Melbourne, Australia
14 – 18 April, 2026
Violin, Viola, Cello,
Piano, Flute, Guitar
And Baby & Toddler (ECE)
Enrolments close Sunday 22 February 2026
Concert auditions close Sunday 1 March 2026
Student Programs (subject to change depending on venue constraints and enrolments)
- Advanced program (Book 6+ violin and cello; Book 5+ viola, piano, flute and guitar): Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 April inclusive; group classes including orchestra classes, plus opening activity, ensemble or gala concert opportunities and closing concert
- Intermediate program (Books 2 to 5 violin and cello, Book 2 to 4 viola, piano, flute and guitar): Registration and opening activities Wednesday 15 April, Group classes Thursday 16 to Saturday 18 April inclusive; group classes including music reading classes, plus ensemble concert opportunity and closing concert
- Junior program (Book 1 students on all instruments); Registration and opening activities Wednesday 15 April, Group classes Thursday 16 to Saturday 18 April inclusive; instrument specific group classes plus ensemble concert opportunity and closing concert
Teacher programs
- All Instruments and instrument specific PD Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 April inclusive
- Observation of classes
- Possibility of teaching classes
Confirmed Guest Tutors (correct at 25 October 2025 but subject to change without notice)
International tutors:
- Violin: Naoki Sando (Japan) and Masaki Nakamura (NSW)
- Piano: Kasia Borowiak (UK)
- Cello: Andrea Yun (USA)
- Flute: Wendy Stern (USA)
- Guitar: MaryLou Roberts (USA)
Festival Concerts
Gala Concert: Thursday 16 April, 3:30 – 5pm (TBC)
- auditioned concert – a video of the student playing the piece for the concert, accompanied or with backing track (unless an unaccompanied piece), must be submitted as a YouTube link by 1 March 2026 by purchasing an audition ticket and the student must already be enrolled in Festival on that instrument in an advanced program
- repertoire for the concert must be less than 6 minutes in duration – one piece or one movement of a longer piece
- auditions open to students enrolled in advanced program AND playing at minimum repertoire level
- violin Books 8 and above
- cello Books 7 and sbove
- piano Books 6 and above
- flute Books 6 and above
- guitar Books 6 and above
- brief soundchecks will be held on Wednesday 15 April from approximately 4:30pm. Other soundcheck times will not be possible.
- accompanist rehearsals with the official accompanist must be completed prior to Festival at the expense of the performer
Ensemble Concerts: Friday 17 April, 3:30 – 5pm (TBC)
- auditioned concert – one member of the ensemble should submit an audition recording of the group playing the piece for the concert. The recording must be a video and must be submitted as a YouTube link by 1 March 2026 by purchasing an audition ticket.
- all members of the ensemble must be enrolled for Festival prior to the entry of the audition recording. Extra additions of students for school or studio groups will not be allowed after the closing date
- the ensemble must include a minimum of 3 students performing on Suzuki instruments
- a teacher may participate in the ensemble in a supporting role (shown on the recording) for any ensemble with more than 3 students
Closing Concert: Saturday 18 April, 2:00pm (tuning), 2:30 – 4:30pm (TBC)
- open to all enrolled students (with the exception of Baby & Toddler enrolments, and not all piano students will necessarily be able to participate) – not auditioned
- this is a way for the students to show you how well they have worked during their classes and is a fun way to end the Festival
- the concert will feature performances from each instrument group plus Festival orchestras
- this is a long concert so parents must use their judgment as to participation for very young students; especially young violin students as the violin group always ends this concert. Participation is encouraged
Terms and Conditions of enrolments
By enrolling in this event you are providing tacit agreement to the following terms and conditions. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions, you should not enrol in this event.
- This event is only open to enrolments from 2026 financial members of their local Suzuki association. In Victoria, this means you must renew your membership, join or rejoin as a member prior to enrolling in this event.
- Each participating child must be supervised by an adult whilst on site. This can be the parent or guardian, or another adult (for example another parent from your studio) who is registered to attend as the supervisor of your child. No child may be left unsupervised at the Festival event for any period of time. The supervisor needs to be on campus and contactable at all times and must be nominated in your registration form. Children found unattended at this event will be removed from classes for the remainder of the day and asked to wait with administration staff until their parent arrives to collect them.
- All attending adults who are not enrolled in a teacher professional development program must be registered as a supervisor for a student. Multiple supervisors can be registered for each child. A registered supervisor can be in charge of multiple children.
- As this is a group event, attendees are not permitted to take photographs or videos of students or teachers in classes or concerts. The only exceptions to this are a parent taking a photo or video in an individual lesson with the express permission of the teacher of the lesson or a parent taking a video of their own child performing a solo item in the gala concert and with the express permission of the accompanist as needed.
- Suzuki Music may obtain the service of a professional photographer or videographer, or a Suzuki staff member, to take photos or videos of children in classes or concerts to be used for publicity and archival purposes. Your enrolment in this event is taken as permission for photos or videos to be used and kept by Suzuki Music.
- Enrolments in the PD program for teachers are only accepted from teachers who have commenced or completed Suzuki teacher training in their local area.
- Enrolments in student programs is for children learning with a current Suzuki teacher who has completed Suzuki teacher training on that instrument.
- Festival classes are group classes and are one hour in duration each. Younger or less advanced children may be provided with a shorter class if the teacher feels it is not in the best interest of the group to have a full one hour lesson.
- Student or teacher programs may be cancelled due to low enrolments. In this case, money for those programs will be refunded.