Introducing Amy Norton!

The ISSI board is pleased to welcome another new member to its ranks: Amy Norton.

Many of you already know Amy and have had the privilege of working with her.  She has been an ISSI faculty member for many years already, and has lent her enthusiastic, creative teaching to many other Suzuki events around Utah and the Intermountain West.  She was the mastermind behind the recent "Rock with Bach" violin super activity that was a huge success!

She loves teaching and says that one of her fondest memories of being a young Suzuki student was the great time she always had at ISSI every summer.  She says it helped her see her progress from year to year, and really helped her enjoy her instrument!  In fact, she credits ISSI as one of the corner stones that helped her stick with her violin through those busy teenage years.  In her words, "I love ISSI!"

Amy is committed to teacher education and finds ways to constantly reexamine and improve her teaching.  In addition to her Suzuki teacher training, she has also attended the SAA Convention in Minneapolis and recently finished the "Suzuki Principles in Action" course with Pat D'Ercole this past Fall.

We are lucky to have her on our team!

Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up

One of our most beloved faculty members, Gabe Bolkosky, shared these wise words with a few friends the other day:

"This one's for the young jedis: I'm so glad that I didn't quit. I'm glad that I didn't quit when I was 12 and thought that violin was nerdy. I'm glad that I didn't quit when I was 19 or 20 or 21 when I injured my shoulder and didn't know if I'd really play again. I'm glad that I didn't quit at 26 when I didn't understand how I fit into the music world. I'm glad that I didn't quit when I was 30 or 35 because life would be easier without practice. Tonight I felt music in my heart more deeply than ever. Don't quit young jedis. Stay with your practice. It's worth it."