Suzuki workshops, camps and concerts:
what to expect
Suzuki events are great fun! Here’s how they work, and how to get the most out of them.
Suzuki events around the world
Suzuki Institutes around the world run workshops, camps and concerts in their areas. Parents usually attend all events and lessons with their children, even teenagers.
Getting ready
Before attending a Suzuki event, please check in with your teacher, so they can make sure you’re well prepared so you can get the most out of the experience. Your teacher will check that:
- you have all pieces up to your current working piece memorised (or at least your most recent book)
- you’re actively working on posture and tone, as well as learning notes
The lessons at camps and workshops don’t teach the notes of pieces. They’re for reviewing and polishing pieces you already know, and all playing is done from memory. Students are expected to be able to play every piece from the beginning of Book 1 up to their current piece from memory. Don’t let this put you off: it’s great motivation to do lots of playing in the couple of months beforehand!
Parents attend all classes with their child (even teens). If you have more than one child and their classes clash, it’s fine to only be in one place at a time.
How events work
These notes are from my experience of events in New Zealand’s South Island, but events in other places are probably quite similar.
Workshops and camps
The difference between these is that a camp usually includes accommodation, whereas a workshop doesn’t. Both usually run for a few days in a row.
They usually start with an informal “play-in”, where all the children play Suzuki pieces together in casual dress, and the events often finish with a “play-out” concert, which is more formal, with children wearing black and white. Most lessons start and end with the child and teacher bowing to each other.
A typical day
Children attend a few classes each day. Some examples are:
- Masterclass: a group of children and parents sit in the room together. Each child takes a turn at having a short lesson with the teacher while their parent takes notes and the others watch.
- Group class: a group of children play Suzuki pieces together, from memory.
- Other classes might include: music enrichment (music-related games for young children), playing in an orchestra (for children who can read music), or fiddling.
Preschoolers who don’t yet learn an instrument can often attend just music enrichment, and slightly older children (about 3 to 5 years old) who are only learning the Twinkles sometimes attend just two classes: music enrichment and a group class.
Some workshops and camps also include an individual concert for each child.
Concerts
Suzuki concerts can involve group playing or individual performances. If children are playing individually, they often:
- announce their name and the piece they’re playing
- bow to the audience
- perform from memory
- bow again after playing (and thank the accompanist, if there was one)
Dress is often casual though some concerts call for black-and-white concert dress. At most concerts it’s quite acceptable for a teacher or parent to go up on stage to support a hesitant small child.
Suzuki events in New Zealand
There’s usually a Suzuki event somewhere in New Zealand during every school holidays, often in more than one location.
- Summer camps run in three locations around the country in January. I went to the one in Timaru for many years, and it was always a highlight of my own childrens’ summer holidays.
- Winter workshop in Christchurch in July (I went there for many years too).
- Autumn workshop in Dunedin in April.
You can read about some of the camps and workshops I’ve been to on my blog.
Online Suzuki lessons
At Katie Suzuki Music, children from age 3 learn Suzuki piano or violin one-to-one by live video with a registered Suzuki teacher, wherever they live. If you’d like to find out whether it suits your family, book a free 30-minute intro chat: katiesuzukimusic.com.