Celebrate the Graduates!

Peter 

Mary

Calvin

The 4:30 Graduates

Kotrbas

Saturday, March 8, 2014 was our Suzuki Association of Minnesota piano graduation day at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. The Suzuki Piano Teachers Guild hosted the seven recitals. Two hundred and five children played, 131 of them were graduates from the seven book levels.

As the piano graduation chair person I feel the need to say a few things about the day. First of all, the 23 teachers who participated are producing nurturing by love some fine pianists. Let it be known, that our students are being accepted as piano majors into conservatories and major universities around the country. The quality of musical performing is very high. This needs to be celebrated.

These kids are also becoming great engineers and business people who appreciate and depend on music for joy and beauty in their lives. And they are the nicest kids you will ever meet.

Our 23 teachers? We are all on the same team. We teachers know each other's students and support them. When I see on Facebook that a teacher's senior got into such and such college, I know what pieces she played on the audition, and I celebrate right there with her. Because we are a community. We share the gift of music.

I went home after that very long graduation day and  I felt so warm and fuzzy. We have a special group.

As piano graduation chair, I actually did extremely little. That's how good we are together. Everyone has her job. Our board absolutely rocks. When one of us screws up, the other fixes it. We just get it done. I just love these women and I learn so much every year. How many times in your life do you get to work with a group with this kind of chemistry? Only a few. It's such a joy.

Thank you Calvin, for printing out the 131 graduation certificates, one by one, with my skitzy printer. You are my hero.

Last Saturday, March 15, was the graduation day for the rest of the S.A.M. students, that is, the guitars, harps, violins and flutes and other strings. Upper level pianists from books 6 and 7 can audition to play as honors students on one of these recitals. This year five students were chosen. Calvin, and Sami from my studio, along with Charlie-student of Beth Turco and Keiran and Morgan students of Suzanne Greer, played their pieces at the guitar and harp recital at Bethel College.

It was wonderful. The kids did a great job and there was a full audience and we all had programs. . . see, we get better every year. . .

By inviting these five students to play, the S.A.M. builds a bridge between the pianists and all the other instruments. Logistically, pianists need to have our own graduation day, like we do, but sharing our top graduates means a lot to us. We get to show off our kids and be a part of the greater Suzuki community. Now that I have been going to their graduation day several years in a row I'm starting to understand their process and get to know the teachers and students too. We are all on the same team.

After the recital one of the violin teachers caught me in the hall and told me a back stage story. Sami played last of the five kids. This teacher told me that after each pianist came back from performing Sami told them great job and gave them each a specific compliment. She called Sami a "good Suzuki kid." I'm almost more proud of that than I am of her beautiful playing. We are all on the same team. Sharing the gift of music.

Congrats to Nehemiah, Solomon, Calvin, Sami, Britta and Kajsa, upon your 2014 graduations from book levels, and to Sami and Calvin for your honors performances. You are part of a wonderful  community--celebrating children and music--in that order.

Link to Calvin's Dr. Gradus at Bethel
Link to Sami's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen at Bethel