Greetings from the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) national conference in Louisville, Kentucky!

Greetings from the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) national conference in Louisville, Kentucky!

There are 8 teachers here from the Suzuki School—Alyssa Lawson, Kasey Calebaugh, Lisa Hollis, Blancamaria Montecinos, Yuting Lin, Joy Grimes, Bekka Eowind plus myself. 

This conference is co-locating with the American String Teachers’ Association (ASTA) with over 3,500 teachers here to continue their lifelong learning.  It is a momentous occasion as it is the first in-person SAA conference since 2018 (pre-pandemic).

As Suzuki teachers committed to the Suzuki philosophy and pedagogy, we believe we should nurture ourselves as well as our students and families.  By attending this conference, we gain new insights and ideas that can improve our teaching when we return.  We also make connections with other teachers from around the world and hear some really amazing performances by students’ ensembles and professional artists who are invited as keynote artists and teachers.

This conference feels different because we are together with ASTA which is an organization infused with young teachers—many of whom are professors in the universities and teachers in public schools throughout the USA. The quality of the performances and speakers is outstanding as we have come to expect from these conferences. 

There is also a new undercurrent among all of us—change is in the air.  We want to be more inclusive via usage of multiple languages and also inclusive of other styles of music outside Western classical music. Perhaps it is the influence of ASTA, but we are hearing fiddling, jazz, alternative styles and jam sessions! At the Suzuki piano masterclass, for example, we heard Beethoven, Handel, and Oscar Peterson! 

These are incredible days that start at 7 am and continue through performances that end at 9 pm or 10 pm at night! It is wonderful to share meals together and have conversation about our programs both successes and challenges. It is great for us to hear the wisdom and courage to take new steps by our veteran teachers and also the newer teachers in an environment that allows for these kinds of risks. 

As we learn new ideas, we are also going to return with new activities to introduce to our students and also hope to continue our own journeys becoming better teachers for our school.