I teach about 20 pupils aged from 3 to 18 in Suzuki books 1 to 7 and working towards grade 8. Each pupil attends a weekly individual lesson (the very youngest come for two short lessons each week) as well as a fortnightly group lesson for five or six pupils of similar age and standard.
Individual lessons vary in length between 15 and 60 minutes, depending on the age and stage of the child. Every lesson covers aspects of technique (exercises, studies, scales and arpeggios), sight-reading, polishing a concert piece, working on a new piece, and developing musicianship with an old repertoire piece. Very often we play duets together - or two pupils with adjacent lessons will play a piece together at two pianos. One or both parents of each pupil always attend lessons and make written notes (or sometimes video the lesson) to enable them to practise effectively with their child. The timetable encourages pupils to arrive early or stay on after their own lesson to observe another pupil who is slightly older and slightly more advanced. This has the added advantage that children in their lesson are used to playing in front of other people.
Pupils are encouraged to listen extensively to recordings of the music they are learning as well as to other good classical music. I have myself recorded model performances of suitable teaching pieces and pass the CDs to my pupils as they become ready for them.
Graduation concerts are presented by each pupil on completion of each book of the Suzuki repertoire. These are typically hosted in the pupil's home, and are followed by a celebratory tea with home-baked cakes! All my Suzuki families are invited, and they have all come to know each other well.
I arrange termly concerts, either in my teaching studio or in a hired hall, sometimes with
Teachers have included Andrew Ball, William Fong, Michael Young, Paul Harris, Heli Ignatius-Fleet, Jonathan Jones, Kevin Smith, Caroline Fraser, Caroline Gowers, Kasia Borowiak, Beate Toyka and Ilga Pitkevica. Pupils participate regularly in national Suzuki events. All my pupils over the age of 11 either hold music scholarships at their local schools or have passed grade 8 with distinction. Five recent ex-pupils are now studying at the Royal College of Music Junior Department. Other pupils have gone on to study at the Purcell School, and at Oxford and Cambridge.
I rarely have vacancies and, other than in exceptional circumstances, I start pupils only under the age of five. For a list of trained Suzuki teachers go to the British Suzuki Institute website.
Piano teachers living near Cambridge who might be interested in training to become Suzuki teachers can contact me. I am an ESA teacher trainer, and piano teachers can observe children's lessons and train with me alongside attending the national course in London. Observers are always welcome in my studio - teachers have come from all over the UK as well as Spain, Latvia, America and Australia.