Suzuki Workshops

Friday Masterclasses

An afternoon dedicated to master classes with our innovative guest clinicians. These small-group lessons give students the unique opportunity to not only be coached by our distinguished guest clinicians, but also to be inspired by their peers.

All master classes are for HCD students only (note guitar exception) and are one-hour in duration.

Intermediate master classes (Violin mid-book 1- book 4, Viola/Cello/Guitar mid-book 1- book 3) will have 3 students per hour, and advanced master classes (Violin book 5 and up, Viola/Cello/Guitar book 4 and up) will have 2 students per hour. Students can expect to receive one-on-one coaching with a guest clinician as well as the opportunity to observe the clinician work with other students during this hour. Families will be notified in advance regarding their assigned time and should plan to attend the full hour.

Note: Friday Masterclasses are open to ALL Guitar students currently studying with a Suzuki trained teacher.

All master classes will take place at the University of Hartford's The Hartt School, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT.

Saturday Workshop

The Saturday violin, viola, cello, and guitar workshop is open to all students currently studying with a Suzuki trained teacher. Students should be at least 4 years of age and able to play the fourth piece in Book 1 to participate in the weekend workshop.

Saturday’s schedule consists of repertoire, technique, and enrichment classes of varying sizes and levels. Students are scheduled for three to four hours of classes (depending upon level/instrument), held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch*. A special HCD Spirit Week Play-in is also included in the day.

Schedules will not be available before the workshop. Please fill out your online registration carefully with complete information. Confirmation of receipt of registration will be sent by email.

Check-in and classes will take place at The Hartt School in the Fuller Music Center on the University of Hartford campus. Upon entering the Bloomfield Avenue campus of the University, continue until you reach Parking Lot D. Park in a non-designated spot in Lot D and enter The Hartt School, which is directly across the street. Signs will be posted to help you find the registration station.

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your first class. Exact start time (9 a.m or 10 a.m.) will be listed in your informational email to be sent one week prior to the event.

Note: All classes finish by 3:30 p.m.

Free Time

Students may not be scheduled every hour.  It is suggested that during the student’s free time observation of more advanced students occurs. Feel free to observe any class as room allows. A craft room will be set up by the HCD teen volunteers,Y2C (Youth to Community). They will assist students with their crafting.

*There are no lunch facilities available on the University campus on the workshop weekend. Please bring a bag lunch and visit with friends. A space will be provided where lunch can be eaten.

The Saturday Workshop will take place at the University of Hartford's The Hartt School, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT.

Alex Croxton is currently a faculty member at the Special Music School at the Kaufman Center, The School for Strings, and Mannes School of Music Pre-College. A winner of the Artists International Special Presentation Award, Alex made his Carnegie/Weill Hall debut to a sold out audience in April of 2008. As a mentor to young musicians, Alex has taught at workshops and institutes in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington D.C, Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Utah, Massachusetts and Georgia. Recently, Alex has been spending his summers at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont. His students, in addition to winning many local and national competitions, have been admitted to such institutions as the Mannes School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard School, Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Cincinnati College-Conservatory and Eastman School of Music. A native of Atlanta Georgia, Alex's teachers include Martha Gerscheski, Alan Stepansky and Julia Lichten.

Nancy Hair enjoys a teaching and performing career on cello which has taken her to Europe, Asia, South America and across the United States. She is currently on the faculty of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School as well as Northeastern University and maintains an active home studio. Nancy is known for her work with the youngest beginners teaching through to the graduate level which she did for the past four years teaching pedagogy at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. As a performer Nancy has played with many of Boston’s leading orchestras and chamber ensembles including Boston Ballet and Boston Lyric Opera and as an advocate for music education, performs with Young Audiences of Massachusetts.

Nancy’s most influential teachers include Janos Starker, Raya Garbousova, David Wells, Yehuda Hanani, and Timothy Eddy. She attended Indiana University and the Hartt College of Music as well as graduate studies in Suzuki Method at Ithaca Talent Education.

Sarah Smale received her BA (hons.) in viola performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, continuing postgraduate work at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, gaining the Postgraduate Diploma in Orchestral Training. Sarah obtained her MM in viola performance from the Hartt School where she was assistant to and studied with the Emerson String Quartet. Sarah has played with various ensembles as principal viola, recorded television and radio for work for the BBC and Radio Suisse and performed for many years with the Orchestre des Jardins Musicaux in Switzerland as principal and assistant principal viola. Sarah’s long term Suzuki Training was with Linda Fiore and Teri Einfeldt. She took further Suzuki training from Ed Kreitman and Tom Wermuth while teaching at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Sarah is currently Associate Director at the Suzuki Music Schools in CT, chair of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Festival and former co-director of the Ogontz White Mountain Suzuki Institute in New Hampshire. Sarah enjoys teaching all ages, including at the university level and is a frequent guest teacher at educational workshops and Suzuki Institutes around the country.

