Messages of Hope from Suzuki Summer Institutes
Dear Students, Parents
and Teachers,
We will miss being to
gether making music as
a community this sum
mer at CSI. Our world
has changed for this
short time, but music has
found a means to come
through in so many new
and creative ways. Even
in isolation, music brings
us together to collabo
rate and learn from each
other, creating joy and
connection across distances.
We hope you will continue to
find excitement and curiosity
through music and new ways to
share your hope and inspiration
with others. We look forward to
seeing you and making music
together at institute next year!
– From the Colorado
Suzuki Institute
Dr. Suzuki beautifully ex
pressed “when love is deep,
much can be accomplished.”
Those words are a true reflec
tion here at the New England
Suzuki Institute. Even when
activities must stop, love con
tinues and gives us strength to
move forward. We feel a great
loss not to gather this year with
our wonderful faculty and
amazing families. Many re
turnees have told us that NESI
ranks on their list of annual
most-important-events: the
first and last days of school,
birthdays and holidays…
and NESI! Thank you all
for your continued support
of NESI, your child’s musi
cal education and lessons
with their teachers through
distance learning these past
few months. We are already
counting the days down to
next summer: NESI starts
on June 27, 2021.
– Yasmin Vitalius and Wendy
Sawicki, Directors of the New
England Suzuki Institute
at Colby College in Maine
Endless sunshine and warmth in Alaska during
these midnight sun days brings happy thoughts
of the Fairbanks Suzuki Institute. Although we
won’t be together this summer, preparations
are already being made for the 40th year anniversary in 2021. Families are growing together
as they nurture their abilities to make beautiful
music flower in their homes and neighborhoods.
Creating and sharing music from our hearts
gives us hope and courage for the future. When
we meet again under the midnight sun, we’ll be
stronger than ever and eager to welcome you to
the Fairbanks Suzuki Institute. Join us and we’ll
make the mountains and hills resound!
– Gail Johansen, Music Director,
Fairbanks Suzuki Institute
Here in Acadiana we are all missing seeing our
friends and colleagues face-to-face, as I am
sure everyone is right now! However, it is our
sincere hope that the extra time spent with family has truly strengthened and deepened your
relationships, as it has for us. It has been truly
magical to see—through online lessons and Zoom
meetings—how parents and children are communicating more and how parents are taking a
more active role in teaching and learning with
their children. As teachers, it has been inspiring
to see how many great ideas, insights, and new
strategies have been shared to help our Suzuki
community cope with these strange times. We
cannot wait until a time in the future when we
can all meet in person and share the depth of the
growth that has occurred during our time apart.
Stay healthy and safe, and of course, keep making
beautiful hearts and beautiful music!
– Acadiana Suzuki String Institute Administrators
When the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute
announced the postponement of the 2020 Institute, Koen Rens, a violin faculty member from
Belgium, posted this beautiful reply:
“This amazingly beautiful worldwide community
will connect through their hearts, taking care
where we are needed most in this challenging
time. But the inspiration, the love and selfdiscipline, the shared depth will help us grow
and we will build community and make music
with more depth, better harmony, and more integrity. Lots of love to all of you!! Let us show our
children how noble hearts deal with adversity
and challenge!”
We love our ISSI faculty, students, and families,
and we can’t wait to reconnect with you in 2021!
– Stacy Smith, Faculty and Artistic Director,
Intermountain Suzuki String Institute
The San Diego Suzuki Institute is really looking
forward to all the new friends we will meet
in 2021!
– San Diego Suzuki Institute Administrators
To the students, parents, faculty, and friends of
the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute, though we
have been physically separated for a time, we are
together in spirit. Please remember the words
of Dr. Suzuki: “How fortunate it is that we have
challenging lives, in which we are walking together holding hands.” May we carry on finding
ways to connect, may our beautiful hearts and
beautiful tone continue to serve and strengthen
our communities, and may we find the silver
linings of the storm clouds as they pass over us.
