How Do I Become A Suzuki Teacher?

  1. Join the SAA as an active teacher member.

  2. Take the Ever Child Can! (ECC) course, an introduction to the Suzuki Philosophy and Method.

  3. Submit your teacher training video audition at least 10 days before your first book training course. (8 weeks is recommended to give time for resubmission if necessary)

  4. Take Book training courses:

    -ECC, Books 1, 2, and 3 must be taken in order.

    -After taking ECC and Books 1-3, you can take the other books in any order.

  5. After the Institute week and all requirements are met, your training will be officially registered with the SAA by the Suzuki Institute.


Violin Unit 2

Instructor: Timothy Durbin

Class Schedule: July 18-22, 2023. 9-4pm

Course Hours: 15 hours

Observation Hours: 8 hours of observation

Tuition: $450


Dr. Timothy T. Durbin

Violin Teacher\Teacher Trainer

Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin’s unique brand of teaching excellence makes him one of the most sought-after clinicians/conductors throughout the world. With infectious enthusiasm and inspired musicianship, he brings smiles and laughter to students throughout the United States and around the world. His dynamic teaching career includes over 800 workshops and institutes! His performance and teaching career stretches across the United States and Canada into Bermuda, Germany, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia,Thailand and Singapore, and he has recorded two CDs, including the complete chamber music of Marcel Dupre for the Naxos label. He has been appointed principal conductor of the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra beginning with the 2016 season. He has directed the South Dakota and Montana All State Orchestras. He is the holder of the American Suzuki Institute Suzuki Chair Award for 2013. Terry Durbin is also an accomplished composer and notable arranger.

Dr. Durbin holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles, California, a Masters in violin performance from the University of Illinois, an undergraduate degree in violin performance from the University of Alabama, and is currently the director of the Suzuki String Program at the University of Louisville. He is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Terry lives with his wife, Sandy, on 140 acres north of Lexington, Kentucky. They have three children and two grandchildren.

He believes in the magic of music’s power to enrich our lives.


Cello Unit 2

Instructor: Beth Goldstein-McKee

Class Dates: July 18th-22, 2023. 9-4pm

Course Hours: 15 hours

Observation Hours: 8 hours of observation

Tuition: $450

headshot Beth Goldstein-McKee.jpg

Beth Goldstein-McKee

Cello Teacher / Teacher Trainer

Beth, brings her extensive performing and teaching experience to her work with students and teachers at institutes and workshops across the United States and in her studio. A registered Suzuki Association of the Americas Cello Teacher Trainer, she has taught at International Conferences in Japan and Peru, and served on the Board of Directors of the SAA and as Cello Coordinator for the 2016 SAA Conference. Recently moved to Western PA, Beth is delighted to be starting a new generation of cello students at Hope Academy, through Arts and Education at the Hoyt, and in her private studio. Beth maintained thriving cello studios on the west coast for over thirty years, most recently in Ashland, OR where she performed with the Rogue Valley Symphony and in Berkeley, CA where she was also on the faculty of Holy Names College’s Suzuki Program and East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. A native of NYC and graduate of Brandeis University, she trained in Suzuki pedagogy at the School for Strings, NYC.