Violinist and violist Gabe Bolkosky has been praised for the way he "takes audiences into his confidence and includes them" and described as having "the serenity of a master without a hint of coldness." Primarily a violinist, he performs a diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works with different collaborative artists from many musical genres in many of the great concert halls. In 2024, Gabe released Mozart's Milanese quartets as a violist with the Bayberry String Quartet. He has performed and taught across the United States and abroad, working with all ages of musicians. As a member of the Bayberry String Quartet, he pioneered an online approach to music-making and collaboration from home. His organization, Education for Happiness, recently launched PhoenixPhest Virtual Chamber Music Immersive and Rollin’ Daily Practice Support, culminating a 20 year in-person program. His focus educationally has been to help musicians of all ages and stages with a focus on inclusion.

To date, Gabe has released eight recordings that show his breadth as a musician focused in the areas of contemporary music, jazz, and nuevo tango as well as traditional classical music. Over the last two decades, Gabe served as the executive director of The Phoenix Ensemble, a nonprofit organization dedicated to warm hearted and compassionate arts education.

Jessica McNamara is a violin and viola teacher and the director at Ridgefield Suzuki School. Jessica founded Ridgefield Suzuki School in 2016 and now oversees the program of over 140 students in violin, viola, cello, piano and flute. Jessica began violin at the age of 6 in a Suzuki program in her elementary school in Queens, NY. After playing violin throughout her childhood, Jessica went to Providence College on a full scholarship and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Music Education. She also holds a Masters Degree in Music Education from the Hartt School of Music. Jessica has done Suzuki training with Ed Kreitman, Kirsten Marshall, Mark Mutter, Teri Einfeldt, James Hutchins, Sue Baer and Nancy Jackson.

Jessica taught middle school orchestra in the Westport public schools in CT for 11 years and later went on to found the Ridgefield Suzuki School. Jessica and her colleagues at Ridgefield Suzuki School enjoy inspiring children as young as 3 years old to begin playing violin, viola, cello or piano and continue to make music an important part of their lives as they grow into adults. Since 2009, Jessica has been a conductor with the esteemed Norwalk Youth Symphony. Jessica also conducts with the Fairfield County Summer String Orchestra, a three-tiered summer orchestra program she and her husband founded in 2009. Having lived all three sides of the Suzuki Triangle, Jessica is also mother to a 10 year old cellist and 13 year old violinist.

Stephen Bondy is a passionate musician, guitarist and teacher. With successful concerts in Canada and the United States, teaching engagements across the US and rave reviews, Mr. Bondy is a performer and pedagogue in high demand. After completing his undergraduate and master’s degrees in guitar performance, he opened the Stephen Bondy Guitar Studio in 2001 and began teaching the Suzuki Guitar Method. He has brought two groups of students to perform at the Guitar Foundation of America, the preeminent guitar competition and festival in North America. His 2017 release Sunday Morning Guitar was widely praised as an organic and beautiful statement of Mr. Bondy’s artistry.

Mr. Bondy is also a teacher of the Music Together program, the gold standard in early childhood music education. He has also been the music director at Washington Park United Methodist Church for 20+ years. He brings humor and joy to all his musical endeavors. If we aren’t having fun, we’re doing something wrong! 

Kathryn Drake (they/them) is a Director and a full time Suzuki violin teacher at Ithaca Suzuki Music Education (formerly Ithaca Talent Education).  Drake’s work is focused on the use of violin mastery as a landscape for inner work from a very young age.

Drake began violin in the Suzuki Method at the age of four with Deanna Badgett, and later studied with Tim Washecka and Kristi Manno. They attended The University of Texas at Austin where they studied Violin Performance under the instruction of Sandy Yamamoto and the Miro Quartet while also completing dozens of hours of elective pedagogy courses with Dr. Laurie Scott and Dr. Robert Duke. While in Austin, Drake taught at Monarch Suzuki Academy and The University of Texas String Project, maintaining a studio of over 20 while also a full-time student.

They graduated with a Masters of Music in Suzuki Pedagogy and Violin Performance from Ithaca College. While undertaking long-term Suzuki training with Carrie Reuning-Hummel at Ithaca College, Drake lived in residence at the Ithaca Zen Center.

Their interests include mindfulness, unhindered self expression, equity in the music studio, the interplay of learning and culture, transparent leadership, and media as a teaching tool.

