web1_BLOTTER.jpg

Man accused of stealing ambulance from Geisinger Wyoming Valley headed to county court

Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce to hold Legislative Breakfast

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Maureen Wezmar chuckled as she described the line-up in her early Suzuki lessons.</p><p>&#8220;We had a 4-year-old here, a 5-year-old there and a 40-year-old next to them,&#8221; she said, recalling a time when she was one of the older beginners practicing &#8220;Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star&#8221; &#8212; or &#8220;Twinkles&#8221; for short &#8212; at the Suzuki School for Strings.</p><p>That was a generation ago, back when Wezmar was a Suzuki parent who looked at the experience her young son was having and thought, just as his younger sister did, &#8220;Me, too.&#8221;</p><p>Now she&#8217;s a Suzuki grandparent in her 60s, still enjoying lessons herself, and happy that her granddaughters Moira and Sadie, ages 9 and 6, are following her advice to study viola.</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re forming a quartet they&#8217;re always looking for a violist,&#8221; Wezmar said,</p><p>Aspiring violists, cellists and violinists, beginners and advanced students of all ages take lessons at the Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. Among the throng you&#8217;ll find people who never studied music before as well as people, like Wezmar, who had years of experience with other instruments.</p><p>There&#8217;s room for all of them at the local school, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary on Nov. 15 with a party and a cake that instructor Jule Supplee said will be shaped like a violin.</p><p>Supplee&#8217;s mother, the late Lillian Supplee, founded the school in 1985 as Wyoming Valley Talent Education, and within a few years Jule Supplee followed by her sister, Jean Brubaker, and brother-in-law, Peter Brubaker, all joined the family business. The faculty also includes the Rev. Gerard McClone and Rachel Galassi.</p><p>Jule Supplee and Peter Brubaker are both musicians with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Jean Brubaker used to play with the orchestra but now is more likely to be found playing freelance.</p><p>All fans of the Suzuki method, they&#8217;re proud their school has trained 30 years worth of musicians.</p><p>The theory behind the method, which was developed by Japanese musician Shinichi Suzuki, is that &#8220;just as a child learns his mother language, so he can learn music,&#8221; Supplee said.</p><p>Part of the plan involves supplying the students with CDs, she explained. They listen to the recordings at home and hear how a particular piece is supposed to sound.</p><p>&#8220;From day one it&#8217;s about posture, position and listening, listening &#8212; underline the word listening &#8212; to how you sound,&#8221; said Wezmar, who is a music teacher herself as well as a student at the Suzuki School.</p><p>The method really works, said Suzuki student Michele Millington of Mountain Top, who teaches piano at Marywood University.</p><p>&#8220;I always wanted to play cello,&#8221; Millington said, explaining why she, too, enrolled at the school as an adult. She&#8217;s pleased that the Suzuki method is something she can share with her young niece Rebecca, and nephews Zachary and Alex Brandreth.</p><p>Ask Alex Brandreth, 16, of Kingston what kind of music he likes best and he&#8217;ll say classical.</p><p>Ask another Suzuki student, 8-year-old Carter Dennis of Nuangola the same question, and he&#8217;ll say country. He&#8217;ll also tell you he considers his violin a fiddle and was happy to attend &#8220;fiddle camp&#8221; this summer.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just fun,&#8221; he said, carrying his fiddle/violin and bow into his Suzuki lesson.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cellists Peter Brubaker, right, Teddy Lambert, Alex Bandreth, Michele Millington, and Jean Brubaker practice at the Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Cellists Peter Brubaker, right, Teddy Lambert, Alex Bandreth, Michele Millington, and Jean Brubaker practice at the Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ella Sorber, 5, of Shickshinny, left, joins Wesley Seigfried, 5, Carter Dennis, 8, Zachary Updyke, 9, and Theresa Rudloff, 8, practice playing their violins at Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ella Sorber, 5, of Shickshinny, left, joins Wesley Seigfried, 5, Carter Dennis, 8, Zachary Updyke, 9, and Theresa Rudloff, 8, practice playing their violins at Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Violin teacher Rachel Galassi, right, practices with Tessa Miorelli, 9, Lily Mei Balmer, 8, and Theresa Rudloff, 8, at Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Violin teacher Rachel Galassi, right, practices with Tessa Miorelli, 9, Lily Mei Balmer, 8, and Theresa Rudloff, 8, at Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Suzuki School for Strings teacher and co-owner Jules Supplee leads a recent rehearsal. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Suzuki School for Strings teacher and co-owner Jules Supplee leads a recent rehearsal. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Student Lily Mei Balmer, 8, right, practices her violin at the Suzuki School for Strings, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_SuzukiStrings_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Student Lily Mei Balmer, 8, right, practices her violin at the Suzuki School for Strings, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

web1_SuzukiStrings_5.jpg

Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township celebrates 30 years of teaching music