As I was asked by the editor of this online magazine to write a summary of the Teachers’ Course (called Professional Development) organized by Suzuki Music in New South Wales (NSW)  Australia, it seems appropriate to begin by thanking Mikio Shin san for creating the motivation for me to log onto nearly all the presentations of this online course which was so superbly organized  by Tina O’Hagan , the Suzuki administrator in the Sydney office, and introduced by several  well-known Suzuki teachers in the Association in such a spontaneous and welcoming manner before each session.

　　It is beyond the scope of this article to report on each session, as I watched nearly 22 hours – when at all possible live - in addition to giving one lecture on my own memories of Dr. Suzuki over the years. Preparing this lecture represented a particular challenge, as it was the first time to create a Power point presentation, in addition to dealing with the logistics of presenting it using Screen share on Zoom. This is something which my 12 year- old students can do effortlessly, but for me was the equivalent of moving from a Pre-Twinkle stage of knowledge to Book 3 in less than a week!

  　　With the help of old photos, I tried to re-create Dr. Suzuki’s annual visits to Europe during the 1980s,  and to give the listeners a sense of what is so familiar to anyone who has spent extended time around him – the depth and greatness of his personality and his boundless love for and belief in the ability of children. Going back into time to share these photos also caused me to reflect once more on how grateful I am to Dr. Suzuki for giving me my life’s work.

　　These precious memories of lessons with Dr. Suzuki (in Brian’s case, often several times a day while living in Matsumoto as a young child), along with their personal anecdotes of being a Suzuki child, gave us an idea of the sheer delight in learning from Dr. Suzuki which their own students are now experiencing first-hand. Other sessions combined skillful use of images and videos to bring the repertoire alive and to emphasize the importance of creating self-motivation for each child as they move from the Twinkles into more advanced repertoire.

　　Koen’s pre-recorded talk on celebrating the role of Suzuki parents treated many of these topics with great sensitivity, understanding and honesty, and was a moving testimony to the power of love within the life force.  Brian Lewis spoke about the seamless transition from his early Suzuki studies to his advanced studies with the great violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay, who was matchless at setting attainable goals for her students by breaking down 4 or 5 hours of daily practice into manageable sessions with concrete goals and an obligatory ten-minute rest period between each session.

　　As a pianist, it was fascinating for me to listen to the presentations given by the other tutors  and to find common areas of knowledge on the use of relaxed body weight to achieve a balanced and well-articulated tone, as well as various ideas on teaching Tonalization and specific techniques in a way which will remain motivating for all of our students.

　　Braxton Neate introduced us to Dr. Katsuyuki Miyasaka’s book, 100 Enjoyable Haiku, selected by Dr. Suzuki, and for the first time available to Western readers. There is an English translation of each poem, the original Japanese text and attractive black and white illustrations, along with a short explanation of each haiku and an accompanying recording for the e-book. Dr. Suzuki used haiku as a way of training memory, and he considered that Issa’s gentle reflections on animals, insects, and even the topic of loneliness were the equivalent of listening to Mozart for developing the child’s sensitivity. Braxton-sensei expressed the hope that other teachers will begin using haiku as part of their memory training for young children as a pre-Twinkle activity.