SASA Summer Institute 2023
DATES: June 5th-9th, 2023
WE WILL BE IN PERSON THIS YEAR!
T-shirts this year are FREE and included with each registration (1 per student). Be sure to put in your size since you will need it for the final concert on Friday! Additional shirts can be ordered at a cost of $18 each.
Institute 2023 Changes
We will be back in person at St. John's United Methodist Church on O'Malley Road. We do ask that folks wear masks indoors to prevent spreading Covid-19 and Norovirus. Please check our 2023 brochure for updates on classes offered, instructors and scheduling and price details. Regular registration ends May 1st, 2023. Registrations received after that date will be subject to space available and may not end up in classes matched to the same age or book level depending on space.
(CLICK ON THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO REGISTER FOR 2023)
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
