Kathryn A. Schatz

Kathryn A. Schatz has been teaching the Suzuki Violin Method to children for over 50 years. She is a
graduate of the Ithaca College School of Music (1971). Kathryn studied the Suzuki Method with Dr.
Shinichi Suzuki and with the pioneers of the Suzuki Method in the United States. She studied with Dr.
Suzuki in Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan, and attended the annual graduation concert in Tokyo in 1974 in
which three thousand children performed music from all ten volumes of the Suzuki Method. She also
attended workshops conducted by Dr. Suzuki at Rochester University (1976), Walt Whitman High
School, Bethesda Maryland (1980), and the San Francisco State University (1978) in which she took
private and semi-private lessons with Dr. Suzuki.

Kathryn’s studies with the early masters of the Suzuki Method include: a seven-year apprenticeship with
Sanford Reuning, Director of Ithaca Talent Education, (1972 – 1979); workshops with John Kendall at
Claremont College, Pomona, CA (1977, 1978) and at the University of Illinois (1980); workshops at the
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point with Marjorie Aber (1971, 1975, 1978); and a workshop with
William Starr at the Manhattan School of Music (1971).
In addition to her private teaching, Kathryn has taught at many Suzuki Violin summer institutes,
including the Ithaca College Suzuki Institute (1976—1979), the Hague Summer Institute in Holland
(1973), the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute (1977—1979), along with institutes in Atlanta, New
Hampshire, Maine, and Aspen Colorado. Kathryn also served as a clinician and Suzuki violin teacher at
the Academy of Arts in Easton, Maryland (1980). Kathryn played first violin in the Cheltenham Symphony
Orchestra in Cheltenham, England from 1990 to 1993.
Kathryn is constantly expanding her knowledge of violin teaching. She studied the New Approach
Method with the virtuoso Kato Havas in England and in Vermont and she incorporates many of Kato’s
ideas on balance, memory, and rhythm into her teaching. She studied traditional violin teaching
methods with Samuel Applebaum (1971) and Paul Rolland (1975).
Kathryn loves children and she loves teaching the violin. She makes the learning process fun, while also
maintaining a very high standard of excellence. She is very intuitive in her understanding of how to
teach each individual student. Creativity is central to her teaching. Kathryn also believes in early sight-
reading and music theory training for all of her students. Her teaching encompasses memorization,
orchestra music, and preparation for auditions and recitals. Some students who have studied with
Kathryn have completed all ten volumes of the Suzuki Method. Her daughter Morgan completed Book
10 and her daughter Abby completed Book 8.
Kathryn has been a member of the Suzuki Association of America since its origin. She is also a member
of the American String Teachers Association and KHANA (Kato Havas New Approach).
Kathryn lives and teaches in Columbia, Maryland. Her address is 9427 Bullring Lane, Columbia MD