Teacher Training

Become a Suzuki Teacher!

June 9-13 at 400 State St. in West Columbia

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.

Cello Unit 1 with Dr. Beth Cantrell

July 18-25

Cellist Elizabeth Cantrell teaches children and adults at Suzuki Institutes and workshops in the United States and the United Kingdom. A registered teacher trainer of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, she just completed a term as Chair of its Board of Directors, and is a member of the SAA’s Cello Committee.  She maintains an active private studio at Crozet Arts, where she is Artist-in-Residence. In addition to teaching, Dr. Beth has performed with many groups in central Virginia, including the Afton String Quartet, the Richmond Symphony, Wintergreen Festival, and as principal cello in the award-winning Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra. She was active in the Atlanta area for 18 years as a teacher, chamber and orchestral performer, adjudicator, and recording studio musician. Prior to moving to Virginia with her family in 2001, she served as principal cellist for the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and was on the faculty of Kennesaw State University and the Georgia Academy of Music. While serving as the director of the community outreach program for the School of Music at Georgia State University, she was actively involved in reestablishing the Atlanta Suzuki Institute. She can be heard as cello soloist on the bestselling album “Orinoco Flow” by the Taliesin Orchestra. Dr. Beth earned degrees in cello performance and music history from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Florida State University, and the University of Georgia. She has two adult children, and has been married to Paul Cantrell since 1986.

Price: $750

Prerequisites: Every Child Can! and SAA audition

Class Requirements: 28 hours of class time and 15 hours of lesson observations

*Payment plans are available upon request, please send an email to amyjohnson@suzukiacademycolumbia.org for more information.