Hope you're all enjoying your summer holidays! Your STEP board and teachers are already looking forward to the 2011-2012 year and planning for beautiful music, learning in leaps and bounds, and some fun times too. We'll send out more information on registration as soon as it becomes available.

New Classes Offered this Year!

Suzuki Parent Seminars

This class will be required for beginning parents but open to all parents, free with your child's registration. This hour-long class will cover useful topics such as tuning and playing the instrument, basic note-reading skills, the importance of using the body correctly, practising with your child, and Suzuki philosophy. Classes are held on Group Class days at 10:45.

 Theory

Musicianship classes will be held as they were last year. If there is enough interest (and a good teacher can be found!) STEP will also be offering a theory class to senior students who would like to prepare for the Royal Conservatory theory exam. If your son or daughter is interested in this class, please let us know as soon as possible. More information on the exam can be found at http://www.rcmexaminations.org/.

Book 5-6+

This year, separate classes will be scheduled for Book 4 violin students and those in Book 5 and above. Whether or not your son or daughter at this level is a member of the Young Virtuosi, they're encouraged to register for the "Concerto" group class to continue their repertoire work. Please indicate on your registration form the most recent Suzuki-repertoire piece studied.

Draft Dates and Group Class Schedule for Next Year

Take a close look at the PDFs linked here - there are 3! "DraftGroupClassSchedule.pdf" is a rough draft of our schedule for group class days this coming year, while "Descriptions.pdf" has brief descriptions of each class. Finally, take a look at "STEPTentativeDates.pdf" to see which dates to pencil in for group classes.

There may be some small changes to the schedule or dates between now and registration - if there are, we will let you know. We have made an effort to avoid scheduling conflicts wherever possible with other music programs in the city.

Looking forward to seeing all of you soon! If you have any feedback on the schedule or dates, please send it to step@suzukinl.ca

Concert for Eileen Kearns

A special concert was held on July 15 at St. James United Church for our founding Artistic Director, Eileen Kearns. The concert was a grand success: Young Virtuosi and the STEP Fiddlers played and Suzuki families who were still in St. John's came out to welcome her and play some music for her. We presented Eileen with an iceberg with the following inscription:



Eileen had no idea the concert was happening until she arrived at the church! She was very appreciative and genuinely touched. Thanks to everyone who helped out to make this a wonderful celebration for and of Eileen. Thanks especially to all the Suzuki families who brought their kids out to play and provided refreshments for the reception.

- Christina Smith

Spaces Open in the Baby (ECE) Class

STEP welcomes children from the ages of 0-3 for our very popular Early Child Education class (also known as the "baby class"). These classes introduce young children and their parents to music, rhythm, and movement. ECE classes are a great time and build a great foundation for young children.

Classes will be held 3 times on each group class day, with 10-12 places in each class. Know any new parents out there? Get them in contact with our ECE teacher, Evelyn Osborne. She is reachable at evelyn_osborne@yahoo.com

Special Masterclass with Nancy Dahn

MUN strings instructor and acclaimed performer Nancy Dahn will be giving a free masterclass for Suzuki and NL Registered Music Teachers during the Tuckamore Festival, Sunday, August 14, 1pm, at the MUN School of Music.

Kudos Corner

Kudos to my new little student AvaJane Seymour who is getting off to a great start and practised every day since ACSI - she has lots of smily faces on her calendar!

- Evelyn Osborne

STEP Fiddlers Report

The STEP Fiddlers are having a busy summer! We had our annual pizza party in July, followed by our performance for Eileen Kearns. We played to welcome passengers on the Ocean Princess cruise ship to St. John's, and will greet the Eurodam when it arrives in September. On July 23rd we opened the Saturday-night concert at Feile Seamus Creagh, a weekend festival of Irish music, to rave reviews. That week, several members made a trip to Fermeuse to the home of one of our musical forebears: Mrs. Belle Fennelly, age 91, who has been playing accordion for over 80 years, and who taught Christina some of our favourite tunes. It was lovely to play for her to say "thank you" and to show her that her tunes are being carried on. She really enjoyed our visit, and we hope to go back again soon!

The STEP Fiddlers are playing in the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival! Our performance is this Saturday afternoon, August 6, at 4:30 on the Neil Murray Stage for young performers. Come to Bannerman Park to hear us play our newest showpieces and old favourites. While you're there (or anytime at O'Brien's Music Store or Fred's Records), pick up a copy of our latest CD, Fiddling In The Fog, to keep your toes tapping wherever you are.

Finally, several of our members (and director) will be attending Vinland Music Camp in Gros Morne National Park, August 21-27, a residential camp for lovers and learners of Newfoundland traditional music, song, dance, and stories. All ages and experience levels welcome - there's something for everyone! If you're interested in soaking up a week's worth of this terrific music with the province's best instructors, check out http://soundbone.ca for details on joining us there. Looking forward to more jigs and reels in the rest of the summer and on into the fall!

- Heather Patey