Our Roots

Like the roots of a tree, our roots go deep. This time of year, there are many religious and cultural celebrations.  Ramadan has started, Holi (the Hindi Festival of Colors) was on March 25th, Easter and Passover are coming up. We are busy planning our Multicultural Festival to be celebrated outdoors on our lawn on Saturday, May 11th, 2024. We are bringing multiple art forms and events to celebrate together including World Music and Klezmer, Odaiko Japanese drumming and the Chinese art of paper cutting.  We will have our Suzuki violins and our Preschool art show that same afternoon, and a new exhibit from the Newton Art Association. Thinking about the many cultures we represent in our school, we have very rich stories to tell and to share.  These are our roots.

Returning from the Suzuki Association of the Americas conference has rekindled many deep connections and re-inspired me to the reasons that Suzuki education and its community are so meaningful to me. I recognize that I feel a connection because of its origins in Japanese culture and to its connections to Western classical music, which I love.  At this conference, we have all realized that music education and the Suzuki world is changing and yet we continue to be very true to the roots of Dr. Suzuki's teaching method. We believe that teaching students how to make beautiful music can transform their life and can nurture our world to be more creative and caring.

I have received an invitation to attend a very special event where the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, is addressing a Joint Meeting of Congress about the important relationship between the USA and Japan. Since I was born in the USA and have lived here, I know very little of Japanese politics or everyday issues. Yet, I have suddenly become more aware through contacting my Japanese relatives, and also preparing for this important occasion. I am reminded that so many of our students are living here in the USA, like me, but whose parents immigrated here before or soon after they were born.  

This is a theme we have in our school. In February, we had our concert "Diversity in Classical Music." We are welcoming and open to all our diverse langugages and culture.  Yet, what unites us are the deep principles of believing in our children's potential, believing that music is important, and nurturing the learning process with the time and effort that it takes. While we may all be different, some of our roots are truly interconnected. These roots hold us together and also keep us living even if a storm may hit all our branches. Yes, these roots are deep. As Dr. Suzuki said, "Where love is deep, much can be accomplished."