In 2024 Drake was honored with the Distinguished Young Teacher Award and Certificate of Achievement from the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Allen Lieb is CEO of the International Suzuki Association, and Chair of the ISA & SAA Violin Committees. He holds an M.M. from Southern Illinois University/Edwardsville, training in Suzuki Pedagogy with John Kendall, and a Teachers Certificate from the Talent Education Institute following studies with Shinichi Suzuki. Allen has been a registered Teacher-Trainer with the SAA since 1981. He has taught at institutes, workshops and conferences across the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Residing in New York City, Allen is the Instructor for Teacher-Training and is a member of the violin faculty at The School for Strings.

Dr. Chuck Speicher currently teaches general music at Cole Manor Elementary School in the Norristown Area School District of Pennsylvania. Between 2012 and 2014 he was curriculum director to a national nonprofit called Little Kids Rock where he had the opportunity to work alongside popular music icons such as Bruce Springsteen, Lady Ga-Ga, Bryan Wilson, Elvis Costello, and Carlos Santana among others in fundraising efforts for public school music programs across the country. His teaching and performing engagements have included the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival,  the Wellington Suzuki Workshop in New Zealand, the Suzuki Institute of Alaska, the International Music Festival in Ohio, the South Carolina Suzuki Institute at Furman University, the More Than Music Festival in Kingston, Ontario, the Peaks to Plains Institute in Colorado, the Indianapolis Academy of Music Summer Festival, the Summer Jazz Workshop at Montclair State University, and the Stokes State Forest Music Festival in New Jersey. In 2006 he was a judge in the Alaska State MTNA Piano Competition and adjudicator for piano students in the cities of Anchorage and Homer. Chuck freelances regularly on piano, keyboard, and guitar, and in 2002 traveled with the "Crazy Energy Orchestra" to Morocco to perform at the wedding of King Mohammed VI. Between 1996 and 2005 he was the Suzuki Coordinator to Montclair State University where he also taught an undergraduate keyboard harmony class. In 1989 he received the New Jersey State Governors Award in Arts Education.

Student Registration Deadline: February 24, 2025

Early Bird Discount: Register by January 31st, 2025 and receive $20.00 off tuition.

VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, and guitar MASTER CLASSES

Advanced Master Class Tuition all instruments: $100

*Please note that intermediate master classes are only available in the bundle

VIOLIn, VIOLA, cello, and guitar WORKSHOP

SATURDAY WORKSHOP ONLY

Tuition (all levels): $140

BUNDLE: FRIDAY MASTER CLASS + SATURDAY WORKSHOP

Intermediate Bundle Tuition:  $185

Advanced Bundle Tuition:  $200

Teacher Development Session: Capturing the Suzuki Tone

Establishing this basic principle of tone development is an important and essential goal of Dr. Suzuki’s teaching. It’s foundational to his philosophy as well as to his pedagogy. But do we consistently teach that? And how? What does it involve? Do we actually know that sound? Do we still realize why Dr. Suzuki's approach to tone production was a revolutionary concept in string education? This session with SAA Violin Teacher Trainer Allen Lieb will explore the fundamentals of tone development from the beginning of instruction through the advanced stages using many of Dr. Suzuki’s own exercises and instructions from his publications and handouts distributed through the years.

The Importance of Mentorship and Heritage in the Suzuki Method: A Personal Journey

Guest clinician Allen Lieb has had the immense privilege to experience first-hand the growth of the Talent Education movement in the United States. During the afternoon session, he will pay tribute to some of the founding members of the Suzuki Method here in our country and discuss their important contributions, their profound influence on what we all teach in lessons today, and how that legacy is ours to carry forward to future teachers, students and families in our care.

Allen Lieb is CEO of the International Suzuki Association, and Chair of the ISA & SAA Violin Committees. He holds an M.M. from Southern Illinois University/Edwardsville, training in Suzuki Pedagogy with John Kendall, and a Teachers Certificate from the Talent Education Institute following studies with Shinichi Suzuki. Allen has been a registered Teacher-Trainer with the SAA since 1981. He has taught at institutes, workshops and conferences across the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Residing in New York City, Allen is the Instructor for Teacher-Training and is a member of the violin faculty at The School for Strings. 

Tuition: $50

Were you in marching band in school or do you play a brass or woodwind instrument? Get together with a group of friends and strangers to play the music of The March King, John Philip Sousa! You won’t want to miss being a part of the band or seeing the performance! All are welcome to join. Please register below.

Bring your own music stand (a limited number will be available). Some chairs will be provided. Audience members are welcome to just enjoy the music!

This event is coordinated by the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

• Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
• King Cotton
• Manhattan Beach
• Irish Tune from County Derry
• El Capitan
• The Liberty Bell
• Fairest of the Fair
• The Stars and Stripes
• The Thunderer

Flute/Piccolo | Oboe | Bassoon | Clarinet | Bass Clarinet | Alto Saxophone | Tenor Saxophone | Baritone Saxophone | Trumpet/Cornet | French Horn | Trombone | Euphonium BC | Tuba | Percussion