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Hartt Suzuki Institute

Summer 2023 Suzuki Institute

HSI is a concentrated study of the repertory, philosophy, and teaching methods introduced by the respected Japanese educator Shinichi Suzuki.
HSI is a concentrated study of the repertory, philosophy, and teaching methods introduced by the respected Japanese educator Shinichi Suzuki.

July 28 - August 5, 2023

Student Institute

The Hartt Suzuki Student Institute (July 28 - August 5) will continue its legacy by offering an exciting in-person program for summer 2023 on the University of Hartford's campus, West Hartford, Connecticut. The institute is designed for violin, viola, cello, guitar, piano and new this year trumpet! students who are currently studying with a Suzuki-trained teacher.  Students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian throughout the course of the institute (Note: Book 7 and Up exception).

Large ensembles, chamber groups, and play-ins will begin Sunday, July 30 (see arrival letter for specific times for arrival) as well as our opening ceremonies. The full schedule of classes begins on Monday, July 31.

 

Teacher Institute

The Suzuki Teacher Workshop is designed for teachers who wish to gain expertise in Suzuki pedagogy. Each workshop course is taught by a teacher training specialist who is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA).

2023 Student Institute

At HSI, each student receives a minimum of four hours per day of formal instruction. Suzuki students who are in Book 4 and above receive a minimum of five hours per day of formal instruction. Instruction includes a master class, in which each child receives one-on-one teaching, a repertory class, an ensemble or instrument specific class and at least one additional enrichment class appropriate to the instrument and level of the child. Students are expected to practice a minimum of one hour per day.

2023 Tuition Rates:

BOOKS 1-3: $550 Early bird (May 15); $600 Regular (June 23) 

BOOKS 4-6: $600 Early bird (May 15); $650 Regular (June 23)

BOOKS 7 and up: $650 Early bird (May 15); $700 Regular (June 23)

TRUMPET: $600 all levels

Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis therefore early registration is encouraged. If space is not available, you will be notified, and all fees will be refunded.

Because of the Institute's commitment to faculty and facility arrangements, applicants who withdraw after June 1, 2023 will forfeit all tuition and fees. Withdrawal prior to June 1st requires written notice sent directly to hcdbills@hartford.edu. Registration fees are non-refundable.

VIOLIN
  • Melinda Daetsch, The Hartt School
  • Teri Einfeldt, The Hartt School
  • Christie Felsing, The Hartt School
  • Linda Fiore, Pennsylvania
  • Carla Brasch Francis, New York
  • Ed Kreitman, Illinois
  • Kirsten Marshall, New York
  • Vera McCoy-Sulentic, Illinois
  • Annalise Ohse, Tennessee
  • Tal Schifter, New York
VIOLA
  • Melinda Daetsch, The Hartt School
CELLO
  • Pamela Devenport, New York
  • Chris Fiore, Pennsylvania
  • Nancy Hair, Massachusetts
GUITAR
  • Mychal Gendron, Rhode Island
  • Seth Himmelhoch, New Jersey
  • David Madsen, The Hartt School
PIANO
  • Fay Adams, Tennessee
  • Marina Obukovsky, New York
  • Bret Serrin, Texas
  • Elke Velazquez, New York
TRUMPET
  • Dan D’addio, The Hartt School
ORGAN
  • Jim Gower, The Hartt School
STRING ORCHESTRA
  • Emmett Drake, The Hartt School
FIDDLING
  • Annalise Ohse, Tennessee
Chamber Music
  • Melinda Daetsch, The Hartt School
  • Emlyn Ngai, The Hartt School
ENRICHMENT
  • Chuck Speicher, Pennsylvania

BOOK 1-3
Each student will receive a minimum of four hours per day of formal instruction. Instruction includes a master class (four students) in which each child receives one-on-one instruction, a repertory class, and two enrichment classes according to student level. As always, guardian support through attendance is expected at each class. 

