Suzuki Summers
For twenty summers, Steve and Hays have been working in Suzuki string programs in both Minnesota and Kentucky. Read our story below!
Bemidji, MinnesotaIt all starts in Bemidji. Yes, Hays grew up as a Suzuki student in one of the nascent Talent Education programs in the United States (Louisville, Kentucky); and yes, our eldest child took violin and harp lessons before moving to Minnesota. But the real story begins here.
In 1996, we made the trek north to Minnesota where I took the job of Music Education Specialist at Bemidji State University. Hays had been the Southern Region Director for Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana (now Indiana Landmarks); but we decided that after work on my doctorate and sixteen years at Louisville Collegiate School, it was prime time for a change. Hays' experience in Suzuki Talent Education and teacher-training provided her the opportunity to join Bemidji's Headwaters Music Academy to work with beginning violinists. Starting with a small studio, Hays's incredible gift for pedagogy led to a studio of over thirty students as well as directorship of the string program at Headwaters. Hays always has been about connections, and as Bemidji is "remote," she made crucial contacts with other Minnesota Suzuki teachers from the Twin Cities to come "workshop" with Bemidji's burgeoning program. These teachers brought some of their students, and from this simple beginning, Hays started the first annual summer Suzuki Institute where she taught violin and led group classes, and I conducted the orchestras and led chamber ensembles. |
Louisville, KentuckyMoving from Bemidji State to Southeast Missouri State (Cape Girardeau) in 2000 was a tremendous professional move for me, and it meant many years of traveling north to continue our involvement with the Bemidji Suzuki Institute, but it was important for us to continue to build on the successful program Hays founded.
And just as in Bemidji, Hays restarted Cape Girardeau's long-dormant Suzuki program through the university's Music Academy. She created an enthusiastic community of children, parents and arts supporters who continue her work today. But unlike Minnesota, we only hosted the occasional regional workshop. Bemidji was still our "go-to" institute. Then, as Hays became more involved with Suzuki teachers and programs in the lower midwest, she received an invitation to teach at Louisville's summer institute; so with mixed-emotions and tremendous memories, we ended the trek north to Bemidji. After a short time, and having solidified her new role in Louisville through her gift for pre-Twinkle instruction, she was invited to teach at the 2007 violin institute in Singapore! Never the one to pass on opportunities for our students, Hays and I led a gaggle of violinists from Cape Girardeau, Louisville and Cincinnati Suzuki programs to the Singapore institute with a stop in Japan along the way. Soon after the successful trip to Singapore, I was invited to conduct the Louisville institute's orchestras and offer a choral experience to the kids—employment I enjoyed until the pandemic. |