In Memoriam: Geri Arnold
As I think of my special friend Geri Arnold, these
are words that quickly come to my mind. I think
of the sounds coming out of the room where her
group class was held across the hall from mine. I think of the
sounds coming from the teachers’ lunch room at an institute
or workshop. I think of the long lasting relationships she
forged with her students. I think of the early days of our
career, when she created workshops and had the vision to
start a summer institute at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. I think
of her dedication to Dr. Suzuki and his vision.
Geri Arnold passed away March 18, 2020, after a six-yearlong battle with ovarian cancer. Her children, Chas and Sara,
and her husband, Gary, were with her when she died, just
as she wanted. She had spent the last two years in Seattle,
WA, with the whole family close by.
Geri was raised in East Lansing, MI, where her father,
Romeo Tata, was a violin professor at Michigan State University and the conductor of the Lansing Symphony.
Geri graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and
attended the University of Michigan, receiving her BM in
violin performance and MM with a teaching certificate. She
discovered the Suzuki Method in the 1970s as she completed
her degree in Ann Arbor. She worked with Ceilia Nicks
who had started the program there. Geri took it over when
Celia moved.
Geri actively searched out information about Suzuki’s
ideas and methods of teaching. She studied with Shinichi
Suzuki in Japan and toured with him on the 1978 East Coast
tour which held performances at Kennedy Center, and
Carnegie Hall. She visited other teachers to learn from them
and returned the favor to anyone who reached out to her. She
continued to be a strong voice in the Suzuki Community as
a teacher to many students, a teacher trainer and instructor
at countless workshops and institutes around the world.
She was tireless in sharing her vision and encouraging
others. Geri served on both the SAA and Michigan ASTA
board of directors. From MASTA she received the Teacher of
the Year award in 1990 and the Career Achievement Award
in 2012. From ASTA, she received the Citation for Leadership
and Merit in 2005. She served on the SAA board of directors
from 1978–82 (80–82 as vice president).
In Michigan she organized teacher training, workshops,
the Blue Lake Suzuki Family camp and organized “Tuesdays
with John” (Kendall). She continued her commitment to
build community and share the love of music in Charlotte,
North Carolina, as well. Geri ended her journey in Seattle,
where she had the great joy of teaching her own grandchildren the “mother tongue method.”
Geri was a marvelous violinist and inspirational teacher
and she refused to let cancer and chemotherapy take that
away from her. W hen she started
treatment, she chose to make sure
neuropathy would not enter her hands,
so she reviewed her complete Suzuki
repertoire daily. She continued active
teaching and kept “marching on.”
An amazing woman of dynamic
energy and enthusiasm, Geri’s vision
was kindled by Dr. Suzuki’s vision, that
if children are nurtured by love, we can
help children grow with noble hearts.
– Wendy Azrak
Like so many of the early Suzuki
pioneers, Geri was passionate about
Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy. She learned
that it was their most critical job to
ensure that all children receive the
highest level of nurturing and instruction. Therefore, she committed to be
a life long student herself. She soon
realized that she had an obligation
to expose and influence the younger
teachers to follow in that path of life
long learning in the Suzuki Method.
In that spirit, we invite you to join
us and contribute to the Geri Tata
Arnold Violin Teacher Training Scholarship fund, offered through the
Suzuki Association Scholarships for
Teachers program.
Donations should be made out to
SAA and sent to PO Box 17310, Boulder,
CO 80308 or made online: https://
suzukiassociation.org/giving/donate/
Geri was a wonderful friend and
teacher, who lived with passion.
She was devoted to her family. Geri
cared very much about her students
and teaching, and was supportive of
her colleagues. She was creative in
her teaching—following Dr. Suzuki’s
model. She will be greatly missed.
– Betsy Stuen-Walker, Suzuki colleague
She had a quality relationship with
each of her students and made an
effort to know them as unique individuals. I loved her “get it done”
organizational abilities . . . her energy
to go, to do, to explore, and to know.
– Dolcy Garfield, parent of two students
Geri. The name will always evoke a
sense of awe and appreciation in me.
I saw her as possessing an enviable
combination of tenderness, insistence, and love. She was an inspired
and inspiring warrior and a champion for all children every where.
She and my mother, Carolyn Tarzia,
are to this day the most influential
humans in my life. I am profoundly
and forever grateful.
– Lisa Tarzia, former student and
Suzuki colleague
Whether in Michigan, Ithaca, North
Carolina, Kenya, conferences, her
impact on Suzuki education was tremendous. Her laughter and jokes were
famous at institute faculty meetings at
Ithaca College.
– Christie Felsing, Suzuki colleague
The third lesson Geri taught me is to
have faith in the future. I am not a
teacher, but can imagine the frustration of teaching students whose
progress is sometimes less than rapid.
Looking back, I see that Geri’s devotion to her students, year after year,
was ultimately an act of faith; that
somehow we would muddle through
to greatness—or at least to the best
of our abilities—despite our various
shortcomings. As I navigate through
life as an adult now, I try to remember
that. On a more profound note, I will
be forever touched that she and Gary
named their own daughter after my
sister Sara. That, too, was a statement
of faith in the future.
– John Pollack, former student from his
reminiscences at her 30th
anniversary of teaching
Geri had a heart of gold
and would put her energies to work for good like
nobody I’ve ever seen.
She was always reaching out to include other
people in projects and to
build bridges. Why did I
move to Ann Arbor? Because I wanted to, since
my sister was there and
I loved the place; and
because Geri found me
a job. Not only did she
find me a job, she was
excited and enthusiastic
about my moving there. I’m pretty sure
she’s also the reason I first got hired at
the Blue Lake Institute. The connection
with Geri runs deep in my life.
– Ed Sprunger, Suzuki colleague
Geri had an enormous heart and gave
of it, unconditionally. To be in her presence while giving a lesson, you could see
and feel the love and passion she had for
her students. Those young, eager eyes
watching and listening to a master
teacher ply her magic was something to
behold. This exemplary teacher could
make her students believe they could
create beautiful sounds. They could
learn to speak through their instrument. And they did. They were truly
“nurtured by love.”
– Dan Long, parent of two students,
retired strings teacher