🎻 12th European Suzuki Convention – Istanbul 2026
It’s with great pleasure to see that the 12th European Suzuki Convention will be happening in Istanbul in 2026. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all people involved in the organisation, especially to the board of the Turkish Suzuki Association and its staff members.
One of the key features of the Suzuki method is that children around the world can play together immediately, as we all share a common repertoire that we teach and practice daily. This allows our students to meet, play, and learn from one another.
Furthermore, it means that we, as teachers, agree to disagree and prioritize the needs of our students over our own egos. We recognize the broader vision of Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy, where the child is at the top of the triangle. The individual child must always remain our focus. We use music as a tool to educate children in a more comprehensive sense.
Our goal is not to create professionals or competition winners; rather, our shared objective is to cultivate sensitivity, respect, endurance, empathy, and, last but not least, discipline.
Many of these values may not seem very fashionable in light of current political events or the behaviour exhibited by certain leaders in the business world. Still, these values are universal, and these are values people need to (re-)develop civilized communities.
We hope that events like this will bring together many people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Music serves as a bridge, offering the variety we need to recognize our differences as a source of enrichment rather than a threat.
May 2025
MR – ESA Honorary President
🎶 Suzuki Music Education Association
Since 2008, the Suzuki Music Education Association has been organizing various trainings, workshops, and concerts to contribute to music education in Turkey.
Our association is a community of musicians and music educators with at least a bachelor's degree in music, instructors who have received advanced training in the Suzuki pedagogy, our students who have been educated in this method, and their parents.
Our parent organization, the European Suzuki Association (ESA), organizes the European Suzuki Children’s Convention in a different country every four years. Turkey has been selected as the host country for the 12th convention in 2026.
The convention, which will take place from April 3–7, 2026, will include training sessions for students, seminars for families, and workshops for teachers.
Activities in violin, cello, piano, flute, guitar, and Early Childhood Education (ages 0–3) will conclude with a grand Gala Concert.
We would be delighted to welcome you among us.
Organizing Committee
- Müge ERAYDIN YEĞİN – President
- Zeynep ERKAN – Vice President
- Wilfried Van GORP – Artistic Director
- Patricia Rüttimann – ESA Secretary
- Martin Rüttimann – ESA Honorary President
- Seda AKSAK – Accounting
- Başak GÜÇLER – Education Coordinator
SMED Board of Directors
- Müge ERAYDIN YEĞİN
- Zeynep ERKAN
- Ayça BUDAK KESKİN
- Mebruke DUYGUN
- Şebnem YILDIRIM ORHAN
📜 History
Dr. Shinichi Suzuki firmly believed in the power of music to enrich children's lives. He developed a unique teaching method to help children reach their highest potential in music. Inspired by the ease and natural process of language acquisition in young children, he applied similar principles to music education.
He called this approach the "mother tongue method," adapting the core principles of language development to music teaching.
Suzuki began teaching with this method and soon founded a music institute in Matsumoto, Japan. In 1964, he took his first group of students to the United States. Their confident and masterful performances of challenging solo works impressed audiences greatly.
Today, there are more than 8,000 Suzuki teachers and over 250,000 students in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Philosophy
"A person with a fine and pure heart will find happiness."
Suzuki's goal was not to train professional musicians. While many professional musicians today began their journey with the Suzuki method, this was never the primary aim.