Bay of Plenty Times: Sharing love of music rewarded

• Bay of Plenty Times
• 5 Jun 2017

Queen’s Service Medal

Val Thorburn’s passion for the violin has never diminished after decades of playing and teaching countless others to do so.

The Bethlehem 83-year-old’s dedication to her craft has been recognised with a Queen’s Service Medal for services to music education in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

But the humble recipient said she was “quite shocked” when she opened the letter.

Mrs Thorburn, from Bethlehem, said the honour had come “completely out of the blue”.

“I’m dying to know who nominated me, but I’ve been told it has to remain a secret . . . It’s a huge honour and something that had never even crossed my mind.”

Mrs Thorburn’s credentials speak for themselves — she was a member of the Auckland Radio Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the early 1960s, and again from 1972 to 1983.

Since 1984 she has been involved in the development of the Suzuki method of teaching the violin in New Zealand and is recognised as a leading senior teacher of the method of learning to play the instrument.

She has been a member and teacher trainer of the Auckland branch and the New Zealand branch of the Suzuki Institute and held office as president for both organisations.

Mrs Thorburn has also been an examiner for the NZ Music Examination Board and Australian Music Examination Board from 1977 to 1983. From 1984 until 2000 she was an itinerant violin teacher at a number of Auckland schools.

Mrs Thorburn has also served as a member of the Professional Advisory Group of the Suzuki institute and the Teacher Trainers’ Group. In the past decade she established the Tauranga Branch of the institute.

Mrs Thorburn said she loves teaching people how to play the violin. — Sandra Conchie

Article Name:Sharing love of music rewarded

Publication:Bay of Plenty Times