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.
"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
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
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
