NZ Suzuki Journal Summer 1999 – President’s Report
We start the year with many new faces—students, parents, and teachers. Welcome to the Suzuki family, and we hope you enjoy all the benefits it has to offer. The best way to do this is by participating fully.
Our summer holidays have been great, both for the weather and for music. The holidays gave us the opportunity and joy of performing for relatives, small groups, or for larger audiences. At the end of the year, there was the feature of most teachers’ programmes: the end-of-year concert. It is an occasion where all students have an opportunity to perform with pride in front of friends and family. The variety and standards evident in these concerts are a pleasure to witness.
Holidays also provide the opportunity for the Suzuki family to gather at camps and make music, friends, and have fun with peers. This year, the Suzuki camps were attended by the largest numbers yet and were by all reports very successful, due in no small part to the organisers. A big thanks to them from all the participants.
The concerts in the park also provided another opportunity to display talent, and a number of our members performed for large and appreciative audiences. These activities help to both improve the confidence of the performers and provide a focus for practicing selected pieces, as well as promote the Suzuki name and method so that others may also enjoy its many advantages. In this, we have been very successful, and the demand for Suzuki training continues to be greater than our ability to satisfy it at this time, despite our growing numbers of teachers.
To rectify this, the teacher trainers have been busy meeting the challenge to double the number of trained Suzuki teachers and substantially upgrade the skills and qualifications of existing teachers.
It is also time to pay your annual Suzuki membership subscription of $35 (no increase). This is now the responsibility of branches that may either collect it directly or through your teacher. This funds your journal, local workshops, libraries, Teacher Training, International Suzuki Association membership, some instrument purchases, etc. So if you have not paid this year’s subscription, complete the form enclosed in this journal and pass it to your teacher or local branch. The bigger the membership, the greater the services we can jointly afford and provide. Members who attended the 1999 Pan Pacific Conference received a discount as current members of the ISA.
New Zealand has been asked to consider staging the next Pan Pacific Conference in 2001, and a feasibility study is currently being conducted. A decision will be made by mid-March.
The NZSI has just renewed its ISA country membership and provided a substantial contribution toward an International Memorial to Dr. Suzuki, which will be unveiled at the World Conference in Japan in March and placed on display in the Suzuki Museum in Matsumoto.
Another who has contributed significantly to the success of the Suzuki movement in New Zealand passed away recently—Hugh McCaffrey. Hugh was a strong active member of the National Executive and the Hawke’s Bay branch, and was very generous with his time in support of his family’s musical development and other Suzuki members. I personally will not forget his humour and common sense. Thank you, Hugh.
1999 promises to be a busy year for us all. Your National Executive, branches, and teachers have set their goals and programs. Join in and contribute where you can. Come to a Suzuki Workshop in the school holidays!
Together, let’s all have a successful year!
Happy twinkling,
John Hyde