To Whom It May Concern,

In the mountain towns and villages of Grand County, Colorado Sue Taylor is known as a wonderful community member, an outstanding piano and violin teacher, and an incredible musician! It will be a great loss for our communities when she moves to western Virginia in the fall of 2004. Sue requested me to write a parental letter of reference for her regarding an opportunity to teach a Suzuki class for children. I am very pleased to do this and can assure you Sue will exceed all your expectations as a teacher.

I have a son named Eldon who is currently 13 years old. When he was 8 years old he had taken piano lessons for a year when he saw a violin performance at an outdoor city event. The violinist was very animated and played classical music as well as fiddle tunes. Eldon came away in love with the sound of the violin and the fact that a violin could go with you anywhere to be played. He began Suzuki violin lessons in Boulder, Colorado in June 1999 with a well known Suzuki expert named Paul Rowinski. I became Eldon's parental coach. Paul was a demanding teacher and taught Suzuki teaching methods to other music teachers as well as playing in a local symphony orchestra. In the monthly performance classes Paul would teach the children to play as a group and he organized concerts several times a year. In the summer his violin students were invited to play at local events and festivals always to the delight of the audiences. Eldon had the privilege of working with Paul until May 2000 when our personal lives took us away from Boulder.

We traveled for a year and although we had worked out a plan to continue Eldon's violin lessons via electronic connections we were unable to carry out this plan due to the lack of availability of public phones. In 2001 we moved to Grand County and while attending a "concert in the round" where the orchestra instruments were positioned in among the audience Eldon decided he wanted to resume violin lessons. We could not believe our good fortune when we discovered there was a violin teacher who used Suzuki methods in Grand County. We began lessons with Sue Taylor in October 2002 and continue working with her to the present time.

Sue's Suzuki methods were very familiar to Eldon and he quickly fit into the routine of weekly music lessons and practice time. Sue's lessons were an hour in length compared to the half hour we had been used to. We have come to really appreciate the hour lesson with the emphasis on warming up and a more pleasurable pace. Sue's style of teaching is very different than Paul's and Eldon has thrived under her tutelage.

I was immediately impressed with Sue's teaching environment. She always showed respect for Eldon's past work with the violin and coordinated her lessons with his knowledge and abilities. Although he had lost ground during the time he hadn't taken lessons, Sue began where he was at and reviewed things he needed to review. While making sure Eldon is always comfortable with water, rest periods, and even hand warmers when our temperatures drop below zero, Sue teaches technical expertise, perfect intonation, and music is more than hitting the right notes. One of the things I love most about Sue as a teacher is that after Eldon learns the notes of a violin piece she works with him to make the music very expressive emphasizing ranges in volume and what I call the "heart of the music." As a result of working with Sue, Eldon doesn't just play the violin he makes beautiful music.

Sue is always willing to work with an individual situation. When she advised us it was time to graduate from the rental violin she personally made trips to the violin store and helped pick out several violins in our price range with the qualities she was seeking in an instrument for Eldon. When Eldon selected his violin it was so comfortable on his shoulder he did not want to use a shoulder rest and he did not want fine tuners on all his strings. Although it was unusual for a student not to use a shoulder rest, Sue was willing to work with this situation for the time being especially since in times gone by violinists did not use shoulder rests. Eldon's insistence on no fine tuners meant one entire lesson tuning the violin and today he can tune his violin in minutes. I have always appreciated Sue's willingness to deal with individual students as individuals.

The monthly performance classes are always an enjoyable experience for our family. The violin students play together and perform solos. The piano students also perform at the monthly classes and it is a treat to see the students progress. Sue works to include information on music history and great composers so we all learn new things. Her teaching skills are impressive with a group of students. Her accepting manner works with the group wherever they are at and she strives to move them forward. Sometimes this means altering the planned program as she insures a success experience for every student in the class. She has earned the respect of her students and they follow her direction eagerly.

Sue also has offered opportunities for her students to participate in community projects. When there was a concert for a disabled member of a nearby town to raise money to make his apartment handicap accessible Sue encouraged her students to participate in this good cause. It was a wonderful experience for Eldon to see his music helping someone else. Sue plays at numerous local events and concerts and it is always an incredible experience to get to hear her play. She plays in a group and individually and always shares her pure joy while playing her violin. She is an outstanding role model for her students and our community.

Even though Sue is an expert in her field she continually reads and learns more to keep her skills advancing. At a recent lesson when she was working with Eldon on keeping his fingers very perpendicular to the fingerboard she pulled up an article off the internet about how to choose a violin teacher. The article emphasized the importance of having a teacher who constantly gives feedback to improve technique. When Sue gave Eldon this article he laughed out loud saying Sue met this criteria just fine.

I look forward to our Tuesday evening class time with Sue even though it means an hour of driving in total blackness and often in snowstorms.
In addition to the vital Suzuki lessons, Eldon and I know we will spend an evening with a warm and charming person making and listening to beautiful music. I am quite sure Eldon will continue playing the violin his whole life as a result of his experiences with Sue. I cannot think of any additional qualities you would want for a teacher in your music program. Please feel free to contact me with additional questions or comments and know that I recommend Sue Taylor as a music teacher without hesitation or qualification.


Sincerely,

Betty Hagen
Suzuki Violin Parent Coach and loving it