Scotch College

Scotch College: Great Scot: Pied Piper with strings attached

Pied Piper with strings attached

This year a new position was created in the Music School to develop the string playing in the Junior School a little further.

Bob Wakely was appointed as the teacher responsible for pedagogical development of string playing, with particular reference to Suzuki teaching of young violin students in Year 1 and beyond.

He is widely respected in this field having taught Suzuki teachers for many years, and indeed Scotch was a centre for Suzuki teaching during 1997 and in conjunction with the Suzuki Association. Under this scheme Bob taught six of our current violin teachers in these techniques, as well as some teachers from outside the school.

He hails from Northern Ireland, but studied in London and later obtained his Masters Degree in America. He became interested in the teachings of Suzuki and went to Japan to study first hand with the Master, before eventually coming to settle in Australia and commence teaching.

The Suzuki programme started in a small way during 1997, and has developed so quickly, that the numbers of violinists in the Junior School have substantially increased.

It is Bob's unique style which is more remarkable than the method. Young boys just simply want to follow him with a violin under their chin. A genuine pied piper of the fiddle!