SASA Summer Institute 2026
DATES: June 1st-5th, 2026
Come see us at St. John United Methodist Church - 1801 O'Malley Road!
Concerts: Tuesday June 3rd, 12:30, Amanda Kerr -fiddling
Wednesday June 4th, 12:30, Suzuki Student Recital
Thursday June 5th, 12:30 Faculty Recital
Friday June 6th, 12:30 Electives Concert (fiddling and percussion),
4:00 Final SASA Concert - cellos, twinkler violins, violins
All Classes are planned for the afternoons of June 2nd-5th with a
play-in and ice-cream socialon Monday the 1st at 5 pm.
Friday will include a play-down concert at 5 pm that is free and open to the public.
2026 This year we are piloting a 3-day program
for those that cannot make four days.
Classes for the short week will be
Wednesday June 3rd-Friday June 5th
with a play-in on Monday at 5 pm
Here is how to register for the short week:
1. Sign up for institute through the regular links.
2. Email us that you have signed up and would like the short week option.
3. Your fees will be calculated based on the shorter week, and emailed back to you.
4. As soon as your payment is received, you will be registered for the short week option.
5. Classes for short week students will begin a day later - so they will be joining master classes and groups with some students who attended the day before.
(CLICK ON THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO REGISTER after January 1st, 2026)
History
The Southcentral Alaska Suzuki Institute was founded in 1984 by Eleanor Braendel and the Eagle River Fine Arts Academy for violin and cello study. In 1989 the institute moved to Anchorage and added piano to the curriculum. In 2004 we underwent a name change to the Suzuki Association of Southcentral Alaska (SASA) to reflect its growing mission to not only sponsor summer institutes but to expand Suzuki Method music education to our community year round.
One of the most visible roles of SASA is to offer annual Suzuki Institutes, which are week-long intensive studies of music performance for Suzuki Method students in a variety of instruments. Master teachers from all over the U.S. are brought to Alaska to give instruction to children 3 years old and up. Local teachers also receive pedagogical training and are given the opportunity to observe master teachers at work.
SASA has been organizing these annual institutes since 1984 and they continue to grow in size and number of offerings. Initially, these institutes were quite small and offered instructions only for strings. In 1988, Suzuki piano was added to the curriculum, and in 2010 we added guitar.
Over the years, the institute has been held at several different venues around the Municipality of Anchorage, including Alaska Pacific University and Abbot Loop Community Church. For twelve years we used Anchorage School District sites, but cost became too big a factor. Currently we are at St. John United Methodist Church off of O'Malley Road where they have made us feel very welcome.
What to expect at SASA Summer Institute
The brochure to this year's institute
