American Suzuki Institute- Day 1 (Monday)

So today was the start of the actual sessions for the Institute. Gigi went with Gavin to his AM sessions, and I with Garek (these morning sessions are lessons "A" and "B"). Gavin had an 8 AM and Garek a 9 AM session, so as we were waiting in the hall for Garek's session I caught a glimpse of Gavin through the window in the Door having a bit of one on one time with Pat D'Ercole (or Professor Pat as she likes to be called).

Garek had a great time with his instructor (Sarah Smith) and A group:

Taking a bow ("please will you teach me?")

The next session "B" was a bit rough for Garek as he was getting pretty tired since he stayed up late the night before (no pictures as dad had to lend a hand by having my presence known- he was great as long as I was within arms reach). A lot of rhythm work and movement since it was a combined group of pre-twinklers on all instruments.

A family picnic under a tree within ear shot of a "play in" in the court yard for book 4 and higher students (needless to say it was the best live entertainment I have ever had during lunch).

Gigi and I swapped boys for the afternoon sessions (Lesson "C") so that we would have a chance to see what both are doing and they don't start to think that mom and dad have favorites. The C lesson is typically the largest group lesson and is focused on repertoire, so it is a lot of non-stop playing. I happened to bring the video camera to this session, so here is a sample of what Gavin was doing. (he was in the back row of students and is smack dab in the middle of the screen with the orange shirt and black shorts)

The beloved "Variation A" on the Twinkle Theme (a corner stone of the Suzuki tradition as this is the first piece that all students learn to play):

After we were done, we headed out on the bikes to find a Canoe rental place that Gigi picked up a brochure on (very confusing literature, and the web site was even worse, so out of fairness the business will remain nameless as we never found where one of their outposts was supposed to be- maybe we will try again tomorrow after calling ahead). Instead we happened upon the "Green Circle" and started riding (it's a big loop around town, so the worst that would happen is we end up back where we started). Little did we know that the entire loop is 33.5 miles. Very pretty ride, but we only went part of the way, and found the Schmeeckle Reserve HQ and decided to go find some food (OK roughly 15 miles by our best estimate once we picked up a detailed map of the trail system at the Visitor's Center). We will pick up where we left off and ride a different portion of the trail tomorrow.

We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant with traditional seating where you lounge around a low table under a canopy.

The food was awesome! One funny thing to take from this dinning experience: Steven's Point has a Brewery, so under the "Domestic" beers besides your typical mega brews there were several options from the local brewery ( I opted for the "Point Amber"). Looking at the Imports listed, one that caught me off guard was "Leinenkugel's" another great Wisconsin Beer from Chippewa Falls (a mere couple hours from here, but a few bucks more for all the effort to get it here - my how the cost of oil has thrown everything off in the beer industry).

I think the boys had a great day. As Gavin summed it up at supper "this was the best day- ever!"

Two very tired boys ready for bed after a bit of practicing after dinner (and a shower)