Suzuki Violin

The Conservatory of Music is proud to offer Suzuki violin instruction. The information on this page will hopefully answer questions you may have about this method, and help you determine if it is a fit for your family.

What is the Suzuki method?

The Suzuki method was created by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki, who believed that every child can learn to play a musical instrument. Just like when a young child is learning their native language, the Suzuki method uses repetition, loving encouragement, and parental involvement to teach children how to make music.

Group Classes

In addition to their weekly lesson, students also learn together through Group Classes. Since all students use the same graded curriculum, they can easily combine to motivate and learn from each other. These classes are a fun way to build community and strengthen what each student has learned individually.

For more information, be sure to check out this page: About the Suzuki Method

Fall 2024 Suzuki Tuition (includes 16 private lessons and 8 group classes)

• 30 minute lessons: $600
• 45 minute lessons: $852
• 60 minute lessons: $1104

Group Class Schedule:

Group classes will bi-weekly on Friday afternoons. Specific class times will be available soon. To download the 2023-2024 Suzuki calendar, click here.

Suzuki Faculty

Carissa Perez

Carissa Perez began her studies in violin at the age of three, north of Chicago, under the tutelage of Lisa Chodorowski. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of The Hartt School, obtaining both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Anton Miller, and her Suzuki concentration with Christie Felsing. She is an avid performer as well, performing regularly with professional orchestras in the greater Memphis area – including both the Memphis and Jackson Symphonies. 

Being taught Suzuki from a young age as well as making it her livelihood, she has had a myriad of students over the years of all levels. The most rewarding feeling is teaching aspiring violinists how to paint a picture with their instruments, using her experience to provide an environment that promotes and fosters not only creativity, but learning. Each student is met with the utmost care, balancing the line between positive encouragement and rigor to promote curiosity, self-awareness, and most of all, the love of making music.

In her spare time, Carissa enjoys reading, the outdoors, and spending time with her friends and loved ones.

Martin Palacios

Martin Palacios graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and with a Master of Arts degree in Music from Pensacola Christian College. While at PCC, he performed with the college’s string quartet in residence and performed on national television with Rejoice in the Lord telecast. He competed and won several competitions involving the undergraduate and graduate concerto divisions, solo strings, and original music composition. In the the spring of 2017 Martin completed his second masters in music for Suzuki Pedagogy at the University of Memphis.

Before moving to Tennessee, Martin worked at Pensacola Christian Academy as a music instructor teaching private lessons for violin, viola, and cello students, as well as conducted the intermediate string orchestra. Several of his private students won scholarships while participating in the annual Pensacola Music Teachers Association sonata competition in Florida. As a graduate assistant at PCC, Martin has also taught private lessons at the collegiate level. In the summer of 2013, he accepted an opportunity to teach at the Curacao Summer Music Camp in the Netherlands Antilles where he performed in solos and chamber groups, conducted the advanced string orchestra, and taught private lessons. Currently, Martin teaches Suzuki Violin/Viola lessons at the Bellevue Baptist Church School of Performing Arts and Germantown Baptist Conservatory of Music. He performs as principal second violin with the Jackson Symphony in Tennessee and is a substitute violinist with the Memphis Symphony, and freelances around Memphis.

Martin believes that music is more than just an art, but rather it is a tool that fashions and builds character in the life of musicians. Music students learn analytical and aural skills. Students learn to budget time, to pursue excellence, and to conquer any arising difficulty in music. Martin further believes that music is to be shared with others, to build and edify the body of Christ, and to glorify God. Since the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord,” Martin believes that music, whether teaching or performing, should glorify God.

During his free time, Martin enjoys discovering and listening to new music and classical artists. He brings his imagination to life through composing, arranging music, and even drawing. One could call him a music nerd since he really never leaves his music to rest, but rather continues to explore the vast world of music as both a profession and a hobby.