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and Swan Lake, Rostropovich and
Stravinsky, Diaghilev and Maxim Ven-
gerov? All we could do was to bring
the strength of the Suzuki message of
love and acceptance, and that ‘Every
Child Can’. The Russians listened
agog.
Anke demonstrated the steps of the
‘Suzuki Home’ - education based on
the Mother tongue approach of lis-
tening, repetition and refinement.
She spoke of the construction of a
private lesson and the importance of
teacher-child relationships. There was
much discussion about the ESA Syllabus
and audition material for Violin and
Piano. We had many excellent DVD’s
to show, including children of all ages
playing at a high level on a large variety
of instruments. Also several Suzuki
Teachers speaking of their work, with
great conviction, and quite a lot of
black and white footage of Dr Suzuki
I
t is November 2013 and Anke van der
Bijl, Flute Teacher Trainer, and I have
just returned from a remarkable few
days in Moscow. The brand new Russian
Suzuki Association arranged an Introduc-
tory Course those interested in learning
more about The Suzuki Method™
Twenty five teachers came together for
this seminar in Hotel Proton, a smart
conference hotel in Moscow. They con-
sisted of twelve Violin Teachers and
eleven Piano Teachers and there was
also an Accordionist and a Recorder
player. Included in the seminar, in an
advisory position, were two music-loving
lawyers, a Russian composer from the
Moscow Conservatory, a renowned Rus-
sian child psychologist, and our excellent
interpreter, Viktoria.
It was surprising and touching to see the
dedication and devotion evident in these
warm-hearted people. Olga Viktorovna
Sapryghina organised the whole event,
which impressively included persuading
everyone to read ‘Nurtured by Love’ (in
Russian) before attending the course!
Anke and I had travelled three or four
hours by air to reach Moscow, which felt
like a long trek, but some of the teachers
were from even further afield. Two
teachers from the other side of Novosi-
birsk had had a five hour flight and an-
other teacher took three days by train to
get to the seminar. How vast is the
Motherland of Russia!
The great tradition of Russian music has
constantly shaped my musical life since
childhood. I have always been in awe of
the Russian masters of music. So, what
could we possibly have to offer to a na-
tion which had produced David Oistrakh
To Russia with Love
Helen Brunner, Violin Teacher Trainer, Great Britain
himself. We also showed many YouTube
clips such as the massed Cellos, Flutes
and Violins from the 16
th
Suzuki
Method™ World Convention in Japan.
The famous Tchaikovsky concerto played
by eighteen children and directed bril-
liantly by Nicholas Kendall astonished the
Russian teachers!
The ‘hands on’ Violin sessions with the
twelve Violin Teachers was based on
Suzuki’s Tonalisation. We played part of
the Handel chorus, each teacher playing
both individually and with the group.
We explored some of the principle
steps of circle training and the applica-
tion of weight. During the seminar
there was a remarkable improvement
in their tone, which the Russian teach-
ers could hear for themselves. The
Piano Teachers were the jury – the pro-
gress in just two days was tangible - big
applause!