{"id":4740,"date":"2013-11-30T12:42:51","date_gmt":"2013-11-30T10:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.germansuzuki.com\/?p=4740"},"modified":"2013-11-30T12:47:25","modified_gmt":"2013-11-30T10:47:25","slug":"heidi-curatolo-5th-suzuki-teachers-xchange-conference-teil-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.germansuzuki.de\/?p=4740","title":{"rendered":"Heidi Curatolo: Bericht \u00fcber die 5. Suzuki-Lehrerkonferenz (TEIL 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Heidi_2\"<\/a>
\nConference Motto:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nExcellence from the Start<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Following the Book 6 Intensive Course, the 5th<\/sup> Suzuki Teachers Xchange Conference<\/strong><\/span> began on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with a brief welcome from Kerstin Wartberg<\/strong><\/em><\/span>, Director of the German Suzuki Institute. Over 130 teachers from 20 countries throughout Europe and North America gathered in the main lecture hall of the Akademie Remscheid to begin two days of seminars, presentations, and training sessions. <\/span><\/p>\n

During the conference, Carol Bez<\/strong><\/em><\/span> and Agathe Jerie<\/span><\/em><\/strong> from Switzerland, Anders Gr\u00f8n<\/span><\/strong><\/em> from Denmark, Andrea Mugrauer<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>from Austria, and Kathrin Averdung<\/strong><\/em><\/span> and Kerstin Wartberg<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>from Germany were the trainers for an introductory course on the Suzuki method<\/span><\/strong> and its application to music learning. Approximately 20 interested teachers participated in the course. The purpose of the course was to give perspective teachers a basic understanding of the Suzuki approach and to introduce them to the ideas in Dr. Suzuki\u2019s philosophy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isabel Morey Suau<\/span><\/strong><\/em>, from Germany, led the first activity. Isabel and I had exchanged messages and become friends on Facebook, so it was very exciting for me to finally meet her in person. She led a group class demonstration and had teachers volunteer to be the \u201cchildren\u201d for her class.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isabel illustrated several of her techniques for using toy props. Using a very scary (but funny) black rubber rat with sharp pointy teeth, Isabel successfully got our attention to start the class. Isabel made an excellent point about the use of props, toys, and games. For Isabel, props can serve as a way to create a memory or reminder of important ideas and concepts in the minds of the children<\/strong>. They are not just about entertainment, but for creating a strong memory association\u2014although they can certainly be fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once we were ready to start, she had us take our violins and place them on the ground. She used nonverbal cues to organize our arrangement, focus our attention, and to prepare the class for learning. We did exactly as she asked, but then she indicated through her actions that it was too loud and had us try again even more gently and with less sound. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

She also shared a unique system for controlling the flow of traffic in and out of class.<\/strong> Isabel overlaps two classes and has a student from the previous class lead a piece while she tunes the children from the next class. Once a student has been tuned, she then adds them to the group one by one. Each child from the previous group leads a piece until she dismisses the previous class and is ready to start the next one. This procedure cuts back on the children becoming noisy and maintains their focus. She also advised teachers that the best way to start a group class is to just begin the piano accompaniment and get started; talking just makes students (and parents) want to talk more!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Using several recordings <\/strong>(including the Suzuki, Step-by-Step, and Recital Training CDs) as accompaniment, Isabel modeled a variety of activities using music and movement to<\/strong> prepare techniques used in the Suzuki repertoire. <\/strong>Flowing movements, circular gestures, knee bends, and other body motions were first experienced by the group and then related to the teaching points of the pieces.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles Krigbaum<\/b><\/span><\/em> presented a 90-minute lecture called Excellence from the Start<\/b><\/span> where he explained how he aspires to create an environment of success and excitement and seeks to motivate students and their parents to develop the abilities of the child in the spirit of Dr. Suzuki\u2019s philosophy. He outlined his ideas about excellence, revealed strategies for setting the tone of one\u2019s program, and gave practical examples for bringing out the best in everyone. Charles shared many video examples of his students at different levels, and even showed the development of several children (over a period of many years), from the Pre-Twinkle stage to playing major concertos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Krigbaum,<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Steven (5 years old) practices the Pre-Twinkle bow hold<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n