Here we are in April already and we're just a month away from our big Viva Suzuki event!

Read on to hear about some of the things we've been up to this Winter and what we've got planned for the next couple months.

It's also time for our annual request for Sponsorships for the coming school year - in this issue you'll find details on how your business can advertise with us. Please do consider advertising with us if you are able, it makes a big difference to our school!

with regards from your editor, Susan Wooltorton

Our students and faculty are busy preparing the repertoire for our 

Viva Suzuki celebration concert 

Suzuki Seedlings - Celebrating Each Small Step

taking place in one month on Saturday May 3rd at 10 am in

the Canterbury HS auditorium,

900 Canterbury Ave, Ottawa, ON K1G 3A7.

Admission is pay what you can at the door or donate by e-transfer to

info@suzukimusic.ca and put Viva in the message.

Families, please feel comfortable bringing your young children to this event, we will have a special seating area set up where young children can move their bodies and enjoy some colouring pages while listening to the concert.

We will be holding a Bake Sale fundraiser after the concert.

See you there!

Thank you to our dedicated sponsors! Your financial support helps us in a big way and as thanks we are happy to offer advertising and exposure for your business.

Do you own a small business or know someone who does?

We offer various advertising packages for each school year, beginning with Viva Suzuki in May and ending the following April. We have different packages to suit different budgets. Our newsletters go out to a readership of over 300. Please click here for more information or contact Susan at volunteer@suzukimusic.ca if you have questions or would like more information. 

Thank you for considering supporting our music school with your advertising.



We are very excited to be running our Summer Camp this year, from Monday July 14th - Friday July 18th, 2025! 

Each student will receive 3 hours per day of high-level musical instruction from our experienced and highly-trained teachers (see the faculty page of our website) as well as time with their peers and our Teen Counsellors, doing crafts, games (indoors and outdoors) and some supervised free time. 

The Instrumental Camp for children aged 5 to 13 with at least one year of Suzuki music instruction in violin, viola, cello or guitar is a great way to keep musicianship skills fresh, learn new things, have fun and make memories with friends old and new.  

The Half-Day Intro to Violin Camp for children aged 2.5 to 5 with no previous musical experience is a great way to kick off your child’s musical journey! 

We will also be running a summer session of our popular Headstart program for children aged 2.5 to 5 and their guardians. 

Please click here for more information and to register. Spread the word among your family and friends with young children who may be interested in the half day intro camp!



Our annual Ensembles Concert took place back on Sunday February 23rd. Our junior and senior string ensembles, junior and performance guitar groups as well as our new Chamber Ensembles prepared beautiful selections for our enjoyment.

A potluck social hour was organized for after the concert giving students and families a chance to socialize together.

Congratulations to all our performers for their hard work!

Thank you to photographer Graham Ashford.

On February 15th our group classes met at the Greenboro library for an outreach event. Faculty prepped some lovely stories to music that were well received - a narrator read the story and paused throughout the story for musical pieces and sound effects performed by the students. Even our littlest Headstart children participated!

As well as the mini concert performances we had an instrument "petting zoo" where children could try out some of our instruments, colouring pages and a reading station.

It was a fun outreach event and a nice performance opportunity for our students in a relaxed setting.

Family and Friends Recital

Sunday April 6th, 2 PM

Bells Corners United Church, 3955 Old Richmond Rd, Nepean, ON K2H 5C5.

Viva Suzuki

May 3rd, 2025, 10-11:15 AM

Canterbury HS

Spring Studio Recitals

Sunday May 25th

Bell's Corners United Church, 3955 Old Richmond Rd, Ottawa, ON K2H 5C5, Canada

1pm - Sonya & Janice's Studios

1:45pm - Margaret & Emma's Studios

3:30pm - Hilary & Jenna's Studios 

4:45pm - Erik & Ursa's Studios

6:15pm - Daniel & Chela's Studios

Senior Solo Recital

Saturday May 31st

Bell's Corners United Church, 3955 Old Richmond Rd, Ottawa, ON K2H 5C5, Canada

1:15pm - Recital One

2:30pm - Recital Two

Creating An Environment For Your Young Musician To Thrive With Barbie Wong

Barbie Wong is a music educator, parent, and speaker with a passion for helping kids fall in love with music. She's worked with thousands of parents and teachers worldwide, uncovering fun and practical ways to spark motivation and make practice something children actually enjoy.  

With a background in classical piano and music degrees from Stanford University and Smith College, she blends research, real-world experience, and a deep love of teaching to inspire both kids and grown-ups guiding them. 

“If you’re a parent and there’s not music playing in your house every day, make that your first priority.” – Barbie Wong

• Exposure to live music performances, whether professional concerts or recitals by friends, can be highly motivating for music students. Some concerts can be quite expensive to attend, but there are often many free and lower-cost options available in our communities if we look for them. 
• Parents can play a significant role by sharing the music they love and expressing their enthusiasm for it. We’re not just talking about classical music here. Share music you love with your child and let them see the joy it brings you! 
• Providing an encouraging environment, rather than being overly critical, is crucial for nurturing a child’s love for music and it doesn’t come naturally sometimes.
• Opportunities for students to make music with their peers, such as through group lessons or ensembles, can be invaluable for maintaining their interest and engagement. Often as students get older, simply practicing alone for their lessons with their teacher is not motivating enough to keep them going. Most musicians we know stayed involved in music because they loved making music with others. 
• Incorporating listening to great music into your family routines, such as during mealtimes or bedtime, can help create a consistent musical environment at home and help us make sure we’re listening to great music and creating the musical environment that is both motivating and getting our children familiar with the great music that is out there to listen to and maybe to one day play on their instrument.

For the full podcast have a listen here.