Laura Crawford began the Centenary Suzuki School by recruiting students through kindergarten teacher friends, then knocking on the doors of unsuspecting prospective violin students and inviting them to take violin lessons. Armed with her “Fuller Brush Kit” of miniature violins, a record album of the Suzuki Book 1 music, and a picture/poster of her young University of Texas (Austin) students, she r
ecruited ten students and eager parents to begin her violin program. String Project started by Phyllis Young. Today the program continues to train future generations of classical music lovers with its current enrollment of around 140 students instructed by eight trained Suzuki teachers in violin, viola, and cello. Crawford and the CSS faculty have educated over 1500 alumni who have become outstanding professionals in their fields, and often Suzuki parents to their own children. The Centenary Suzuki School, based at the Hurley School of Music on the campus of Centenary College of Louisiana, is the only college affiliated Suzuki program in the state of Louisiana. Each CSS family commits to a weekly private lesson with their teacher, a group lesson on Tuesday afternoons at Centenary’s Hurley School of Music building, and daily listening and practice of at least 20 – 30 minutes. In agreement with the Suzuki philosophy (see below), a parent is expected to participate in each practice session and lesson. Tuesday group lessons include two classes: a repertoire class and a theory or orchestra class. Repertoire classes, assigned using Suzuki book level, are intended to advance and reinforce technique on the instrument, as well as encourage memory of learned pieces using games with peers. This is also where we do our public performance preparation. Theory classes teach our younger students the basics of reading music. Once the children have fluently learned theory basics, they are placed in a succession of orchestras: Elementary (least-experienced music readers), Intermediate, and Chamber Orchestra (high school and most advanced). The Centenary Suzuki School performs every year at the Red River Revel Arts Festival in downtown Shreveport, as well as at a couple of area nursing homes around the holidays. CSS volunteers have also performed for runners for Holy Angels’ “Run with the Angels” and select other events. In addition, we have many recitals at the Anderson Auditorium in the Hurley School of Music on Centenary’s campus: orchestra concerts in December and April, Graduation recitals in October and March, a large end-of-year group gala concert in May, and series of solo recitals in late May.
