Boulder Suzuki Strings

I will try to keep this short. I really will– but I have 15 years of experience with this organization prior to writing this review. It is hard to review this organization as a whole because if you are a student of BSS, you have a private teacher and you also have bi-​monthly group lessons for 1 – 2 hours on a Friday afternoon. If I were reviewing my private teacher through this organization it would be at least 5 stars. However, as my teachers no longer teach there it doesn’t really matter. If I were reviewing just the group lesson aspect it would be 3 – 4 stars.
For a young student, Suzuki works very well. They learn quickly and feel accomplished quickly as well. The downside aspect is that students often don’t learn to read. This makes the group lessons very important– this is where students play as a group and get more counting/​rhythm/​reading skills.
My only issue with the group lessons is that when you get older, especially if reading/​rhythm/​intervals are not difficult for you, then the group lessons become less informative for you and instead make you feel like you’re being used for the benefit of younger students. This is not bad per se, but just imagine that you”re 14 – 17 and you’re being told that you need to spend part of your weekend playing classical music with 7 year olds. Get it? That being said, you learn a lot about playing with others, and for some, about being a leader. I am a true believer in this method and organization.
If you are approaching BSS for the first time, you will probably go through Amy Gesmer-​Pacman. I will say this– she can be intimidating. It was only this year that I wasn’t intimidated by her. When my parents first spoke to her about getting me involved, I was 5, and she told them I would need to practice 45 mins a day. Needless to say, they waited. Amy has very high standards, and she is not shy about that. She wants all her students committed to her program and to their violins and music, and she wants the parents committed to their kids. This is a good thing, but when you’re young, I will say that I can imagine it being difficult for a shy child to make an immediate connection with her nearly as quickly as some of the other teachers that seem to attract younger students.
OK– Taking all that at whatever value you will– when I was a student at BSS, but not a student of Amy’s, whenever I went into an audition for an outside orchestra, all-​state event, etc., Amy’s students were always some of the ones to beat. They were very very good; intimidatingly good even. They were all amazing musicians. Several years later, when I was teaching some of Amy’s students in a public school setting, again, all her students were at the front of the section. They were the leaders, the best players, counters, most in tune. They understood the fingerboard, had a wide range of right hand techniques and had really good leadership skills. I would never tell someone to not enroll their student in BSS, but you also need to be ready to commit to it.