Stephen Power
Suzuki Piano Teacher Trainer European Suzuki Association (ESA)
Cambridge, England
Nurturing the Whole Musician
About the CSYM Programme
’“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens.
If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it,
they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart”.
Dr Shinichi Suzuki
Developed over 35 years, our piano-teaching programme, Cambridge Suzuki Young Musicians, offers a unique and innovative platform for 21st century pedagogical study and observation.
Our primary focus is the study of Tone, developing the habit of absorption listening and the natural use of the body, according to Dr Shinichi Suzuki's Approach to Talent Education. We emphasise the importance of music education in early childhood, the role of the parent in nurturing Ability, and the power of the environment to influence and motivate young musicians.
Beyond the standardised Suzuki Piano curriculum, we introduce a broad range of piano repertoire according to the individual student's level of development and practice commitment, with special emphasis on contemporary repertoire and living composers.
Other special features of our curriculum include:
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A "First Steps" preparatory stage for parents and children from 2.6-4 years
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Weekly Kodaly musicianship classes for all students to train the Inner Hearing and use the singing voice to experience, understand and enjoy making music together
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Regular contact with professional musicians and composers for master-classes, workshops, and annual Summer School
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Regular performance opportunities on grand pianos in quality venues
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The study of chamber music through duets, duos, multi-piano ensembles and Summer School chamber music projects
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Composition through the introduction of new music and CSYM commissioned works, improvisation, and meeting and working with a composer at Summer School.
By creating opportunities to grow and identify as pianist, ensemble player, chamber musician, choral singer, conductor and/or composer, our long-term vision for every child is as a confident and capable Musician who might develop a personal and life-long connection to the world of music. Through the process of educating children as musicians, we hope to create happier and more creative adults of the future.
About the Teachers
Stephen Power
Suzuki Piano Teacher & ESA Teacher-Trainer
Stephen Power first came into contact with Suzuki Piano in 1981 at a Summer School with the co-founder of the piano school, Dr. Haruko Kataoka. He was one of the first to graduate from the European Suzuki Piano Teacher-Training Course in 1983. Recipient of a BSI scholarship in 1984, he made the first of three, three month study trips to Japan to study with Dr. Suzuki and Dr. Kataoka.
During the 1980’s and early 90’s he attended conferences in Europe and the USA where he continued to study with Dr Kataoka. He was on the faculty of the European Suzuki Convention in Cork in 1985, and the International Suzuki Conference in St. Andrew’s, Scotland, in 1991. In 1994 he was appointed a Teacher-Trainer for the ESA. In the late 90’s he served for three years as Director of Piano Teacher Training for the British Suzuki Institute, and in 2007 was invited by the Spanish Suzuki Federation to set up a piano teacher training programme in Madrid and Barcelona which he directed until 2009. He has also served on ESA examination juries for programmes in Italy/Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Holland. In 2000 he made a presentation on the Suzuki Method at the EPTA European conference in Budapest.
Stephen is passionate about chamber music, and keen for children to meet the composers of today by working with them and playing their music. Over the past 18 years, Stephen has regularly organised the commissioning of new chamber music for his students to perform from 11 European composers, including Charlotte Bray and Graham Fitkin. A new work by Regis Campo will be premiered at the CSYM Summer School 2018.
Stephen's students have gained special recognition at festivals and won piano competitions in the UK at local, regional and national level. A number have been awarded chorister-ships or went on to study music at conservatoire & university. His students have also been awarded 1st prize and ‘prix d’excellence’ at International competitions in France and Switzerland that feature new music.
Betty Power
Suzuki Piano, Early Childhood Music, Kodály Musicianship
Betty has a life-time of training, experience and research in children's music education. With a B.S.Music Education, she worked as a primary music specialist in the USA while studying the approaches of Dalcroze, Orff, and Kodály, and was introduced to Suzuki Piano Teacher-Training by Huub de Leeuw and Mrs Haruko Kataoka at the American Suzuki Insitute at Steven's Point, Wisconsin in the 1980's. Betty attended Dr Suzuki's Talent Education Institute in Matusmoto, Japan from 1987-1990 and is only one of a handful of Western teachers who completed their studies there with a graduation recital for Dr Suzuki & Mrs Kataoka.
With the birth of her son in 1993, Betty established MusicNOW!, a popular and highly-successful music enrichment programme for babies & toddlers which ran in the Peterborough & Cambridge area for 20 years. Her "First Steps" classes for beginning piano students and their parents now provide Suzuki parent training and lay the foundation for further musicianship studies through the Kodaly Aproach. Betty holds a Certificate in Early Childhood Music Education from the Roehampton Institute, and is a past-member of the British Kodály Academy's Executive and Education Committees.
Betty & Stephen's son, Andrew, a former Suzuki cello student, is now a free-lance musician based in Copenhagen who performs throughout Europe, specialising in 20th-21st contemporary music, new works and composer collaborations.