Turtle Bay Music School: Integrating the Suzuki Method into the Fabric of the Community

Turtle Bay Music School utilizes Dr. Suzuki’s philosophies as a cornerstone in our approach to music teaching and learning. Each year, TBMS’s highly integrated Suzuki strings program serves nearly 1,000 students and families, including children, teens and adults of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Students attend private and group strings classes on-site at TBMS, in after-school programs with TBMS public school partners, and as part of The Saturday Music Project, TBMS’s competitive scholarship program for low-income, high-needs students. As a result of careful planning, implementation, and assessment, Suzuki strings at TBMS are thriving and are widely recognized in the community. Additionally, TBMS has garnered the support of city, state, private and corporate funding sources. This presentation explores the successful design and implementation of our Suzuki strings program across vast constituencies and will highlight the outcomes and benefits of the program.

Video by Joanna Smulakowski

Joanna Smulakowski

Joanna Smulakowski is a highly sought-after teacher and performer in the New York City area. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s of music in viola performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and completed Suzuki teacher training with Kimberley Meier-Sims. In December 2012, she will graduate with a master’s in music education from Hunter College. Joanna performs frequently as a violist with chamber and orchestral groups such as the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Dicapo Opera, Westchester Symphony Orchestra, the Radio City Music Spectacular Orchestra, and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra. She has also collaborated with artists such as Barry Manilow and Kanye West. Her teachers include Stanley Konopka and Lynne Ramsey of the Cleveland Orchestra and pedagogue Jeffrey Irvine. A devoted teacher, she is on the faculty of Turtle Bay Music School, the Town School, and New England Music Camp. She serves as Suzuki faculty advisor at Turtle Bay Music School.

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