Suzuki News

Interview: Berta Rojas

February 2, 2018 by Andrea Cannon

Guitarist Berta Rojas, originally from Paraguay, will be our guest clinician at this year’s SAA Conference. We guitarists could not be more excited to visit with Berta and watch her work with our students. This interview offers us a closer… Read more ▶

Interview: Martin Beaver

February 2, 2018 by Janis Wittrig

Attendees at the upcoming 2018 SAA Conference will have the pleasure and privilege of meeting and observing renowned Canadian violinist Martin Beaver, who will be conducting a violin masterclass. Martin was first violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet from June… Read more ▶

Encouragement, Inspiration, Excitement: SAA Conferences are for you!

November 9, 2017 by Rebekah Hanson

The SAA Conference in 2016 was my first, and I continually ask myself why it took me so long to attend! I have been a member of the SAA since 2001 and have gone to institutes for teacher training almost… Read more ▶

Music in Recovery: The Amazing Story of Audrey Self

February 2, 2018 by Irene Mitchell

Paul Landefeld and Audrey Self play the first section of Vivaldi in a minor Read more ▶

David Gerry Recognized for “Unique Contributions to Suzuki Teaching”

December 4, 2017 by Kelly Williamson

On Thursday November 30, 2017, a celebration was held in Hamilton, Ontario, in honor of David Gerry’s receipt of a Creating Learning Community award for his many contributions to the Suzuki community. During his 25 years as a teacher trainer… Read more ▶

From Chicago to Cuba

November 9, 2017 by Edward Kreitman

When President Obama opened the doors to Cuba in December of 2014, Chicago Consort Music Director Thomas Wermuth and I immediately started making plans to bring the Chicago Consort there for a cultural and musical exchange concert tour. The Chicago Consort… Read more ▶

Practical and Personal: An Inquiry into What Teachers Do

November 9, 2017 by Merlin Thompson

Editor’s Note This article first appeared in the American Suzuki Journal volume 46, no. 1, Fall 2017, but a section of more than 600 words was omitted during the publishing process. It is reproduced here in a printable format. We… Read more ▶

Dr. Suzuki Birthday Testimonials!

October 17, 2017

Dr,Suzuki’s profound philosophy and approach to pedagogy changed my life. The SAA was and continues to be the vehicle for my education. Thank you, SAA. —Deanna Badgett In honor of Dr. Suzuki’s Birthday, I feel it’s my responsibility to give back… Read more ▶

Matsumoto Memoir—Sarah Hersh

October 3, 2017 by Sarah Hersh, Margaret Watts Romney

We are dipping back to a series of recordings—interviews made a number of years ago with people who studied with Shinichi Suzuki in Japan in decades past. In their voices, hear their curiosity and admiration as they remember their experiences. Also, you can hear the inspiration, wisdom, and gratitude that they’ve kept with them since they left. We’ve heard similar stories from Winifred Crock, Helen Higa, and Mark Bjork about their time studying in Matsumoto with Shinichi Suzuki. So while we are working on the full episodes for Season Two, we will occasionally release these Matsumoto Memoires: simple storytelling, straight from the people who were there… Lightly edited for clarity, without narration. Our story starts in the 70’s, in Ohio where Sarah Hersh was studying music. She loved playing violin, was curious about teaching, and happened to have a lucky locker assignment. Welcome to this Matsumoto Memoir from Sarah Hersh. Read more ▶

The Expanded Suzuki Triangle: Nurturing the Student within the Community

June 20, 2012 by Kathleen Schoen, Thomas Wm Schoen

This is a video response to a parent who asked, “Why bother with an institute?” We tried to go back to the basic principles of Suzuki philosophy to explain how events like institutes, group classes, and conference opportunities provide the… Read more ▶

Spotlight: Matt Jefferson, Bass Trombone

August 1, 2017

I think what the Suzuki program helped me to do is not to look at musical skill like a “talent” or a “special ability.” I was a part of the community and the strong musical environment enabled me to unlock elements within myself that most people can’t/don’t access. Read more ▶

TERI’s Grand Concert to Take Place Spring 2018

September 17, 2017

2018 is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. On April 4 of this special year, TERI will hold the 54th Grand Concert. It has been nine years since the last Grand Concert took place. In 2011,… Read more ▶

Matsumoto Memoir—Mark Bjork

September 1, 2017 by Mark Bjork, Margaret Watts Romney

Our story starts in the 60’s, in Minnesota, when Mark Bjork was heading to an intriguing concert. He was going to see a tour group of very young Japanese children playing complex concertos brought to North America by Shinichi Suzuki. Welcome to this Matsumoto Memoir from Mark Bjork. Read more ▶

Filosofa Suzuki at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City

Filosofía Suzuki at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City

August 1, 2017 by Leslie Mizrahi

The “Introduction to the Filosofía Suzuki” course is usually a four-day course, which has been successfully offered all over Latin America for more than 30 years now. In March 2017, this course made history, for it was offered, for the first time in America, as part of the obligatory curriculum of a university career. Read more ▶

Can Every Parent?

August 11, 2017 by Holly Blackwelder Carpenter

From the Video Series Parents As Partners Online 2015 A few weeks ago I received a text message from my brother (Suzuki parent with 3 children) It read “I know every child can, but I am not sure that this parent… Read more ▶

Play It Again, Sam—How to Implement Listening in Home Practice

August 11, 2017 by Jennifer Burton

From the Video Series, Parents As Partners Online 2015 Hi, I am Jenny Burton and I am going to talk about listening today. The name of my talk is “Play it Again Sam: How to Implement Listening in Home Practice.” There… Read more ▶

Crafting Constructive Positive Feedback

August 11, 2017 by Alexander Revoal

From the Video Series, Parents As Partners Online 2017 Consider the following scenario. You’ve been working on a research project at work for a while now and you present your findings to the department, including your supervisor, before you have to… Read more ▶