More than 275 children and their families have been part of the Suzuki program through West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Education Department. The program currently has openings for new violinists and violists ages 4 years and up. Students from other Suzuki programs or traditional training are also welcome. An orientation for new parents to learn about the method will be held on Wednesday, September 15, at 7 p.m. in the choral music room at Village School. Contact Jennifer Marantz at WW-P Community Education at 609-716-5030, ext. 5034, to register or with questions about the program.
Barbara Greenberg, a Lawrenceville resident, has taught the Suzuki approach to music in WW-P for the past 21 years. Raised in Bergen County, she has been teaching for 36 years. “I began violin in a public school program just like that at WW-P,” she says. “My parents often had the radio or records playing and took my older sister and me to good, local concerts when they could. So I heard both classical and jazz almost all the time. In my home environment, I was Suzuki-trained without realizing it.”
By the time she was ready for college she knew that she wanted to teach, and music was her first choice to study. “My parents were very supportive of my sister’s and my musical endeavors. But unlike Suzuki style, we were on our own for home practice. The Suzuki model really helps children learn in a very encouraging and supportive way.”
A graduate of Glassboro College with a bachelor’s degree in music education, she trained at the School for Strings in New York City for two years. Her Suzuki training was with Louise Behrend, who was with the first group of American teachers to travel to Japan to learn from Dr. Suzuki himself. “This wonderful group of teachers are our American master teachers,” says Greenberg. “I am so grateful to have been trained by Ms. Behrend, who also taught in the Pre-College Division of Juilliard.”
When Suzuki visited the United States Greenberg took the opportunity to train with him and she has continued her training in Suzuki and other violin methods over her 36 years of teaching. “It’s a joy to work in the Suzuki style,” she says. “Teaching life skills and the art of making music are gifts that I am happy to bring to children and their families.”
Children first listen to recordings and then learn the pieces by ear. Reading music is taught after basic playing skills are established. “The method develops self-discipline and then teaches them how to solve a bigger task by breaking them into smaller pieces,” she says. “Learning music helps develop determination to try hard things.” Both private and group lessons are attended by both child and parent. It is not necessary that parents have experience with musical instruments.
“The Suzuki program has taught me to appreciate listening to music and to appreciate learning how to play the violin,” says Sophia Chan, a senior at High School North who has been in the program since elementary school. “The fundamentals of the Suzuki program have given me a strong set of skills needed to learn how to play the violin and be successful in my musical endeavors.”
Suzuki, who felt that all children are talented, approached the teaching of music through exposure, repetition, and encouragement with parents being the coaches and cheerleaders for their children.
“While many students have chosen musical careers, others have enjoyed playing through college and beyond,” says Greenberg, who also maintains a private studio in Lawrenceville. “Catching up with old students, I find that they have continued to value music and the arts, even starting their own children in music in the Suzuki style.”
— Lynn Miller
Suzuki Program, West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Education, Village School, Village Road, West Windsor. Wednesday, September 15, 7 p.m. Register. 609-716-5030, ext. 5034. www.ww-p.org.
