
  • Auditions: Applicants must pass an audition to participate in Unit 1 training and beyond. We recommend that interested teachers submit their audition 6-8 weeks prior to the course start date. The deadline is 2 weeks prior to the course start date.
  • Course Preparation: Teacher Training participants are asked to prepare repertoire to be studied to the point of fluent performance. Memorization of repertoire is required for Unit 1 and encouraged for all units. Participants should be conversant in ideas presented in Nurtured by Love. 100% attendance is required.
  • Course Credentials: Course credentials are visible on a teacher’s training profile as soon as the trainer or course host marks the roster complete, ideally immediately following the course completion, but sometimes up to 10 days later.
  • Please get in touch with the SAA! Reach out to the SAA at [email protected] with any questions or concerns!

V. Benefits and Services for Approved Institutes

  • Advertisement and promotion opportunities are included, plus an additional option for 10% off advertising in the ASJ for institute hosts
  • All Institute information is advertised on the SAA website on multiple pages: by location, by event, and by institute. 
  • The 2nd quarter issue of the American Suzuki Journal will include a link to the student institute dates. Activating your institute is not enough to be included; you must submit a student event or a teacher workshop. 
  • If an Institute needs support in connecting with local SAA members and potential attendees, the SAA can work with Directors to support them. Please reach out to us at [email protected]. 
  • Use of the SAA Institute logo is allowed by all approved Institutes
  • Only Institutes & Festivals are able to offer core Teacher Training courses during June, July, and August (with exceptions possible after review and by approval of the SAA office). 
  • Order Mini Journals at this link.

VI. Limitations on non-approved Institutes or Events

  • Any Institutes that are not SAA-approved will not be eligible to advertise in the ASJ winter issue or be listed on the website. 
  • A non-approved Institute cannot host SAA Teacher Workshops.

VII. Additional Policies

  • The SAA staff will create committees as needed to verify all policies and guidelines are being met. 
  • Surveys and questionnaires may be provided by the SAA and should be completed promptly so that information can be used as a guide for the following year.
  • Institute Directors are required to be SAA members and to follow all SAA guidelines. We request timely and open communication between the SAA and Institute Directors. 
  • Institute faculty members who are teaching Suzuki courses are required to be active members of the SAA. Please remind them of this in your hiring process.

VIII. Conflict Resolution Guidelines

If any Director perceives a conflict with their Institute, please use the procedure below. We are all contributing to a healthy ecosystem of music education, so please approach each other with the kindness and support that is encouraged by Dr. Suzuki’s method and philosophy.

  1. Communicate directly with the Director of the other Institute to see if the conflict can be resolved. 
  2. If any compromises or resolutions result in changes to schedules, courses, or programs, please make the SAA aware immediately.
  3. If a resolution cannot be reached, each Director should reach out to the SAA via [email protected]. Any conflicts should be reported as soon as possible. 
  4. If necessary, an ad hoc committee will be appointed to support a resolution. Additional materials may be requested from each party, and the SAA will notify the Institutes of the resolution. 

IX. Additional Resources