– Erin Rushforth, Director
We approach July 2021 with renewed appreciation
for parents and renewed enthusiasm for refining
our teaching skills. Our HNU Institute offers
participants a unique experience, focusing on
piano teacher training with immediate practical
experience and constructive feedback in the form
of Teaching Strategies courses. Enrichment offerings in piano group classes and a natural approach
to music reading will include lively demonstration
lessons with children. Come to the San Francisco
Bay Area and be welcomed into our nurturing
community of lifelong learners.
– Caroline Fraser, Program Director and Teacher
Trainer, Holy Names University Suzuki
Piano Teacher Training Institute
Dr. Suzuki said, “Children learn to smile from
their parents.” The Hartt Suzuki Institute team
sends our smiles to you for a safe and happy
summer! We will miss each and every one of
your smiles, and look forward to the joys of
music-making in true Suzuki-style in 2021!
– From the Hartt Suzuki Institute Team:
Christie Felsing, Pablo Issa, Malgosia Lis,
Donna Ngai, and Jim Rickevicius
We will miss everyone at the summer institutes
this year, but . . . we are very excited about next
year. In this pandemic year, we are all giving up
many things we love and count on for our sanity.
Institutes are a part of our make up as Suzuki
students and teachers. But one of the other things
we have gained is a true appreciation for those
“summer friends” and buddies from “camp.”
So here is a challenge for you: Go online. Go on
Facebook or your favorite social media site. Go
to your favorite institutes website, and tell about
your experiences there in the past. Connect with
the friends you made. Send a picture of yourself.
Play a piece and send in. Seek out those summer
friends and keep them close during this crazy time.
Keep practicing and see where you can be by next
summer! We are looking forward to a wonderful
year at Virginia Suzuki Institute and at all institutes
around the country in 2021!
– Nan Freeman, Director, Virginia Suzuki Institute
We are deeply saddened by the need to cancel
our Institute this year, but we are thankful
we have been able to “flatten the curve” of
COVID-19 cases in our city and state. Our
hearts go out to the Suzuki community members all over the world who have suffered
greater losses than we have experienced. We
look forward to welcoming you back to our
beautiful, Big Sky location, when once again
you can “come play with us!”
– The leadership of Montana Suzuki Institute,
Sylvia Allen Oman, Director
The loss of 2020 Suzuki Institutes is disappointing.
When it is safe to gather, institutes will return.
Already we miss each other. Families look forward
all year to reunions with music families and faculty. Faculty and directors will miss everyone. We
come to learn, have fun, develop skills and make
or renew friendships.
Perhaps the most important opportunity available
at institute is to discover how much we are capable
of doing and being. In the master class, each student with their practice parent are given a small
overnight assignment. Practice is work. The process of the work can become the fun resulting in
achievement and celebration. Both the parent and
child are led to learn to work together in a focused
way with humor and appreciation.
When our faculty gathers, we discuss the priority
that we first teach the child and parent, music next
and the instrument last. Whatever we teach it is
for the child to have the miracle of self-realization
during the week.
We intend that after Institute, the next year of study
will start from a higher, more
inspired and happier place.
Please come to us in 2021 in
Washington, DC.
– Ronda Cole, Director, Greater
Washington Suzuki Institute
Although we’ve all hit a blaring grand on our
plans, we’re looking ahead to a sign coming
in the future, when we can begin our Institute
planning once again: Da Capo !!! Our w i l l
take us to Spring/Summer 2021, when The Calgary Suzuki Institute will be offering the same
Teacher Training courses as originally planned:
Trumpet Book Two with Ann-Marie Sundberg,
Guitar Book Two with Andrea Canon, and
Guitar Book Four with David Madsen. We also
are planning our student classes and will keep
everyone informed! Always keep your eye on
the Directors via our website for the next upbeat
information.
We hope you are staying well, and that before
long we are able to be Tutti!
– Kim Aull and Natalie DeJong, Calgary Suzuki
Summer Institute