15 2025 Teacher Trainer Appointments Janine Zillman VIOLIN, GERMANY beloved Aunty Helen (Brunner), whilst at a family visit to her farm in Kent. I had been having my first (non-Suzuki) lessons at my primary school in a group of six, taught by an elderly gentleman in the school library. He would shout “RELAX” at us, and all I remember is wondering what ‘relax’ meant. In a barn at the farm, Helen unlocked in me a world of discovery and possibility. We played four notes on the G string. I cried afterwards—tears of amazement that the violin could sound so beautiful. I grew up in South London in a family where Radio 3 was the soundtrack to my youth. My father sang in the Philharmonia Chorus, all four children sang in the church choir and played instruments, and exposure to highquality concerts from an early age meant a love for music was inevitable. There were no Suzuki teachers near us, so I simply had lessons with the closest teacher to where we lived. I know I tried to copy all the good players I saw. The environment was there. Our local music service funded me a place at the Royal College of Music Junior Department. I lived for the weekends: Friday night youth orchestra, Saturday college, and Sunday Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra. At the RCM JD I made life-long friends, some of whom were the first generation of the London Suzuki Group, musicians I admired for their sense of fun and the ease and joy they had in their music-making. Whilst carried along by enthusiasm, I knew my violin skills were limited, so I took the more academic path, studying music at the University of York. After three wonderful years, I gained a place at Guildhall for a postgraduate course. I enjoyed much orchestral and chamber music playing, and after two years took further studies in Mannheim, Germany. Despite working hard, I often felt my teachers gave me increasingly difficult repertoires without explaining how to play them. I was still searching for the ease I had seen in other players but felt had always eluded me. I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship to play with the National Theatre Opera Orchestra in Mannheim and subsequently worked there for six years, before an injury to my finger stopped me playing for a year. I had to reconsider my path. After marrying and having two children, I embarked on the Suzuki training in London. I went along to the first Suzuki training weekend very naively, thinking I would already be well equipped to teach. I left realising pedagogy had been totally missing throughout my own learning; I had only ever been taught by players. The observation we do as Suzuki teachers is so inspiring—I couldn’t get enough of watching experienced teachers create environments where magic seemed to unfold. It is no understatement to say SUZUKI™ changed my life, and by piecing together every single step of learning the violin, I gained at last the freedom and ability in playing that I had been searching for, for so long. So of course, I must pass that on. Being a Suzuki mother twice over was much harder than teaching but gave me undeniable insight into the determination and love we hope all our pupils’ parents will unlock. It has been, and continues to be, an amazing journey from Twinkle to Mozart and beyond with each child and each family. Over the years, I have had teachers come and observe my teaching, and I realised how much I also enjoyed teaching adults. Everyone, young and old, flourishes using the principles of the SUZUKI METHOD™. The path to becoming a teacher trainer—through the instructorship stage, seeing behind the scenes at courses and exams—was both a privilege and a confirmation of the dedication and commitment all our teacher trainers have to their work. I am honoured to be part of this incredible family of Suzuki teachers, so many of whom have become such great friends and continue to inspire me every single day. My first exposure to the SUZUKI METHOD™ was with my
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