[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 115 (Thursday, September 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF NEW YORK'S SCHOOL OF STRINGS

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                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2001

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor New York's School for 
Strings on its 30th Anniversary. The School for Strings, which annually 
trains approximately 300 students and thirty teachers of violin, cello, 
and piano, is one of the oldest and most distinguished Suzuki programs 
in the United States. The school's founder and director, Miss Louise 
Behrend, was one of the first musicians and teachers to bring the 
Suzuki approach to the United States, and the success of the program 
today is evidence of her persistence and the school's excellence.
  In its first thirty years, the School for Strings has enriched the 
lives of over one thousand families, teaching many the skills needed to 
earn placement in some of the finest graduate programs and orchestras 
in the country. Former School for Strings students can be heard in the 
orchestras of the Metropolitan Opera, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago 
Symphony, and numerous other world-class groups, and at the music 
conservations of such distinguished schools as Julliard, Eastman, 
Curtis, Peabody, and Oberlin. Equally prominent is the school's Teacher 
Training Program, which has graduated more than 400 qualified Suzuki 
teachers who bring their knowledge of music to many eager mind around 
the country.
  The School for Strings has also added music into the lives of many 
underprivileged children through its Start-Up Program. The Start-Up 
Program pairs children with SFS teacher trainees at reduced rates. 
After three years, many of the students continue the Suzuki Program 
with scholarship assistance for the school. For the past five years, 
the School for Strings has offered an after-school Suzuki program at PS 
116 with lessons three times a week in violin and cello for elementary 
school-age students.
  The School for Strings, in its first 30 years, has brought to many 
the lifelong gift of being able to make music, and the accompanying 
discipline, concentration, and intellectual stimulation. These 
fortunate students will be tomorrow's orchestra musicians, talented 
amateurs and music lovers. On June 16th, 2001, twelve hundred of these 
former students gathered to fill Carnegie Hall with music, a 
celebration of the tremendous contribution the school has made to New 
York City and communities around the country. Congratulations to the 
School for Strings on 30 years of musical excellence, and I look 
forward to 30 more years of beautiful music!

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