Suzuki Quote of the Month

"Talent is no accident of birth. In today's society a good many people seem to have the idea that if one is born without talent, there is nothing he can do about it; they simply resign themselves to what they consider to be their fate. Consequently they go through life without living it to the full or ever knowing life's true joy. That is man's greatest tragedy."

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Masterclass

Milan Vitek, my friend and professor at Oberlin Conservatory will be giving a masterclass to young violinists in Oberlin at the Burrell-King house (317 E. College St.) this Saturday, Dec. 15 from 2:00 - 3:30. This is a fabulous and rare opportunity to watch one of the best teachers in the world give lessons!!



Here is Professor Vitek's bio:

Milan Vitek has been professor of violin at Oberlin College Conservatory since 2001, and is Professor Emeritus at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Denmark. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Music Academy in Copenhagen from 1974 to 2001, and a guest professor at the Music Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1992 to 2001. Before moving to Denmark in 1968, Prof. Vitek was a founding member, concertmaster and soloist with the Prague Chamber Soloists conducted by Vaclav Neumann, member of the Czech Nonet, chamber ensemble of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the piano trio Pro Camera. In Denmark, he was alternate concert master with the Danish Royal Orchestra and a founder of the Danish Chamber Orchestra. Following two years as a professor and a member of the Czech String Quartet at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, Milan Vitek returned to Denmark in 1974 to become Professor at the Royal Danish Music Academy. During this time, he co-founded the Trio Pro Arte, which made acclaimed recordings of the complete Brahms trios and trios by Smetana and Mendelssohn for the BIS label. He also founded the Royal Danish Conservatory Chamber Orchestra giving concerts with performers like Jehudi Menuhin, J. P. Rampal, and Michel Debost. Prof. Vitek is much in demand as a teacher at master classes such as Aldeburgh (England), Keshet Eilon (Israel), Yokosuka Festival (Japan) a Yuriko Kuronuma Academy (Mexico City), Weikersheim (Germany) and Savonlinna (Finland), Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu Conservatories. He has adjudicated international violin competitions in Denmark - where he is President of the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition - Germany, Japan, Estonia and Italy. His students are winners and laureates of among others, the Carl Nielsen, J. Kocian, Heino Eller, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Washington International, Yehudi Menuhin International, the Jean Sibelius Violin Competitions and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Professor Vitek was also in much demand as a conductor of orchestras in all of Scandinavia, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Milan Vitek is Artistic director of his three-week summer master class program for strings in Litomysl, Czech Republic, which he founded in 1996.

Concert

I will be playing with the Mansfield Symphony for their Christmas Concert this weekend. Check out the link on the right for more details.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Free Fabulous Violin Concert in Elyria!!

Saturday, Oct. 21. Find details here:

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/10/09/world-renowned-violinist-to-perform-free-concert-in-elyria/

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Great Opportunities!

Please note two upcoming events this week.

1) William Pruecil, Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra will be premiering a new violin concerto at Severance Hall this weekend.  - (click on the link on the right to see dates, times, and ticket prices)

2) Saturday, Oct. 13 from 9:00 - 3:30 are the finals for the concerto competition at Oberlin College. It is free and open to the public and is great opportunity to hear some fabulous young players. You can come and go at your discretion. - (check the Conservatory Events link on the right to see more details)

Friday, September 28, 2012

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

SAA Membership

Many of you have expressed interest in joining the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA).  If there are 10 families who want to join together we can get a studio discounted rate of $30 per family for the year. Check here for more information: www.suzukiassociation.org

Schedule

The calendar for the year is now up on the blog - just click on the link to the right "Calendar 2012-2013."  Please note the upcoming recital date, Saturday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 A.M.. We are planning to play at St. Mary of the Woods Retirement Center as we have in the past.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Apollo's Fire Childrens' Concerts!

Apollo's Fire is Cleveland's FABULOUS Baroque music ensemble. They are performing a semi-staged version of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at various locations (including Oberlin College) the third week of March, and are also giving two 45 minute concerts for children! See the link below for more information.

Apollo's Fire Childrens' Concerts

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Rehearsal Sign-up

Steve Huff will be playing the piano for our recital on March 10, at 11:00 A.M. at St. Mary of the Woods retirement center (35755 Detroit Road  Avon, OH 44011).   He has given me the following rehearsal times for this Saturday, March 3. Please sign-up for a time by leaving a "comment." Rehearsals will be 15 minutes each and will be held at our home (355 W College St., Oberlin, OH 44074). Please bring $15 to your rehearsal or the recital to compensate Steve for his time. Happy practicing!!

Saturday
10:00
10:15
10:30

11:45
12:00
12:15

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Mendelsshon Violin Concerto

There is a great concert opportunity this weekend at Severance Hall.  Arabella Steinbacher will be playing Mendelsshon's Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra. This is one of the first concertos your child is likely to play and it will be a fabulous concert! The Cleveland Orchestra link on the right will take you to more information and you can get tickets online.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Achievement Program

Here is the link for more information and to sign up for the June Oberlin assessment. 
You must register by Feb. 28! 


The Achievement Program

Monday, February 13, 2012

Suzuki Summer Institutes

Here is a link to a list of the dates and locations for all Suzuki institutes this summer!

Suzuki Summer Institutes

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Rachel's Recital

Last month Rachel gave a fabulous Suzuki Book 2 Graduation Recital. I've posted a couple of clips here for those of you who missed the recital. Congratulations Rachel!



Brahms Violin Concerto

Last week the Cleveland Orchestra brought in a violin soloist to play the Brahms Violin Concerto. The soloist was a fill-in for the season's scheduled soloist. Katherine and Grace were able to attend the concert and at their lesson we discussed the performance. I was so proud of Katherine for recognizing on her own that the performer's sound was missing rich core sound and passion! I'm sure it was due to her intent listening to Hilary Hahn's recording of the concerto. What a fabulous ear she is developing!