Conference

March 27, 2020

Dear Suzuki members, We are excited to share some good news. We are moving the May Conference to September 3-7, 2020, at the Hilton Minneapolis and Minneapolis Convention Center! We hope you will be able to join us! A new reservation page… Read more ▶

September 25, 2018

The 2018 SAA Conference was a huge success. Thank you to all presenters, participants, and organizers! Here are a few videos to give you a flavor or a reminder of the weekend. Koen Rens’ masterful keynote speech, “Suzuki Music Education: The Power… Read more ▶

June 20, 2018

Transcript for Website At the 2018 Conference, all Affiliated Chapters were invited to a session to connect and hear news of each other’s recent successful projects. The comments from each of the Chapters were audio recorded. Here is an edited (for… Read more ▶

April 2, 2018

Talking Together: How to Get Beyond Polarization and See and Hear Each Other Through Civil Dialogue Kay Collier McLaughlin (formerly Kay Collier-Slone) describes herself as a Suzuki teacher specializing in social change. The author of the Talent Education classic, They’re Rarely… Read more ▶

March 22, 2018

Arranging Carnival of the Animals for students! Camille Saint -Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals was written for children, but have you felt the desire to have your students play it as well? At the 2018 Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference,… Read more ▶

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 ▶

May 1, 2017 by Caroline Fraser

Held in Lima Peru, January 4­–25, 2017 The International Suzuki Festivals in Peru and the Latin American Teachers’ Conferences are the most international Suzuki events to be held in the Americas. Seventeen countries participated in these events this year! And there… Read more ▶

November 8, 2016

Did you get to see a student concert at the SAA conference in May? Wish you could enjoy it again? Want to share one with others? Missed one you wish you could have experienced? Good news—they are… Read more ▶

November 14, 2015 by Mark George

Among the many delights to be had at the upcoming SAA Conference in Minneapolis is a performance by the Minnesota Orchestra with violin soloist Erin Keefe. The New York Times called Erin Keefe “an impressive violin soloist,” but that is… Read more ▶

November 14, 2015 by Andrea Cannon

This unique interview is a sort of a cyber-roundtable of questions for guitarist, teacher and technical guru Scott Tennant. Scott is a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, an amazing soloist, and the author of what has become… Read more ▶

May 29, 2015 by Barbara Balatero, Heather Watson Hardie, Samara Humbert-Hughes, Laura Nerenberg, Alice Ann O'Neill, Kathleen Schoen, Danette Schuh, Rafael Videira

For many Suzuki teachers, SAA Conferences and Leadership Retreats are the best way to kick off summer. Packed full of inspiration and camaraderie, these events are not to be missed! Read more ▶

August 15, 2014 by Gabriel Pliego

Perhaps some of you have experienced the following situation: when a three- or four-year-old student comes to our studio, she and her mother frequently believe we are Heifetz or Perlman, Dorothy DeLay or Josef Gingold, or one of them .… Read more ▶

April 17, 2014 by Ellen Kogut

Every two years, hundreds of Suzuki teachers descend upon the Minneapolis Hilton for the Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference. The Conference offers presentations, workshops, masterclasses, and performances, as well as the incredible opportunity to connect with colleagues from all… Read more ▶

March 18, 2014 by Daina Volodka Staggs

We have a unique opportunity at the biennial SAA conferences to come together to learn, celebrate, and improve our teaching and ourselves through the power of Dr. Suzuki’s vision of educating children… Read more ▶

February 14, 2014 by Libby Felts

We share some tips from seasoned conference goers on early-stage planning for an SAA conference. Read more ▶

November 15, 2013 by Libby Felts

Some members of the 2014 SAA Conference planning team shared their recollections of their first conference experience. Have a memory to share? Tell us in the comments. Read more ▶