BOOK 4-6
Each student will receive a minimum of five hours per day of formal instruction. Instruction includes a master class (3 students) in which each child receives one-on-one instruction, a repertory class, and three enrichment classes according to student level.  As always, guardian support through attendance is expected at the master class and repertoire class. String students (violin, viola, and cello) Book 5 and up wanting to be considered for Chamber Music, need to submit a video of their polished current piece to hsi@hartford.edu by June 23 with the subject: “Chamber Music Audition Video”.

BOOK 7 AND UP
Each student will receive a minimum of five hours per day of formal instruction. Instruction includes a master class (2 students) in which each child receives one-on-one instruction, an advanced repertory class and three enrichment classes. String and piano students (violin, viola, and cello) Book 5 and up wanting to be considered for Chamber Music, need to submit a video of their polished current piece to hsi@hartford.edu by June 23 with the subject: “Chamber Music Audition Video”.

As always, guardians are welcome to attend, though it is not required if a student is age 13 or above, at Book 7 or above, and an independent note-taker. 

ADDITIONAL CLASSES

For string students, additional classes may include: a fundamental Theory/Musicianship class, Music Mind Games, Fiddling, Chamber Music, and Music History Tours. 

For guitar students, additional classes may include: a fundamental Theory/Musicianship class, Music Mind Games, Guitar Technique, Advanced Guitar Ensemble, and Music History Tours. 

For piano students, additional classes may include: a fundamental Theory/Musicianship class, Music Mind Games, Piano Jazz-Improv, Organ, and Music History Tours.

For trumpet students, additional classes may include: a fundamental Theory/Musicianship class, Music Mind Games, technique class, ensemble, and Music History Tours.

Ensembles and Orchestras, and Piano Triolets

Orchestra 
String students at the Book 2 and above level will be placed in an orchestral experience appropriate to their level.

Guitar Ensembles
Guitar students Book 2 and up will be placed in an ensemble appropriate to their level. 

Enrichment classes for pianists
Piano students Book 2 and up will be placed in triolets. Advanced students may be placed in Chamber Music. 

Guardians in attendance at the institute are expected to be present at their child’s masterclasses and repertory classes in order to assist with practicing (Exception: Book 7 and up level students who are age 13 or above and independent note-takers). 

Families with three or more children should contact our staff if only one guardian/adult will be attending.   

The Hartt Suzuki Institute 2023 will be following the University of Hartford’s COVID-19 and vaccination policies. 

Please visit the following link for the school’s most updated COVID-19 policy 

For specific COVID-19 related questions please email the Hartt Community Division’s COVID-19 Coordinator at hcdcovid@hartford.edu.

The Hartt Suzuki Institute will not offer dorm accommodations for participant families this year. We recommend looking into the following hotels in the area:

Farmington Inn
827 Farmington Ave Farmington, CT

Candlewood Suites
370 Market St, Hartford, CT

Residence Inn
55 Simsbury Rd, Avon, CT

The Simsbury Inn
397 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT

Courtyard by Marriot Hartford Farmington
1583 SE Rd, Farmington, CT

2023 Teacher Institute

 

Every Child Can! (ECC) and Violin Unit 1
The 8-hour course, Every Child Can! (ECC), is required prior to taking Unit 1. Courses must be taken in order through Unit 3: ECC, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3. Once this sequence has been completed, higher units may be taken out of order, if desired.

Applicants who qualify as participants, who complete required observations, and who attend all sessions qualify to have the course registered with the SAA. Additionally, qualified participants may earn 1 graduate credit awarded by the University of Hartford.

ECC: 

Participant: $160
Graduate credit: N/A

UNIT 1 (Guitar, violin): 

Participant: $800
Graduate credit: $900

 

UNIT 2 (PIANO, VIOLIN): 

Participant: $500
Graduate credit: $600 

UNIT 3, 4, 5, 6, 9/10 (VIOLIN): 

Participant: $500
Graduate credit: $600

"The power of the group" (Violin): 

Participant: $500
Graduate credit: N/A 

 “From Twinkle to Mozart; Developing the Suzuki Bow Arm” (Violin)

Participant: $370

Graduate credit: N/A

"My Left Arm" - Anatomy for Musicians

Participant: $375

Graduate credit: N/A

OBSERVATION

Teachers who are not registered for a teacher workshop course are welcome to observe student classes during the institute for a fee. Connecticut teachers are allowed one free day of observation. Please email hsi@hartford.edu to register.

FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, JULY 29, 12:00 P.M.

  • Every Child Can! (ECC!) with Christie Felsing 

SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1:00 P.M. – SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

  • Violin: “From Twinkle to Mozart; Developing the Suzuki Bow Arm” with Kirsten Marshall
  • ALL INSTRUMENTS: "My Left Arm" - Anatomy for Musicians with Pam Devenport

SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 1:00 P.M.

  • Guitar: Unit 1 with Seth Himmelhoch
  • Violin: Unit 1 with Vera McCoy-Sulentic

MONDAY, JULY 31, 8:30 A.M. – FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 4:30 P.M.

  • Piano: Unit 2 with Marina Obukovsky
  • Violin: Unit 2 with Christie Felsing 
  • Violin: Unit 3 with Teri Einfeldt 
  • Violin: Unit 4 with Linda Fiore 
  • Violin: Unit 6 with Kirsten Marshall
  • Violin: “The Power of the Group” with Edward Kreitman
AUDITION REQUIREMENT

To qualify as a participant in SAA Teacher Workshop unit courses, applicants must submit a video audition to the SAA, preferably well in advance of taking the course. Auditions should be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the course start date, with the required fee and a completed application form. If submitted after the 8-week deadline, applicants must then submit an express audition to the SAA with an additional fee. All auditions must be received at least 10 days before the start of the course. No auditions will be accepted after this date. If the audition is not accepted, you may observe a workshop course as an auditor but you may not take the course as a participant. For further information, please see the SAA website at suzukiassociation.org and find the teacher video audition application for instructions, or call the SAA at 888.378.9854 for further information.

Auditor questions: please contact HSI Co-Directors at: hsi@hartford.edu. 
Note: Auditor rate is same as Participant rate.

PARTICIPANT STATUS

The SAA and the Hartt Suzuki Institute strongly encourage Participant status. If your audition is accepted, your course participation will be registered, provided that all other requirements are met. If the audition is not accepted, and the course is not filled to capacity, you may observe the course as an auditor, but the course will not be registered with the SAA.

GRADUATE CREDIT

As a prerequisite for completing a teacher workshop course for graduate credit, you must pass your SAA audition by July 1, 2023. If you haven’t been notified of your results by that date, then your registration will be switched to Participant if your audition is accepted before the start of the course.

REQUIRED COURSE PREPARATION

All teacher workshop participants are asked to prepare the repertoire to be studied to the point of fluent performance. Memorization is not required but is highly recommended. Additionally, participants should be conversant with the ideas presented in Dr. Suzuki's book Nurtured by Love.

All participants will be performing Suzuki repertoire and other materials in class. String players are expected to provide their own instruments. It is recommended that participants bring an audio recorder and a notebook to all sessions. 100% attendance is required for registering the course.

TRAINING PREREQUISITES AND COURSE ORDER

To take Suzuki teacher training, teachers must be active members of the SAA. Every Child Can! (ECC!) is required prior to taking Unit 1. Courses must be taken in order through Unit 3: ECC!, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3. (See SAA website for Viola Guidelines)

 

Teacher Training Workshop Course Hours

UNIT 1 (GUITAR, VIOLIN): 

This course includes 28 hours of class plus 15 observations over 8 days. Workshop participants must have completed ECC! in order to enroll and complete at least the basic audition with SAA.

UNIT 2 (PIANO or VIOLIN):

This course includes 15 hours of class plus 8 hours of observations over 5 days (Monday-Friday). Workshop participants must have completed and registered ECC, and Unit 1 to enroll in Unit 2. 

UNIT 3 (VIOLIN): 
This course includes 15 hours of class plus 8 hours of observations over 5 days (Monday-Friday). Workshop participants must have completed and registered ECC, Unit 1, and Unit 2 to enroll in Unit 3. 

UNIT 4 (VIOLIN): 
This course includes 15 hours of class plus 8 hours of observations over 5 days (Monday-Friday). Workshop participants must have completed and registered ECC, Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 to enroll in Unit 4. 

