We are elated after connecting with the 3,500 registrants, students, parents & exhibitors at our 2024 conference! We could not be more grateful to our community! Please join us in thanking all who were involved – you can see a full list of our thank you’s here. We want to send a special shout out to our incredible conference committee; Trina Christensen (Conference Chair), Charles Krigbaum, April Losey, Nancy Modell, Rob Richardson, & Rolando Freitag, our clinicians, and the many, many, many volunteers who helped in the lead-up, during, and after the conference to make it happen. If you missed the conference, you can check out our Program Book and Session Handouts at this link. You can also see dates for our next in-person gathering below. Our upcoming journal will feature several articles following up on the theme of Expanding & Connecting Communities. It’s not too late to submit yours! See details below! See you soon! 

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If you missed this year’s conference, but want to catch our next event, then be sure save the date for our SAA Leadership Summit! For the first time since 2019, the SAA will host its biennial Leadership event! 

Thursday, March 20 – Saturday, March 22, 2025

at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta

Continuing off of this year’s success, attendees of the SAA Leadership Summit will have the opportunity to attend some sessions for the ASTA conference! Stay tuned for details, registration rates, and more!

Looking for ways to connect to our Suzuki members, advertise, and connect? Joining the SAA as a Business Member offers exclusive access to an international network of music educators—your target demographic. Engage with our unique population of international music education teachers, introducing your organization through a wide variety of marketing opportunities.

The new issue of the American Suzuki Journal is out now! You can access it online at the link below, and your print copy will be in your mailbox soon.

Check out the newest issue!

Vol. 52 no. 2 contains a cornucopia of incredible ideas and Suzuki wisdom, including:

• Edward Kreitman’s in-depth exploration of the Suzuki environment at his schools
• Maggie Synder’s commissioning project Womens Writes
• Wesley Baldwin’s repertoire creation project
• Updates from the Matsumoto Teacher Trainer’s Conference, the Suzuki Association of Mexico, and a fantastic Suzuki Tour report.
• Guides for incorporating spouses in the Suzuki journey, teaching older beginners, incorporating modern and contemporary music in teaching, and much more!

We hope you enjoy this issue, and would love to hear from you! If you’d ever like to write an article, please reach out to editor Andrew Braddock at editor@suzukiassociation.org. Our upcoming deadline is April 1 – submission form here.

For our next issue of the American Suzuki Journal, we will further explore the theme of the 2024 SAA Conference: Expanding & Connecting Communities. Whether you presented, attended, or viewed the conference from afar, we’d love to hear your perspectives on community building in our Suzuki, musical, and even non-musical worlds. Ideas to explore include:

• What defines your musical and Suzuki community?
• How do you use your teaching to connect with those around you? 
• Who are your models and inspirations for creating a more vibrant community?
• How have you gone out of your comfort zone to connect with new communities?
• What successes and failures have you experienced in trying to expand your community?
• What influences (musical or otherwise) contribute to your community?

Additionally, we welcome you to share any perspectives from the conference itself in the form of reviews, first-person narratives, or ideas spurred on by particular people or events.The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2024. Manuscript guidelines and the submission form are here. To share ideas, general inquiries, or just to say hi, please contact Andrew Braddock at editor@suzukiassociation.org.

We had an incredible showing of members from Latin America & Canada at our 2024 conference! We want to send a HUGE thank you to members who made their way to Louisville! Our colleagues from Suzuki Musique/Music Canada had their member meeting at the conference, and several representatives from all over Latin America were part of sessions as presenters, performers, and attendees. Thanks to all who traveled near & far to attend!

News from the Board of Directors & Annual General Meeting Date

The Board of Directors had a wonderful opportunity to connect in person for the first time since before the pandemic at our 2024 conference! We had meaningful discussions about ideas for the future, building alignment in our mission, vision, and values, and determining a few key projects we’d like to outline for the years ahead. We enjoyed connecting with members at the Meet and Greet session and throughout the conference! 

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on:

Tuesday, July 23, from 4:30-6:00 PM PT. 

Registration will be available via the SAA Website soon! 

Looking for more ways to support the SAA? Consider joining our community of donors! Your donations support our in-person & online events, scholarships for teachers interested in furthering their Suzuki workshops, and our international efforts in supporting Suzuki education. Make a gift today! 

Many thanks to our 

Premier Business Members

Alfred Music

Clarion Associates, Inc.

Connolly Music Company

Johnson String Instrument

Shar Music