 My
name is Angela DeVeau Wright and I am personally honored to
have been under Yuko's tutelage through an internship program
while completing my certification as a Suzuki instructor at
the University of Memphis in 1977. UofM was one of the first
Universities to embrace the Suzuki® Method and to establish
the vibrant Memphis
Suzuki Institute, a community program for Suzuki music
instruction. Started in 1971, in 1976 Yuko
Honda led and more firmly established the program in Memphis
and it still thrives today with more than 300 students.
My
desire is to help bring beauty through music to my sphere of
influence in South Central Texas and beyond. It is with gratitude
that I now teach and perform music to further the ideals inspired
by Yuko’s passion, enthusiasm, and devotion. Although she
will be truly missed after her passing in April 2007, her legacy
still lives on in the lives of her students. I am fortunate to
have been one of them.
The
Suzuki method of musical instruction is as natural as teaching
children their ABC’s.
It
was with this nurturing attitude that Dr.
Shinichi Suzuki first established his Talent Education approach
to teaching violin students in Japan and it is today with this
nurturing attitude that we at SimplySuzuki ™ approach
the musical instruction of our students. We believe that music
is a life skill that can be learned and enjoyed throughout ones’ lifespan.
It is noteworthy to point out that there is scientific evidence
to substantiate that music has a unique and positive effect on
brain function and development and can enhance the absorption
of other academic knowledge.
The
'nurture' involved in the Suzuki movement is modeled on a concept
of early childhood education that focuses on factors which Shinichi
Suzuki observed in native language acquisition, such as immersion,
encouragement, small steps, and an unforced timetable for learning
material based on each person's developmental readiness to imitate
examples, internalize principles, and contribute novel ideas.
The
Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi
Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who
desired to bring some beauty to the lives of children in his
country after the devastation of World
War II. As a skilled violinist but a beginner at the German
language who struggled to learn it, Suzuki noticed that all children
pick up their native language quickly, and even dialects which
adults consider "difficult" to learn are spoken with
ease by people of 5 or 6 years. He reasoned that if children
have the skill to acquire their mother
tongue, then they have the necessary ability to become proficient
on a musical instrument. He pioneered the idea that any pre-school
age child could begin to play the violin if learning steps were
small enough and if the instrument was scaled down to fit their
body. He modeled his method, which he called "Talent Education",
after his theories of natural language
acquisition. Suzuki believed that every child, if properly
taught, was capable of a high level of musical achievement.
Although
the Suzuki method was first developed in Japan,
it spread from there to other Pacific
Rim countries, to Europe, and then to the United States.
The method has also begun to be taught in a few places in Africa.
Although it originally used the study of the violin to
achieve its goals, it has also been adapted for other instruments: flute, recorder, piano, guitar, cello, viola, bass, organ, harp and voice.
The
Suzuki Method has evolved in the United States over the past
5 decades to include the more traditional instruction of sight
reading and the study of a variety of musical styles. This Western
evolution provides the advantage of musical aural development
and improvisation potential in addition to the preparation of
the student for the traditional orchestral environments.
All
of us at SimplySuzuki ™ look
forward to meeting you and your child. Our expanding list of
accomplished musicians welcomes you. Together we can pursue and
fulfill Dr. Suzuki’s vision for better music by developing
skillful music from the heart.
Sincerely,
Angela
DeVeau Wright, BME, MA, PhD
Founder
SimplySuzuki ™
(210)481-3604
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SimplySuzuki
