7 European Suzuki Teachers Convention 2024 Lina Kašauskienė A Piano Teacher's Perspective E very event, meeting, hug and smile shared with another person leaves an imprint on our lives. We become a little bit different than we were before. So, what has stayed in my memory after almost a month since the European Suzuki Teachers' Convention and what will remain there for a long time? First, the spirit, which was especially palpable then and still remains. The spirit of Dr. Suzuki which united all those present. All those speakers who had been fortunate enough to study with Dr. Suzuki are also great orators who know how to share their memories and experiences in such a way, that watching them seems like you are actually watching Dr Suzuki's movements or hearing him joke or play along with everybody. What he said to them back then, seems to resonate with us even now. I realise how lucky we are to be able to hear about the experiences of Teacher Trainers Christophe Bossuat, Helen Brunner, and Allen Lieb. It is a great gift of fate to see the warm light that shines in their eyes, and the strong energy that their personalities exude. Listening to them, I want to memorise every word, because it is an experience that we can pass on to others. One cannot fail to mention the Belgian Violin Teacher Trainer Koen Rens, who learnt the SUZUKI Method as a child. Koen made us feel how the vibrations of the sound produced on an instrument spread out in space, touches the ears of the listeners, warms their hearts and returns vibrating even more. It is a special sound that vibrates with love and the belief that everything is possible. Every word touched my heart. Presenters Edward Kreitman, Johannes Lievaart, Daniel Fajardo, Deja Aukštkalnytė, Kate Conway, Guillem Calvo, and Kimberley Wong created a unique atmosphere for those two days, which each of us took back home to our students. The large number of teachers and speakers from Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway, and other European countries made the convention diverse in itself. The fact that it brought together teachers playing different instruments gave it a unique character. It was simply impossible to see everything. On the first day, after the opening speech by Anke van der Bijl, the Chair of the European Suzuki Association, and the inimitable Jan Matthiesen, organiser of the conference, we dispersed into separate rooms to practise tonalization of the violin, the flute, the cello, the guitar and the piano. The pianists could not bring their own pianos, so we shared a piano with an Icelandic Piano Teacher Trainer Kristinn Örn Kristinsson, but everyone managed to play, and there is an inexhaustible sea of variations on how to play Twinkle. The sound, which changes in response to each touch on the instrument, was the most important. Later we had the Dalcroze class with Kari Knudsen. I am not new to this method, but I believe I felt what the children feel when they all move to the same rhythm or when they go round in a circle and clap their hands. Stop! Listen! Move! Dance! Be attentive. Above all, enjoy what you do. The Piano group lessons with Daniel Fajardo and Caroline Fraser were great examples of playfulness, creativity and extremely high professionalism. When teaching serious subjects, the face does not have to be serious. The more playfulness on the teacher's face, the more laughter; the more laughter, the more inner freedom and joy. And if we add improvisation, such lessons are unforgettable. I smile and improvise in my lessons more than I used to. Early Childhood Education with Patricia Rüttimann, The Clapping Class with Hanna Matthijse, and the lecture on New Repertoire with Eva Belvelin impressed me with the high level of craftsmanship, the inexhaustible ingenuity, and the infinite love for what they do.
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