UNIT 6 (VIOLIN): 

This course includes 15 hours of class plus 8 hours of observations over 5 days (Monday-Friday). Workshop participants must have completed and registered ECC, Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 to enroll in Unit 6. Additionally, participants must complete the Intermediate or Comprehensive Audition with the SAA.

“THE POWER OF THE GROUP”

This course includes 15 hours of class plus 8 hours of observations over 5 days (Monday-Friday). Workshop participants must have completed and registered ECC, Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 to enroll in Unit 4. 

The Power of the Group is an interactive course for Suzuki Teachers.  It will cover all aspects of group class teaching including how to implement and organize a home group class program.

In the course, Teacher Workshop Participants will play as members of the group class.  The course will cover material from Pre-Twinkle through the Bach Double with lots of examples and exercises for developing students playing through the power of group teaching. Teachers will also have the opportunity to develop a group class teaching segment to present to the group and receive feedback on their group class teaching.

The course will present a curriculum for pre-twinkle, Twinkle, and each book level 1 - 4. Pre-requisite for the group is ECC and Suzuki Book one.  Teachers should come with the following repertoire memorized for participation in the group class.

Book 1: All

Book 2: Chorus, Musette, Hunters Chorus, Long, Long ago, Two Grenadiers, Witches' Dance, Minuet in G

Book 3: Martini Gavotte,Becker Gavotte, Bach Bouree

Book 4: Seitz Concerto No 2 3rd Movement, Vivaldi A minor 1st movement,

Bach Double (either part)

The course will also explore ways to keep students engaged in their playing through the advanced levels/teen years.

Edward Kreitman has taught over 7000 hours of group class in his 43 year career as the Director of the Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School and at Suzuki Summer Institutes and workshops across the globe. Mr. Kreitman is the founding artistic Director of the Allegro!!! String Performance Ensemble and the Executive Director of the Chicago Consort.

 

From Twinkle to Mozart; Developing the Suzuki Bow Arm

This 10-hour violin enrichment course with Kirsten Marshall explores the path from Dr. Suzuki's deep heart tone to the Mozart Concertos through the progressive refinement of essential advanced bow techniques.  This course will be highly interactive in discussion, performance, and the diagnosis of barriers to performance. We will trace landmark pieces and relevant bow arm skill development through the Suzuki Violin repertoire. All participants will be expected to play repertoire from Suzuki Violin Books 1 - 5.

Participants are welcome to continue with other training courses during the institute week (Monday-Friday) 

 

"My Left Arm" - Anatomy for Musicians. How Your Body Works to Play an Instrument

This is a 10-hour enrichment course over two days, Saturday and Sunday (July 29-30) and is open to all musicians. This course focuses on understanding how joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons work in congruence to produce the most varied and specific choices in sound. The balance and ratio of use between these many parts changes depending on what part of the instrument you are playing on, yet all parts of the body remain involved. Pamela Devenport, Registered Suzuki Teacher Trainer Suzuki Association of the Americas

Participants are welcome to continue with other training courses during the institute week (Monday-Friday) 

Questions?

Email us at hsi@hartford.edu.

 

The Hartt Suzuki Institute 2023 will be following the University of Hartford’s COVID-19 and vaccination policies. 

Please visit the following link for the school’s most updated COVID-19 policy 

For specific COVID-19 related questions please email the Hartt Community Division’s COVID-19 Coordinator at hcdcovid@hartford.edu.

The Hartt Suzuki Institute will not offer dorm accommodations for participant families this year. We recommend looking into the following hotels in the area:

Farmington Inn
827 Farmington Ave Farmington, CT

Candlewood Suites
370 Market St, Hartford, CT

Residence Inn
55 Simsbury Rd, Avon, CT

The Simsbury Inn
397 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT

Courtyard by Marriot Hartford Farmington
1583 SE Rd, Farmington, CT

Questions?

Please call the main office at 860.768.4451 or e-mail us at harttcomm@hartford.edu.

Together, we can ensure the gift of an unparalleled performing arts education is available to all.