The Suzuki Academy Inc.

Piano, Violin, Cello, Guitar, Saxophone, Flute and Voice Lessons!

The Suzuki Academy was founded in 1989 and serves the North West community of Houston while offering musical training by some of the most experienced, educated, and trained professionals from around the world. The Suzuki Academy accepts students from ages 3 to adult, at any level of learning ranging from beginner to advanced. The school has a high reputation (it is one of the oldest music schools in North West Houston) and thrives on achieving excellence for all students. The Suzuki Academy curriculum is highly specialized and can make a profound difference in the student's musical growth and education.

The Suzuki Academy teaching methods establish the highest standards for nurturing each student's musical development. The strength of our school includes the musical experience, training, and background of our teachers who have individually and collectively excelled in their native countries, including the United States, France, Russia, Moldova, Taiwan, and Japan.

PRIVATE LESSONS

During private lessons, your child will cover the Suzuki materials, technique, scales, theory games and many other aspects of musical development. We routinely combine the Suzuki method with traditional methodology. Our purpose for combining methods is to allow your child to strengthen his or her ability in the area of site reading, which in turn will build on their knowledge and equip them to work with any material in a wide range of Suzuki literature. During private lessons, a child learns the importance of respect, as well as understanding for his or her teacher, and ultimately; he or she will build lifelong connections for years to come.

GROUP LESSONS

Group Lessons are important for development and performance improvement. Parents should always bring the student's Suzuki book and a notebook to take notes in an effort to help the student with practices and learning at home. During the group lessons, each student learns theory, position exercises, games, and the importance of performing with and for other students. These lessons will allow the child to build confidence and strong skills for future recitals and concerts. These methods can also play an important role in building confidence in a child’s life. In addition, group lessons can foster growth and an atmosphere of teamwork which again, allow a child to build friendships and lifelong connections for years to come.

TEACHERS

	Armand Der-Antonian is a violin teacher and the director at the Suzuki Academy Inc. He currently teaches 35 students at the school ranging in age from 3 years old to adult. Armand holds a Bachelors Degree in Business with an emphasis in Finance. He also graduated from the French National Conservatory (specializing in violin, Solfege, Choir) and the Vivaldi school of music. During his education, Armand played in the Chamber orchestra of the French Vivaldi School for many years and mastered the art of Solfege. After 8 years of study, he performed in several auditoriums in France as a Soloist. In addition, over the past 5 years, Armand has performed for weddings throughout the Houston area, concerts at the Houston Symphony North, the Houston Hilton Hotel - downtown, and numerous ceremonies requiring performances of different musical styles. Armand is also a member of SAA (Suzuki Association of America) and HASSA (Houston Area Suzuki String Association). His students are active orchestral performers and contest winners. Armand also holds several certificates for Suzuki violin training.
	Marie Harasaki has been a piano teacher with Suzuki Academy since 2002 and currently maintains a studio of over 30 students, ages 3 to adult. She holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She studied with Joseph Schwartz, Sedmara Rutstein, Robert Brownlee, and Ralph Neiweem. She has taught at Oberlin Community Music School and Preparatory & Continuing Studies at Moores School of Music. Marie has performed in the Pitten Festival, Austria; Chautauqua Music Festival, New York; and Oberlin at Cassalmaggiore, Italy. She is a member of the Houston Area Suzuki Piano Association and holds several certificates for Suzuki piano training.
	Zoia Golofeeva is a Russian pianist and singer. Her professional training began at the age of 5 at Eugen Coca (currently Serghei Rachmaninov) Moldavian State Music Liceum. In 1992 she obtained a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the National Moldavian Academy of Music. After graduation, she was a piano teacher and staff accompanist at Stefan Neaga Music College in Chisinau, Moldova. Later she started to work on her second Bachelors degree in Voice performance. From 1995 to 2005 Mrs. Golofeeva was a staff accompanist, a choir member, and a soloist at the Moldavian Opera and Ballet Theatre performing throughout Europe. She has more than 15 years teaching experience. Currently Zoia is working on her Masters degree in Piano Accompaniment, and is a part time staff accompanist at Houston Community College and substitute choir member at Houston Grand Opera.
	Ineza Chelidze is a piano teacher from Georgia. She graduated from Special Musical school in 1962 and received her Tbilisi Musical College degree in 1967. Ineza finished her studies from the Sverdlovsk Conservatory in Russia in 1973. She holds a Masters in Music, Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and has more than 30 years of teaching experience. Her instruction is based on Suzuki and traditional piano methods from the Soviet Union. She has been an instructor at the Suzuki Academy for twelve years and is the most experienced teacher at the school with more than 40 students. She has received several units of Suzuki training and her students are active participants of regional solos performances and competitions. She is an active member of the SAA (Suzuki Association of America) and HASPA (Houston Area Suzuki Piano Association).
	Mariblanca De Pujadas began her music career as a child prodigy at the age of two. In her native Barcelona, Spain her exceptional gifts brought her to the attention of Frank Marshall, the eminent piano pedagogue and successor of the Granados Piano Academy. At a very early age she performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras and later she toured several countries in South America. At the age of five she moved to the United States and continued her studies with the legendary Russian master teacher Sergei Tarnowsky. She later continued her studies with Jacob Gimpel and Lillian Steuber at the University of Southern California. In her late teens Mariblanca returned to Spain to concertize and further her studies at the Royal Conservatory del Liceo in Barcelona where she graduated with high honors receiving the Diploma in Piano Performance. Returning to the U.S., she did post-graduate work in New York at the Juilliard School of Music under the eminent Adele Marcus. Mariblanca has over 35 years of teaching experience. She was in the music faculty at the Los Angeles Music Settlement, at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, and the Music Center School for the Performing Arts. She has performed with major symphony orchestras and her students have been winners in many competitions and performed as soloists with symphony orchestras. Mariblanca has been an adjudicator since the early 1980’s for the annual piano auditions of the National Guild of Piano Teachers of the American College of Musicians and is a member of the Texas Music Teachers Association and the Music Teachers’ National Association.
	Carol Miller has been a Houston resident for over 20 years. She grew up in Iowa, Wyoming, New York, and Kansas. She has been teaching piano and voice in the greater Houston area since 1995. Carol can remember her first music lessons as a very young child from her mother, who is a retired music teacher, pianist, and vocalist. Carol’s formal music training started with piano lessons in the 2nd grade. She began playing the flute in the 4th grade and soon joined the school bands. Through children’s choir at her church and school, and choirs during middle school, she learned she could sing well. Soon she was practicing and training in all three instruments. Due to time constraints that high school students experience, she started to focus on piano and voice. At Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa, Carol studied piano and voice and received a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis on education.
More teacher information can be found at www.samusichouston.com