December 8, 2017 The Gavotte MacPhail Suzuki News Suzuki Stories from the Past: Rita Docter Rita Docter reminisces below about her experience in the MacPhail Suzuki Program during the 1970s and 80s with her children, Pete, Kirsten and Kari. WOW! For a beginning orchestra this group sounds fabulous!! Mark Bjork was teaching elementary orchestra and Suzuki violin lessons right outside my music office at Oakwood Elementary School in Wayzata. I would love to have my children learn to play the violin by this method!! When Pete was almost 5 years old, I contacted Mark, who was teaching at MacPhail. He s almost too old to start playing the violin, but I ll take him! A year later, Kirsten, 4, began violin lessons with Nancy Ohnstad. Every evening, at bedtime, we faithfully listened to our Suzuki tape, Kari came along to all lessons. When Kari was 2, I remember her crawling under Mark Bjork s studio piano and singing along while Pete was playing Gossec Gavotte. When our kids were 5, 7, and 9, we lived in Denmark for fourteen months. A wonderful Suzuki violin program existed in Copenhagen. A new cello program was just beginning. Kari was the youngest cellist in the class of eight. She was even a soloist in the Tivoli Concert Hall playing the Handel, Bouree. When we returned from Denmark Kirsten began studying violin with Mark Bjork. In the Bloomington schools, 5th grade students were required to study an instrument. Kirsten chose the viola and sometime later began studying with Alice Preves. By the seventh grade she was a confirmed violist and stopped her violin lessons. However, the MacPhail Suzuki Orchestra needed violists, so Kirsten remained at MacPhail. When Peter grew to be 6 5, he began bass lessons with Nancy Bjork. Pete can be seen playing the violin in some short Pixar films and once in a while played the bass in the studio orchestras that recorded the music for his films UP and Inside Out. Pete says he usually picks the excerpts with whole notes!! Just before she was 3, Kari began cello lessons with John Slagle. Kari s lesson buddy was Katie Altobell. Both little girls loved their cellos and loved playing together. That special friendship remains strong today, 41 years later. Kari studied with Michael Murray and then John Dunham. Besides private lessons, John was also the conductor of the Suzuki Orchestra. Orchestra. Members looked forward each week to seeing what kind of tie Mr. Dunham would wear. The orchestra took trips, to Winnipeg, Canada, France and to Germany. Other classes, including theory lessons and chamber music were added to the MacPhail offerings and the girls were soon spending most of the day on Saturdays at MacPhail. From the beginning, MacPhail was like an extended family! The teachers, parents and students all cared about each other. As our children grew, the MacPhail Suzuki program also grew, offering more classes and opportunities for us all. These programs brought discipline and focus to our children, important for their future lives. We are ever grateful for the richness, beauty and joy that MacPhail has brought to us. Continued on Page 2 The Gavotte: MacPhail Suzuki News
The Gavotte: MacPhail Suzuki News PAGE 2 Suzuki Stories From the Past: Rita Docter (Continued from Page 1) Where are they today? Pete Docter, 1986 graduate: Director, animator, screenwriter, executive producer and voice actor at PIXAR Animation Studios. He is best known for directing the animated feature films Monsters, Inc, Up and Inside. He has been nominated 8 times for an Oscar and won 2 Oscars for best animated feature (Monsters Inc, and Up). Kirsten Docter, 1988 graduate: Kirsten will be a featured performer on the Suzuki Gala Alumni Recital. She was a violist for the Cavani String Quartet for 23 years and formerly served on the chamber music and viola faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and has given numerous master classes at universities and music schools. She is currently on the Viola Faculty at Oberlin, and the Perlman Music Program and the Madeline Island Music Camp. Kari Docter, 1991 graduate: Kari was a student of Eleonore Schoenfeld at the University of Southern California, and graduated from Rice University, where she studied with Norman Fischer. Upon graduation from Juilliard, as a masters student of Joel Krosnick, Kari entered the professional orchestra scene. She played with the New World Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Utah Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra, where she played two seasons. In the fall of 2002, she joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. To read more about the Docter family, read an article written by Kari about her brother, Pete for the Met Orchestra Musicians publication: http://www.metorchestramusicians.org/blog/2015/9/30/3mz379y6w6uqtpbriffoahd1ndwc58 UPCOMING EVENTS Friday, December 7, 2017 Suzuki Department All Instrument Recital, 6:00 pm, Antonello Hall Saturday, December 8, 2017, Suzuki Cello, Viola and Violin Out and About Recitals Sunday, December 10, 2017, Tamara Gonzalez, Suzuki Viola and Violin Studio Recital, 1:00 pm, Room 607 Friday, December 15, 2017, Suzuki Department All Instrument Recital, 6:00 pm, Antonello Hall Sunday, December 17, 2017, Suzuki Program Holiday Buddy Party, 4:00-5:00 pm, Room 125 Tuesday, December 19, 2017, Beth Turco Suzuki Piano Student Recital, 5:30 pm, Antonello Hall
The Gavotte: MacPhail Suzuki News PAGE 3 50 Years of MacPhail Suzuki: 1967-2017 Come and celebrate the MacPhail Suzuki Program 50th Anniversary! Mark Bjork founded the Suzuki program in 1967 with just a few violin students, after seeing the Suzuki Violin Tour Group from Japan during one of their first international tours to the United States. In 1974, Nancy Pederson began a Suzuki piano program at MacPhail and became the Suzuki Associate Director. The two worked together to build one of the most reputable Suzuki programs in the country. Today the program features lessons in 7 instruments (piano, harp, guitar, violin, viola, cello, and flute) and has more than 700 students. We hope current and former Suzuki students, teachers, parents, family and friends can come together to celebrate the rich history of our program. We ll gather the weekend of January 5 and 6, 2018 for some fun events. Mark your calendars now! Included will be: Friday, January 5, 6:00 pm,antonello Hall: Suzuki Department recital featuring current students and recent grads o Come and listen to current Suzuki students of all instruments and levels perform solos o Reception to follow provided by the MSA o Free and open to the public (no reservations required) Saturday, January 6, 9:30-11:00 am, De LaSalle High School: String Play-Ins during group classes o Bring your instrument and join our group classes to play your Suzuki favorites! o Free and open to alumni string students and faculty o Email SuzukiDept@macphail.org to reserve your spot Saturday, January 6, 7:00 pm, Antonello Hall: Suzuki 50th Anniversary Gala Alumni Benefit Recital Featuring performances by MacPhail Suzuki Alumni. Tickets: $25 adults, $15 youth (ages 6 through 18), $5 for current Suzuki students Tickets may be ordered by calling 612.767.5250 or by stopping by Student Services. Advance purchase is recommended. All tickets are general admission. Seating is subject to availability. Any net proceeds from ticket sales will fund the Bjork/Pederson Student Scholarship Fund. http://www.macphail.org/suzuki-50th-anniversary/
The Gavotte: MacPhail Suzuki News PAGE 4 OUT AND ABOUT GROUP CONCERT: Saturday, December 9, 2017, Cello, Viola and Violin Information
The Gavotte: MacPhail Suzuki News PAGE 5 Congratulations! Thank you for attending the Suzuki Faculty Recital on Friday, December 1, 2017! CONGRATULATIONS! Charlie Kim, 300 days of practice Finn Larson, 100 days of practice Mina Call, 300 days of practice Oskar Colon, 1100 days of practice Zane Larson, 100 days of practice