Helen Higa
Violin
Helen comes from a family of music teachers and was born
and raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i. She studied with Dr. Shinichi
Suzuki for two and a half years at the Talent Education
Institute in Matsumoto, Japan, receiving her Teacher Certification
from him in 1973. She continued her Suzuki teacher training
program at the University of Tennessee with William Starr
and played in the Knoxville Symphony. While in New York
she took additional teacher training with Louise Behrend
at the School for Strings and worked on violin performance
skills for two years with Gerald Beal.
Currently, Helen is a per-service member of Honolulu Symphony,
serves as the per-service representative on the Orchestra
Committee, and helps coordinate the Honolulu Symphony's
Injury Prevention Program.
In 1983, Helen became a Certified Teacher of the Alexander
Technique from the American Center for the Alexander Technique
in New York City. She taught in the Center's Teacher Training
Program for four years before returning to Hawai'i in 1987.
In 1990, she began teaching with the late Hiroko Primrose
in the Suzuki Program at Punahou Music School.
Helen is presently the head of this Suzuki Program in Honolulu
and has a violin studio of over fifty students. Her other
teaching positions have included the University of Tennessee's
Suzuki Program, the New York School for Strings, and the
Diller-Quaille School of Music.
Helen is a frequent Guest Faculty at many Suzuki Summer
Institutes. She usually is asked to give a lecture series
for parents, teachers, and teacher trainees entitled "Desperately
Seeking Suzuki". This lecture series focuses on how
the Alexander Technique shares many parallels and complements
Dr. Suzuki's violin pedagogy. In May 2004, Helen has been
invited to give presentations on this subject to teachers
and parents at the Suzuki Associaton of the Americas National
Conference in Minneapolis.
During Summer 2004, Helen has been invited to teach at
the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute (Utah), Oregon
Suzuki Institute (Portland), Japan-Seattle Institute (WA),
Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute (CO), Palouse Suzuki Institute
(WA), Stanford Advanced Suzuki Institute (CA), and the Northern
California Suzuki Institute.
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