Culture Draws Us Together (5/2/2025)
At the Suzuki School of Newton we are an international and diverse community. It is a characteristic for which I feel very strongly proud. Dr. Suzuki espoused that "every child can" and we try to make this happen. Given the many different cultures that are represented by our students we can see that music can draw us all together. By sharing the great music of JS Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin or Bartok, we learn, grow, and become musicians.
Nonetheless, we are interested in more diversity in classical music. Our Suzuki approach is based upon the "mother tongue" approach. As all children can learn the language spoken by their parents and caregivers, Suzuki teachers bring the language of Western European classical music to children around the globe. Music is powerful and can be a language that communicates human emotions without words. Likewise, we can learn the music of other cultures and also learn to express ourselves through these other styles. For this reason, we are presenting our Multicultural Arts Festival on Saturday, May 17th from 2 pm to 6 pm. From the music of Folk Baroque to Latino Salsa music, we present each year music of different cultures. Our collaboration in early April with Community Music Center of Boston and Project STEP yielded a workshop on improvisation by Michael Block and a performance at the concert of Black Violin in Lexington. These were powerful experiences that brought students from 3 different programs together to experience music of various origins.
Suzuki summer institutes are designed in the same way. The common repertoire is the Suzuki repertoire, but students from many different programs and from different countries or regions can attend and learn together. This summer, our school is reviving our Summer Piano Institute, Suzuki By The Green, as a workshop for Suzuki piano students. All of our Suzuki Piano students may sign up, but also we invite Suzuki piano students from anywhere to join us for masterclasses, group classes, and ensembles. Music with this common repertoire can bring people from other places together with our community.
Next week I have been invited to a reception at the State House to celebrate a newly designated Massachusetts' Japan Day on May 7th. It brings to mind my heritage as ethnically Japanese, but truthfully, I really don't feel very Japanese. I was born and raised in the U.S., so my understanding of Japanese culture is more as a close observer rather than one who feels Japanese. This led me to realize that sometimes too much ethnic identification can separate us, rather than bring us together. I learned that this month is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month established in 1992 by the U.S. Congress. As a second generation Japanese, I get uncomfortable around Japanese people because I don't speak Japanese. I wonder if other second generation children from other cultures also feel this way.
Cultural Tourism in Massachusetts is a $28 Billion dollar industry. It is very important for us to preserve music, art, history and the uniqueness of our various cultures. This is particularly relevant in Massachusetts where the birth of the American Revolution and establishing the foundation of the USA occurred. Likewise, there are many ethnic festivals held in various towns at various times in the year. Knowledge of history and culture enriches our experiences and our contact with others. At the same time, it is important to recognize that the Europeans who arrived supplanted and usurped the land from the native Americans who were here before. Thus, to truly honor culture, we should focus on humanity as expressed through the arts and recognize the unique identities and differences that various cultures give us. We can appreciate them, learn from them, and respect them. And if it makes us uncomfortable, I believe that is okay, too.