Fall 2005 Newsletter

Download the Fall 2005 [doc] newsletter. 

New Faces!

Three new Suzuki teachers have joined our program this fall: Heidi Corcoran, cello, Jackie McCarroll, piano, and Linda Patterson, Flute.

Heidi Corcoran grew up as a Suzuki kid. She began Suzuki cello at age 5 in Wisconsin with her dad as her practice partner. When given the choice between cello and violin, young Heidi chose cello because she wanted to be able to sit down! She is an experienced Suzuki teacher and recently obtained her Masters in Music Education with emphasis in the Suzuki Method from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. She has completed Suzuki teacher training at the Colorado Suzuki Institute, Chicago Suzuki Institute and the American Suzuki Institute. In addition to teaching group (the advanced cello group has already performed at the Newark-Granville Symphony's fundraising dinner!) and individual lessons, Heidi is helping to promote the Denison University Suzuki Program in the community and is designing a Suzuki parent education course.

Jackie McCarroll has taught Suzuki piano since 1996 at Muskingum College and in the Zanesville area. Prior to becoming a Suzuki convert, she taught piano and performed as a pianist, organist and accompanist for more than 3 decades. Jackie ?fell in love? with the Suzuki method while studying for her Masters of Higher Education at Ohio University where her thesis topic was ?Talent Education: The Suzuki Method Applied to Music Instruction and Other Disciplines?. Jackie completed her Suzuki teacher training at Capital University with Mary Craig Powell. In addition to her love for the Suzuki method, Jackie loves frogs. She and Mrs. Kirsh have assembled an impressive amphibian collection in their studio! Check it out some time.

After a long and impressive banking career with Bank One, Linda Patterson has left the corporate world to pursue her life's true passion - flute. Linda graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and has performed with many ensembles and orchestras in Central Ohio, Chicago and New Jersey including her current group Sweet Silver. Linda recently became enamored with the Suzuki method and started observing group and individual lessons at Denison. She completed her Suzuki teacher training at Eastern Tennessee State University Flute Institute International and joins the Denison University Suzuki staff with the hope to spread the joy of Suzuki flute in the community.

The addition of Heidi, Jackie and Linda to our staff has helped strengthen our Suzuki program. All have openings for additional students at this time so please pass the word to friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, etc. .

Pennies for Practice leads to scholarship offer

Please encourage your student to keep collecting their pennies! We hope to have lots of pennies to send to the Greater New Orleans Suzuki Forum when our fundraiser ends on November 14th. Kathleen Tyree, the Director of the program, has kindly offered a scholarship to their Summer Institute to one of our participants in this fundraiser. Following is an excerpt from her message:

It is truly a blessing to have your e-mail. I just got telephone service back, which was not supposed to be restored before Nov. 4. Praise the Lord for the emergency attention I received for fear that one of my little violin students would step on this main phone line which was nearly draped across my driveway. Now all my neighbors have telephone service too--because of Suzuki teaching!

Our New Orleans teachers will not be teaching before January as their students have relocated due to school closings until the first of the year. We have heard good reports that nearly all the children who have evacuated have continued their Suzuki training in nearby states and cities--even as far west as Washington state, as far north as Ohio and Illinois, as far south and east as Florida. Suzuki teachers have welcomed them into their programs for as long as they will be staying, many times without cost to the parents who are trying to rebuild homes and offices.

Books, cds, and instruments will be welcomed. Some children left home without any of these and came back to find them wet. We are still planning our Summer Institute July 10-15, 2006 at the First Baptist Church of Kenner. We would like to offer a scholarship to one of your students who has been involved in this endeavor to supply our needs at this time.

Keep those pennies coming in and let your teacher know if you are interested in the scholarship to summer institute in New Orleans.

Who is that Man in the Hallway?

Why it's Dr. Suzuki, of course. Shinichi Suzuki, the man who developed the Suzuki Method, was born on October 17, 1898, in Nagoya, Japan. He was one of twelve children and his father owned a violin factory. It was not until Shinichi was seventeen, however, that he began to play the violin after being inspired by a recording of Schubert's Ave Maria, played by Mischa Elman.

Shinichi loved children and began to develop his method of talent education. He thought that all children, not just the musically gifted, could learn to play music just as all children learn to speak their native language. Dr. Suzuki believed that hearing and playing great music helped children become noble human beings. He hoped that these children would help bring peace and understanding to the world. Shinichi Suzuki died in January 1998 at the age of 99.

Suzuki Summers

For many Suzuki families and teachers, a Suzuki institute is a fun and educational part of every summer. Check the list below to see the exciting events fellow Suzuki enthusiasts participated in during the Summer of 2005:

• Xiao Ling Maynard, Ben and Peter Lepper, Charlie, David and Alex Stanislav and Amelia Larson attended Capital Suzuki Institute;
• Anna Rosenfeld attended fiddle camp in Montana and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in MI where she auditioned and was accepted into the International Youth Symphony (she will tour Europe next year with this group!);
• Veronica Burk attended Blue Lake;
• Nicholas and Paul Hawkins attended the New England Suzuki Institute in Maine;
• Anna Rosenfeld, Kaitlin Harris, Bryn Wilkins, Hannah Fuson and David Hawkins auditioned for and were accepted into the Newark-Granville Youth Orchestra;
• Ashley Severson performed at her church, a nursing home and a homeschooling convention;
• Maryfrances Kirsh was head of Teacher Training and a piano instructor at Capital;
• Cora Kuvenhoven taught at the Masterworkds Festival in Indiana;
• Susan Larson attended teacher training at Capital Suzuki Institute;
• Katie Wolff attended teacher training at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, WI;
• Jim Van Reeth taught violin at Capital Suzuki Institute and the American Suzuki Institute;
• Heidi Corcoran worked at the American Suzuki Institute and completed Music Together training;
• Linda Patterson attended teacher training at Eastern Tennessee State University Flute Institute;
• Mary Hawkins completed the Every Child Can Course at the New England Suzuki Institute in Maine.

The spring newsletter will have more information about Summer Institutes in 2006. Please email any other Suzuki summer experiences that you would like to share in the spring newsletter to Mary at hawkinsm@denison.edu.

Coming Soon

• Dr. Andy Carlson will take time out of his busy schedule to teach our advanced violin group class starting in January!
• We have started a Listening Library with a collection of good music that we purchased over the summer. Currently, we are researching cataloging software and hope to have cds available for our Suzuki families to borrow soon.
• Performance shirts and information binders (one binder per family) will be distributed to all students this semester. Gently used shirts may be exchanged for a larger size as your child grows. Please plan to wear the shirts to special performances, i.e. (Candlelight Walking Tour, Goodwill Ambassador Tour, Fourth of July, etc.)

Suzuki Suggestions

Please direct any questions, suggestions, concerns or requests for additional information about the Denison University Suzuki Program to Co-Directors Mary Hawkins (740) 587-5609 / hawkinsm@denison.edu or Jim Van Reeth (740) 975-4644 / vanreethj@denison.edu.