Whitby Shores Suzuki Piano Studio

How is Suzuki Music education different from traditional music education? • Suzuki teachers believe that musical ability can be developed in all children. • Students begin at young ages, and learn music ability like learning a language. • Parents play an active role in the learning process and attend all lessons. • Children become comfortable with the instrument before learning to read music. • Technique is taught in the context of pieces rather than through dry technical exercises. • Pieces are refined through constant review. • Students perform frequently, individually and in groups. What is the Suzuki Method? Shinichi Suzuki was a violinist, educator, philosopher and humanitarian. Born in 1898, he studied violin in Japan for some years before going to Germany in the 1920s for further study. After the end of World War II, Dr. Suzuki devoted his life to the development of the method he calls Talent Education. Suzuki based his approach on the belief that “Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability, just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.” Dr. Suzuki’s goal was not simply to develop professional musicians, but to nurture loving human beings and help develop each child’s character through the study of music. About Gillan Latour Gillan Latour is a Suzuki piano teacher in the Whitby Shores area currently offering affordable Suzuki piano lessons - he completed his Suzuki training at the Southern Ontario Suzuki Institute held at Wilfred Laurier University. Gillan has been playing piano since age six, and has studied under various Suzuki Teachers such as Barbie Adams, Katherine Monsour Barley, and Taylor Sutherland. Gillan completed the Grade 8 exam at Royal Conservatory of Music, and is currently working towards the Grade 10 exam. As well as private instruction in Piano, he attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts in North York from grade 7-12, where he studied cello and orchestra performance with Julia Bowkun and Jolanta Hickey. In 2012, he attended the University of Kings College in Halifax and completed the Foundation Year Programme, and subsequently transferred to the University of Toronto. As well as teaching from his home studio, Gillan is a piano teacher at the Durham School of Music in Pickering Village. To contact Gillan, please email him at gillan.latour@mail.utoronto.ca or call 905-666-9221.