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These were the first recitals held in our brand new performance center, and we couldn’t be happier with the results! Below are some pictures of the event. If you have any you would like to add, please either email them or bring them on a disc to the office.

Congratulations performers!

Bethwood Suzuki Music School is trying to win a $2,000 scholarship and we need your help! Click the picture above to be brought to Bethwood’s page, and to be able to vote for us. We need as many votes as possible so please consider helping us not only by voting, but by passing this on to friends and family.

Bethwood Suzuki Music School and Explorers Learning Center invite you to join us for a spooky evening of music and fun!

$5 per child

Don’t forget to wear your costume!

Includes:

• Spooky Suzuki Play-In
• Spooky Story Time
• Trunk or Treat (details TBA*)
• Pumpkin Painting
• Haunted Hallways

*We are looking for families to volunteer their time (and their cars!) to line the parking lot for our first ever Trunk and Treat. If you would like to participate, please sign up at the front desk, where you will receive more information.

(If you did not receive the evite.com invitation to Spooky Suzuki, please notify Amanda in the office)

SEYMOUR — The Bethwood Suzuki Music School recently moved from Woodbridge to Progress Avenue, and its staff is hoping to fill a void Valley residents may not have realized was there.

Amanda Kaletsky, assistant managing director of Bethwood and a voice and violin teacher, said that when the school outgrew its space in Woodbridge and was looking to move, its director, resident Mindy Kesling-Hink, pointed them toward Seymour.

“We realized that moving to Seymour was an amazing opportunity, because there really is no music school in the entire Valley. Whereas in Woodbridge, there’s a few music programs. … The Valley really has nothing. So it was really an untapped area for us.”

Kaletsky said the community has taken notice.

“In the first week that we moved, before we had our answering machine fully set up … when we finally got to the voicemail, there were 26 messages, and most of them were from new families.

“People don’t really necessarily know what they’re looking for until it’s in front of them. They’re not even going to think about taking their 2-year-old to a music program unless they know it’s available to them. Already we’re seeing through some press releases and some advertisements in the area and word of mouth, people are saying, ‘Wow, I didn’t know this kind of thing was available,’ and coming to our doors.”

Bethwood, which had its grand opening Sept. 4 and started the fall semester Sept. 8, i at 30 D Progress Ave. They have about 150 to 175 students enrolled, but are looking to expand.

“We have a lot of room to grow, so we’ll take anyone who comes through our door,” Kaletsky said.

First Selectman Paul Roy said he was at the grand opening.

“I’m really excited about it. I think it is good for the town because they’re going to have upwards of 300 students at the school,” he said.

“While many of them are not going to be from Seymour, their families are going to have to come through town. It does add a little bit to our economic development. They’re going to go to Dunkin’ Donuts, buy gas, go to Hot Tamales. I think it’s important because they moved from Woodbridge to Seymour, and I think people are recognizing, ‘Hey, Seymour’s a pretty good place to be.’”

The school first opened in 1988 with group lessons taught out of a Bethany church and private lessons taught in the Bethany home of its founder. Kaletsky said the school grew quickly, and moved to two locations in Woodbridge before coming to Seymour.

The school serves all ages, but most of its students are younger than 18.

“What makes the Suzuki method special is the idea of group lessons. In traditional music lessons, you’re just taking a private lesson once a week. In the Suzuki method, you’re also taking a group lesson with other students who are in the same area, the same level, as you,” Kaletsky explained.

“It creates motivation, obviously, because you’re seeing people your own age and where they are. The other thing about the Suzuki method, you’re creating the whole person. You’re not just creating a violinist or a pianist or a cellist. You’re developing the whold child. The group lessons, they’re a big part of that, because socialization is a big part of growing up.”

Kaletsky said the school’s mission is not just to teach students to play an instrument, but to instill a love of music in kids of all ages.

“We’re excited to bring that idea to the Valley, that music is not just something you learn, but it’s something that’s going to be a part of your life forever,” she said.

According to Kaletsky, this is the only Suzuki school in New Haven County.

The school is holding an early childhood open house for children from birth to age 2 at 9 a.m. Oct. and an open house for expectant mothers at 6 p.m. Oct. 19.

Kaletsky said the school will also be taking early childhood classes into Valley area libraries.

SEYMOUR — The philosophy at the Bethwood Suzuki Music School is simple: Start teaching children about music as soon as they are born, similar to the way a child learns language.

The school, in business for 22 years, recently relocated from Woodbridge to Progress Avenue because it outgrew its former location, said Amanda Kaletsky, the school’s assistant managing director for artistic planning and community outreach.

“We’re essentially the only full-service music school in the Valley right now,” she said, adding the new facility has a large hardwood performance space to “really step up our game.” In addition, the Seymour school will feature soundproof rooms for private lessons and a dedicated early childhood room, which is the most important aspect of the school, Kaletsky said.

She said the early childhood program embodies the Suzuki message in that children can learn music as soon as birth.

The Suzuki method of teaching, established by violinist Shin’ichi Suzuki in the mid-20th century, advocates the idea that children begin to develop their musical ability as newborns through exposure to repetition, much like a child developing the ability to talk.

Barbara Zanowiak, chairwoman of the piano department, said she is thrilled about the new location and said there are hopes to make the building an art space for exhibits and community performances.

“We had an opportunity to expand our facility. We felt like we were outgrowing our old place,” she said. “The new building is a beautiful place in the forest with 11 new state-of-the-art teaching rooms.”

Zanowiak, who has taught at Bethwood for 14 years, is a strong advocate of the Suzuki style of teaching music.

“It’s really family-oriented,” she said. “The whole family is there and a part of the learning experience.” The school requires either the mother or father to attend each of the classes so that they can assist their child at home with ease.

The Bethwood Suzuki school is offering a new early childhood course for newborns through 3. It also offers a musical journey class for ages 3 to 5 to help foster children’s creativity and musical development.

For information, call 888-8143 or visit www.bethwood.org.