What’s what? The Latin American Suzuki Ensemble and Suzuki Americas 2014

Young violinists perform in the Latin American Suzuki Ensemble at the 2008 SAA Conference

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Several months ago, we announced Suzuki Americas 2014—the first official gathering of Suzuki students from North, Central and South America—which will take place at the SAA’s 16th Biennial Conference and feature cross-cultural concerts, play-ins, and special activities.

A related student event scheduled for the 2014 Conference is the Latin American Suzuki Ensemble. So what’s the difference? And why do we need to raise money?

Suzuki Americas 2014 is open to all Suzuki students everywhere to attend, either in person in Minneapolis or to enjoy from home through video streaming. Registration information will be made available in January for students who wish to participate in person. We’re encouraging teachers who won’t be in Minneapolis to organize events in their studio for students to play along with the streaming video.

Featured music will be folk pieces from the cultures of Canada, the United States, and Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America.The music will be posted for download on the SAA website by February, plus a review list of Suzuki pieces for students to prepare.

The Latin American Suzuki Ensemble is a tour group of 38 students from Latin America who will travel to the 2014 SAA Conference for their own performances at the concert. They will also be invited to participate in Suzuki Americas 2014 with children from the United States and Canada. These students, their teachers, and their parents or chaperones will travel a great distance at a great cost to participate in these events and share with the rest of the SAA the wonderful work being done with Suzuki music education in Latin America. We are pledging our support and have a goal to raise $30,000 to support the Latin American Suzuki Ensemble. (Read about the 2008 Latin American Suzuki Ensemble here, including remarks from student participants.)

What can you do to help? Many Suzuki families in the Twin Cities have graciously and generously offered to host our Latin American guests. You can pledge your support as an individual and donate now. You can organize a play-in or practice-a-thon in your studio and collect donations for the SAA’s LASE 2014 fund. And if you have other ideas of ways your studio can raise money, we’d love to hear them in the comments!

Please help us share the gift of music across cultures and showcase the amazing diversity of our Suzuki community.

Select “Latin American Ensemble Conference 2014″ from the Fund menu.

Libby Felts is editor of the American Suzuki Journal, the official publication of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She holds a master of fine arts in creative writing with an emphasis in nonfiction from the University of Wyoming and an interdisciplinary bachelor of arts with concentrations in creative writing, women’s and gender studies, and environmental advocacy from the University of Missouri. Libby is a member of the board of directors of Summit Dog Rescue, an all-volunteer foster-based dog and cat rescue based in Boulder, CO, which seeks to educate animal guardians on modern behavioral science and ethical training methods. In her free time, she can be found mountain biking the foothills of the Front Range and hanging out with her blue heeler, Daisy.

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