At our school the parent is intimately involved with the education of the child.  Children may begin study as early as three years of age, with the parent assuming the role of "home teacher", practicing at home with the student and attending every lesson.  Learning begins with listening to a CD of pieces to be studied, careful attention to posture and form, and careful repetition of skills.  The Suzuki Method builds a repertoire of graded material to be memorized and ready for performance for family, friends, or a more formal audience. We believe, together with Dr. Suzuki, that "every child can be educated to a high potential". 
 

     Our students range from the tiny "Twinkle" child to the advanced artistic student.  Our purpose is not to guide students toward a musical career, however many have graduated to attend the best schools of music in the country and have become professional performers and teachers. Our advanced students have participated over the years in tours to Israel, Japan, Czech Republic, Italy, Denmark, and Mexico stimulating an interest in learning about other cultures and sharing our music with many wonderful people.
 

     We have a close connection with the School of Music at Ithaca College.  Our school building is adjacent to the college campus, and serves as a site for junior year college string students to begin their student teaching experience.  Our director, Sandy Reuning, teaches the pedagogy class and coordinates the Master's degree program in Suzuki Pedagogy.  Our school also serves as the site for his students to pursue the practicum requirements for this degree.  Ithaca Talent Education and Ithaca College jointly sponsor the highly popular Ithaca Suzuki Institute which is in session each July since 1974, attracting students from most U.S. states plus many foreign countries.
 

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 "ITE ... has been such an important part of our lives that it's hard to think how to put it into words....I can't imagine how her childhood and adolescence would have been without the enrichment of your school."
-Appreciative parent

 "I thank you for years of fond memories, good learning and productive work. We praise your program loudly and often, and are so very glad to have had it as such a wonderful part of my son's childhood."
-Parent of a graduating student

"When I was there at ITE, I thought all schools were just like yours. When we went to the group class on Saturday [in the new location] boy, was I in for a surprise! I now realize that the types of teachers and kids you have at ITE are extremely dedicated to learning music....All the memories I have for ITE are truly valuable."
-ITE parent

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In the summer of 1993 I enrolled my daughter for violin lessons at Ithaca Talent Education.  She had just turned 4 years old, and I wanted her to experience some type of formal training before she entered the world of public education.  I wanted her to learn a skill, learn to follow directions, learn to focus on a task, and learn to relate to another adult with a trusting and curious mind.    My husband and I discussed many different options as to how we might provide this experience.  We talked of dancing lesson, art lessons, sports lesson, music lessons, etc.  Ithaca is a rich community offering all of these options.  Finally, he suggested we might look into the Suzuki Method of Music Instruction since Keelin loved music.  I knew nothing about this, but he did some research and discovered a Suzuki Method Program right in our own back yard…Ithaca Talent Education!  This seemed the best choice, so I called the office, set up a lesson time, and off we went. I took her to the first lesson not having any idea of what the Suzuki Method was all about or the great adventure that was about to unfold and has continued until this day…12 years later!!!!  Ithaca Talent Education has been an oasis of opportunity and rich experience for me, my daughter, and our entire family.

On our first stop we met a most caring, dedicated, and competent teacher. (They all are at ITE!) She was very focused on her goals for Keelin, and Keelin responded in kind.  Within this awesome learning environment, I learned how to be a Suzuki Parent: listen, learn, and offer support at home.  Every lesson was a learning experience for me as a parent:  how to be patient, how to be kind, how to be loving, and how to be supportive.  I am a teacher myself, and I learned how to be an even better teacher, in addition to being as better parent.   I learned more about child development, and I watched my child learn a beautiful skill in very small steps with the intermingling of patience and a focus on competence leading the way.

As the years have passed, both of us have continued to learn and delight in this extraordinary experience.  Our family has shared in the many family centered activities that ITE has to offer.  These usually revolve around musical performances, solo and group, and we all enjoy beautiful music.  All of these activities offer inspiration, motivation and a sense of accomplishment which entice us to come back again and again for more.

As I approach that big old brick house for our weekly lesson, I envision it in the distance as an oasis, not only of opportunity, but also as an oasis away from the noise, hectic pace, and pressures of our present day culture, for it is truly a place of quiet learning, peace and acceptance, beautiful music and real growth of the human spirit.  For our family, ITE has been a treasure chest of the best gifts that you can give to yourself and your child.  

-Joyce Davis, an ITE parent

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ITE is a lot like a second home for us, not just because we are there so often, but because it is a place that is comfortable, welcoming and dynamic. If you get to ITE early in the morning, it is quiet and you can smell fresh coffee and will likely see a cat wandering the halls. If you arrive in the early afternoon you may find a young child marveling over the option of the double staircase. If you arrive in the early evening, the building is bursting with sound; you may hear Twinkle from a room at one end of the hall and a Bach Partita coming from another room at the other end of the hall.

I appreciate that ITE offers more than lessons. In addition to lessons, you can rent violins and cellos, buy strings, rosin, books, and even whistle pops. After years of music lessons in various studios, it is my experience that when the organizing and money transactions are the responsibility of a third party, the student, teacher and parent are better able to concentrate on the music. I appreciate that ITE provides this organizing support. ITE is also a resource and provides a community for all students. The Saturday morning group classes and orchestras are included with the tuition and are a fantastic group learning environment, and an opportunity for children and adults to connect. My children have made life-long friends through ITE. The doors and bulletin boards and newsletters of ITE are filled with information on concerts, instruments for sale, summer camps and more. The potential for offering your child a broad musical experience is available.

Each month of the school year, ITE sponsors recitals of students of all ages and abilities. I’ve watched my children become mesmerized by a more advanced student’s performance and see the promise of another student’s first Twinkle. At each of these venues: the lesson, the group class, orchestras and recitals, my children have learned skills beyond the proficiency of their instrument. They’ve learned how to communicate, how to listen and how to encourage their peers.

Of course, in the end, it is the fantastic teachers at ITE that make this learning experience so vivid and dynamic. We have a long drive now to ITE, but the truth is we’d drive pretty far to get to there.

…and of course we all love Ted and Don, the unflappable guys at the front desk…!

-Pam Millar, an ITE parent