Cover Story in September's 'The Strad' Magazine: Impact of Suzuki

August 21, 2012, 3:27 PM · With fall right around the corner, many parents considering violin lessons will ask the question, "What is the Suzuki method?"

Fortunately, it's a question I love to answer, having studied Suzuki pedagogy extensively and having taught violin for more than two decades. I've compiled a good deal of information, as well as relevant Violinist.com interviews and discussions from the last 15 years on this page: What is the Suzuki Method?.

More recently, I jumped at the chance to do a little more investigation, when The Strad editor Ariane Todes asked me to write an article for September's magazine about the worldwide growth and impact of Suzuki, 15 years after founder Shinichi Suzuki's death. The magazine with my article just hit the shelves.

For the article, I spoke to Suzuki teachers from all over the world, including Gilda Barston of Chicago, Brian Lewis of Texas; Nicolette Solomon of Texas (who founded Suzuki in South Africa), Helen Brunner of London; Martin Rüttimann of Switzerland; Therese Wirakesuma of Indonesia; Julia Breen of Australia; Fumiyo Kuramochi of Japan; Haukur Hannesson of Sweden; Jesus Florido of Los Angeles (who was among El Sistema of Venezuela's first students and teachers); and Julie Bamberger of Milwaukee (a regular visitor to programs in Japan).

I hope you will read the piece, if you are interested in perspectives on both how Suzuki teaching and pedagogy have evolved, how the method has spread throughout the world, and the different ways it operates from place to another.

Whether you are interested in my article or not, I feel that The Strad magazine is a publication that deserves our support, so here are two ways to get it. First you can get the app for your iPhone, iPad or Android device; or you can simply subscribe to the physical magazine. (I personally open the magazine each month and take a big whiff of that scrumptious ink. I was once a newspaper journalist, after all!). Both are available from this page: http://www.thestrad.com/subscriptions.asp.

Replies

Emily Grossman

August 21, 2012 at 11:48 PM · This is so cool, Laurie--I'm impressed! It's amazing to see all the connections you listed. Such a small world!

Paul Deck

August 22, 2012 at 12:59 AM · One of the pleasures of teaching at a big public university is that the library gets electronic subscriptions to stuff like "Strad" even though the school is known primarily for architecture and engineering. I'll have a read!