Will you join us?

RSVP to the Chapter Round Table at Conference

On the Saturday afternoon of Conference, the SAA will be hosting a Chapter Round Table discussion. We will provide treats for the hour, will discuss the “show and tell” items that each chapter has brought, and hear about successes of the past year. Please respond this week to chapters@suzukiassociation.org to declare if you will be present, and what you will be bringing to share. We look forward to connecting with you!

Special Conference Session:

Why Chapters? Creating your Chapter “Elevator Pitch”

Imagine: You are in an elevator (or grocery store, a party, or meeting) with a person of influence who asks you what your chapter is all about. What do you say in the span of an elevator ride to satisfactorily explain your work so they understand your vision and perhaps desire to join you?

On Saturday afternoon at Conference, we are specifically inviting members and leadership from Affiliated Chapters to attend this session, but welcome anyone who wants to speak more clearly about their organization.

During our time together, we will write, discuss, and practice our responses to questions from members and potential supporters like “What is the purpose of your organization?” “How do you enrich your members?” and “Why should I join or support you?”

This intimate workshop will help participants understand their own organization and feel confident speaking up about its strengths.

Chapter Wise Survey Results

Thank you for participating! Last month we sent out a survey about the Chapter Wise newsletter, and your responses were key to help us best serve the needs of Affiliated Chapter leadership.

Your individual written answers to questions were all very insightful and helpful. We learned that the most valuable section of Chapter Wise is the SAA News section, and that surprisingly the Solution Finders, Spotlight, and Leadership Links are all valued highly but also exactly equally. Thank you again for responding, and if you didn’t yet get a chance, you can still participate.

Note: For those few of you who questioned why they receive the newsletter, we currently build our mailing list from all Affiliated Chapter board and leadership members. You can unsubscribe at anytime on your SAA member page, or at the bottom of this newsletter.

Building Noble Hearts Podcast returns at the end of May!

Many organizations and individual teachers greatly enjoy this Podcast from the SAA, and use it not only for their own enrichment, but also for parent education! We are excited about this second season and hope you will spread the word to your members about it as well. You can review Season 1 at any time on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, and listen on the SAA podcast page as well.

	Spotlight

Heart of America Suzuki Association Explores Relationship with El Sistema

HASA became aware this year of an El Sistema program in their area called “String Sprouts” which seems to have some overlap with Suzuki teaching. They discussed it at their board meeting.

“For “new business”, our first topic of conversation was about “String Sprouts” program. …The program holds weekly group classes in at risk/underprivileged areas where the students’ violin and books are funded and the parent is present at all classes and is taught how to practice with their child at home.”

HASA is pondering if and how to support this program and decided to form a committee to investigate it further.

Other Affiliated Chapters are working with the subject of nearby El Sistema programs as well. Some Chapters have decided to support the programs by offering discounted Chapter membership, or discounts to Suzuki teacher enrichment activities.

Does your chapter have a relationship with an El Sistema program? Let us know about it at chapters@suzukiassociation.org

Fall Festival Spans the State from the Suzuki Association of Colorado

Great job SAC for creating a community across their large geographic area!

“On October 14th, SAC produced an event for students called Fall Festival 2017 that combined the Graduation Recital and the Play-In events in two sites in Denver, one site in Grand Junction and one site in Steamboat Springs.

In Denver, the Piano Play-In took place at the Schmitt Music Store, where we were well accommodated with over 35 pianos for 27 students and 6 teachers.

The strings and flute Fall Festival was at the Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver. In addition to Play-In and Graduation recitals, enrichment classes were offered to students and an hour long teacher workshop was offered to all teachers (members and nonmembers). There were 79 students and 20 teachers involved throughout the day.

In Grand Junction, there were @20 students and 5 teachers represented in a 3 hour long event that included group classes and performance experiences.

In Steamboat, there were 20-25 students and 5 teachers represented in a one and half hour long, multi instrumental Play-In.”

	Solution Finders

Efficient Annual Meeting at North Carolina Suzuki Association

NCSA chose the date of their annual meeting to be when the most members would naturally be gathered. They attended to current Chapter business as well as future planning.

“We also held our annual meeting as part of the North Carolina Suzuki Institute in July. It was a great time for teachers around the state to catch up, and chat as a group about our vision as an organization.”

Leadership at the Suzuki Association of Utah

When Nancy Wood stepped up to reinvigorate the Suzuki Flute Community in Utah, SAU let her run with her vision. One individual member can make a difference! Through making personal calls to invite participation, listening to what members were needing, then planning group events, the flutes are stronger than ever. Congrats to SAU for appreciating leadership, and supporting the autonomy of individual leaders.

“We are so fortunate to have flute teacher Nancy Wood on our SAU board. She has taken over the flute region of the SAU and has been solely responsible for rebuilding a Utah Suzuki Flute presence. The flutes have had a graduation, a Halloween super activity, and several community outreach activities. …Nancy has been able to build a foundation that others will now be able to build upon.”

	Leadership Links

A clear leader is valued in organizations, but teams can be the most productive when the work is shared. How do you create a strong team of your board, and what do you do when someone isn’t pulling their weight?

Irreplaceable Traits of Successful Teams

Managing Underperformance So it Doesn’t Manage You

Reaching Everyone?

Everyone in your chapter leadership should be on the mailing list to receive Chapter Wise, but if there are potential leaders waiting in the wings, former leaders you would like to keep informed, or (horror!) people in your leadership that have been missed, they can add themselves on their personal SAA member page, under “email preferences.”

❦ Connect: Build community among all students, parents, and teachers.

❦ Educate: Provide resources and/or support to teachers and parents, incoming and current, concerning Suzuki teaching and philosophy.

❦ Support: Financially benefit teachers and students for further enrichment (i.e. scholarship programs for conferences, institutes, workshops).

❦ Celebrate: Arrange Concerts, Graduation, Celebration, Cross Instrument Recitals, Honors Recitals, etc. to rejoice in music together.

❦ Respect: Support the Suzuki name/brand/legacy by requiring SAA membership for teachers as well as broadening membership and providing grassroots feedback to the SAA.

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Suzuki Association of the Americas
PO Box 17310, Boulder CO 80308
Phone:1-888-378-9854
https://suzukiassociation.org