SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA
BAY AREA PIANO BRANCH
Fall 2023
Registration Link
Due September 15
Bravissimo
for being a Suzuki parent!
Welcome to this fulfilling journey of guiding your child to build their musical ability through the Suzuki philosophy. A great place to start is by reading, Nurtured by Love, by Shinichi Suzuki. If it's been a while, rereading it will refuel your gumption to continue supporting your child's learning.
About the branch graduation ...
Graduations happen twice a year, in Fall and Spring. Students from all over the San Francisco Bay Area participate, performing pieces at a high level. Teachers of the Bay Area Piano Branch of Suzuki Music Association of California volunteer to organize these opportunities for your children. The registration fee of $45 covers the venue fee, certificates, flowers, ribbons, patches, programs, and enamel pins.
Approximate timeline:
Concert Day
4 weeks before
6 weeks before
8 weeks before
12 weeks before
Registration for graduation from any level is done through an online form. The form asks for the student's name, the details about their pieces, and a photo release. The online form will be posted during the registration window. Please check back. Registration deadlines are: February 1, for Spring Graduation, and September 1, for Fall Graduation.
A qualifying video recording of your student playing the graduation pieces needs to be given to your teacher before the submission deadline. The submission deadlines are: February 28, for Spring Graduation, and September 30, for Fall Graduation.
The video recording must have the graduation piece plus an additional piece that comes after. For example, Allegro is the graduation piece for Book 1 and Musette or anything in Book 2 would be the additional piece.
Full list of required songs for each level can be found here.
The recording should be memorized and proficient but not necessarily polished yet.
A Listening Committee reviews the video recordings.
The teachers in the Listening Committee will write positive comments plus constructive tips to help the student refine their pieces (tone, articulation, musicality) and are returned to the student by mid-October/mid-March. The Listening Committee will recommend which piece would be most suitable to play at the concert.
Student receives the evaluation form from the Listening Committee and works with their teacher to polish their piece.
Student performs in Graduation Concert! The Bay Area Piano Branch will provide an opportunity to perform at venues with nice pianos and to observe students of all levels.
Fall Concert Date will aim to be 1st or 2nd Sunday in November and for Spring, the last Sunday in April.
FAQs
Who can attend concert?
- Student may invite family and friends.
What if I’m out of town on concert date? Can my child still graduate?
- Your child's performance is the graduation. So you must be present! And no, you may not send your child with another parent. Your presence is vital to the success of the concert.
Can there be any mistakes in my audition?
- Rhythm and Notes should be fluent with no stops. A small mistake if it doesn’t slow or stop the piece will not disqualify the student.
My child is so close to finishing a graduation piece, are late submissions accepted?
- No, we want the preparation and planning of the audition to be part of the process that parent, teacher, and child plan together, resulting in setting a “draft” submission by 4‐5 days prior to the deadline.
Can I control the use of my child’s image?
- Yes. An announcement will be made for when the group photo intended for the website will be taken.
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