Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • FALL 2016 • sai-national.org 12 D E I J K N O P T U X Y Z I attended the Atlanta Suzuki Institute, which was held at e Cottage School in Atlanta from June 19-24. ere I took Violin Unit 6 with Teri Einfeldt, who was past president of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and the Suzuki program chair/professor at e Hartt School. I attended the institute in 2013 to take Violin Unit 4 training with Sue Baer. I liked the location of the institute (three hours from Tuscaloosa, Alabama) and had observed Teri's teaching a few years ago, so I felt that she would be a great teacher for me. When I arrived at the institute the Opening Ceremonies were starting; it began with brief announcements and then a "play-in" began with faculty, students, and teachers. A "play-in" in the Suzuki Method is a concert with students performing memorized songs from the Suzuki Books in unison. e group can be divided into two halves to perform works such as Bach's Double Concerto. e teacher leads the group and may play different games to keep the students motivated, such as having students play harmonics or have the students stamp their feet during a fermata. At a Suzuki Institute like Atlanta's, you would also have a faculty recital, student recitals, a guest artist recital, and an orchestra concert at the end of the week. My class had a total of seven students. Teri commented that it was one of the largest Book 6 classes she had ever taught. All seven trainees were active teachers, with some of the teachers owning music studios or teaching at universities in the surrounding states. To graduate from Violin Unit 6, we had to take 15 hours of lecture with Teri and complete eight hours observing her teaching other students and faculty members. e lectures included learning more about the music from Unit 6. We would play the music in class and Teri would share some information about each piece. About a decade ago, the SAA started to revise the books by changing the editing of the music (new bowings, adding or omitting pieces). Until I received my first Unit 1 certificate, I had never studied the Suzuki Method nor had taken specialized classes in the Suzuki Method. I am learning all of the books in the revised edition. e Unit 6 class that I observed had four students ranging in age from 10 to 15. I observed their private lessons, as well as their technique and group classes. eir parents attended all classes and were taking notes. I was impressed with the students' knowledge of major and minor scales, their ear-training (ability to play music in a different key on the spot without music), and their respect of not only Teri but of other guest teachers. Teri had asked our class to volunteer to teach her class for ten minutes. I worked with the students by reviewing an ear training exercise they did on Monday, to see if they had improved by that Friday. e students were successful with the exercise. I also attended a few Parent/Teacher sessions during the week. e one that was most memorable to me was given by my trainer, titled "Are you inadvertently sabotaging your child's lesson?" I loved how Teri involved both parents and teachers in the discussion and in finding solutions to create a better structure for lessons, so that parents and teachers would work better as a team. One advantage of having Teri as a teacher trainer was her previous experience on the board of SAA. She led the association's meeting in the middle of the week with all teachers that had membership in the organization and solicited ideas to report back to the current board; new information was also shared that may affect Suzuki programs in the future. As a Suzuki Violin Teacher it is important for me to receive this information to report back to my supervisors. I am grateful to Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies, Inc. for awarding me the SAI Professional Development Grant. Special thanks to Kimberly Everett for her solid organization in getting the funds to me right away so that I could reserve my spot and Christine Bruns for working with me on my first article for PAN PIPES. Jennifer Louie Trainum is a Suzuki Violin Teacher at e University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and an initiate of the eta Delta chapter. She is a member of the International Chapter. Studying at the Atlanta Suzuki Institute SAIS IN ACTION 2015 Professional Development Grant recipient Jennifer Louie Trainum (left) with Suzuki program chair/professor Teri Einfeldt at The Hartt School. FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Atlanta Suzuki Institute, visit: atlantasuzuki.org

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