Teacher Training
Teacher Training Units Pending Approval:
Violin Unit 1 with Stacy Garner
Cello Unit 1 with Dr. Beth Cantrell
Danette Warren is the Director of Dolce Music Academy, home of Dolce Strings and Dolce Babies, where she teaches violin, viola and Suzuki Early Childhood classes. She also co-directs the Dolce Strings Touring Ensemble. She is an SAA Registered SECE Teacher Trainer. As one of the teachers who taught SECE classes at the 16th World Convention in Japan, she also had the privilege of speaking and presenting the SECE curriculum in depth. She is also the Director of the new Houston Suzuki Institute. A sought-after clinician at institutes, workshops, festivals and schools, she has been teaching for over 30 years, and has held positions such as President of the Houston Area Suzuki Strings Association (now Southeast Texas Suzuki Association), and state board member of Texas Music Teachers Association. She has received the Houston Music Teachers Association President’s “Bravo” award and was also awarded “Teacher of the Year”. She has been published in the American Suzuki Journal, contributed a video to Parents and Partners Online, and has presented at numerous SAA Conferences and Leadership Retreats. She was also the SECE Coordinator for the 2018 SAA Conference. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Indiana University, where she studied violin with Tadeusz Wronski and Josef Gingold. She has had the great privilege of studying SECE with the creators of the curriculum, Dorothy Jones and Sharon Jones. She also co-directs McKenzie’s Fiddle and Suzuki Workshop, performs with the Möbius Chamber Ensemble and as a freelance violinist and violist in the greater Houston area.
Price: $700*
Prerequisites: Every Child Can!, SECE Stage 1
Class Requirements: 30 hours of class time
Registration closes May 1st. If there are still spaces available, registration after May 1st will incur a $75 late fee.
Every Child Can!
July 17th
Every Child Can! (ECC!) is an introduction to Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and its application to Suzuki education. For parents, teachers, prospective teachers, and others, this course provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the Suzuki approach to teaching and learning.
In addition to exploring the elements of the Suzuki approach and its far-reaching goals, it includes an introduction to learning styles, history of the development of Suzuki education, the role of parents, the importance of Suzuki pedagogical training, and an overview of the SAA’s role in supporting teachers and parents. A fast-paced, engaging and inspiring program, ECC! includes video materials and SAA-developed courseware and provides each participant with useful reference materials (manuals) for later study. For teachers, ECC! serves as the first course in the Suzuki Association of the Americas’ Teacher Development Program.
Price: $150
Prerequisites: None
Price: $750*
Prerequisites: Every Child Can! and SAA audition
Class Requirements: 28 hours of class time and 15 hours of lesson observations
Violin Unit 1 with Stacy Garner
July 18-25
We are excited to offer Violin Unit 1 with Stacy Garner at SCSI 2025!
Stacy Garner, violin, is a Suzuki Violin Teacher Trainer and a Suzuki Strings Specialist in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD in North Texas, where she teaches private and group Suzuki lessons and co-conducts the HEB Suzuki Strings Elementary Honor Orchestra. Formerly the Faculty and Artistic Director of the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, the Suzuki Program Director at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and President of the Suzuki Association of Utah, Stacy has a degree in Violin Performance from the University of Utah where she studied with Gerald Elias and Mischa Boguslavsky. Ms. Garner has completed hundreds of hours of Suzuki training, primarily with Edmund Sprunger, Jeanne Grover, Linda Fiore, Mark Mutter, Cathy Lee, Carey Beth Hockett and others, and is truly passionate about Suzuki Education. Stacy has presented educational sessions to both parents and teachers at state, national and international Suzuki conferences and conventions and is a frequent contributor to the Journal of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Stacy is on faculty at Suzuki workshops and institutes across the United States and internationally, and has been featured presenter for the Suzuki Association of the America’s “Parents as Partners” series. In April of 2018, Stacy was awarded the Suzuki Association of the America’s Certificate of Achievement, an award given to teachers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to excellence in their teaching, and in 2023, Stacy became a Violin Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Stacy is a Suzuki mom to five children: a violist, a violinist, a pianist, and two double bassists, all of whom provide her most in-depth Suzuki training.
*Payment plans are available upon request, please send an email to amyjohnson@suzukiacademycolumbia.org for more information.