ABOUT US

        Years ago Dr. Shinichi Suzuki used a small, 10″ violin bow to demonstrate with as he worked with his students.  He would sometimes keep it in his vest pocket and pull it out to show a good bow hold or how to bring the elbow up to play closer to the frog.  At one time he sold them to Teacher Trainers but by the time I attended his workshops they were no longer available. Since I was working in a violin shop at that time (Kamimoto String Instruments in San Jose, CA) I was able to replicate the small bow.  When I was wondering what to call the bow, my daughter Jill quickly spoke up and said, “Call it the TWINKLE BOW; that’s the first piece they learn in the Suzuki method!” And the rest is history as they say…because the bows have since been sold to teachers and students all over the U.S. and 14 different countries. Violin, viola and cello teachers have had great success as the uses are many. I have since designed a 12″ black fiberglass version of the Twinkle Bow made by Century Strings and have sent batches of the bows to several teachers and music schools.  Jill produced the Twinkle Bow Youtub Video. It includes a performance of the Bach Double Violin Concerto by two students from Japan using their Twinkle Bows. It’s amazing!

        I grew up in Oakland, California and studied cello for 10 years with Margaret Rowell of Berkeley.Other teachers were Theodore Salzman and Barton Frank. When I was 18 Years old I won the Musician’s Union Congress of Strings Scholarship and studied in Puerto Rico. I later taught for many years in Public Schools (K-12) in California, Wyoming and Utah. I was awarded Teacher of the Year, Utah Legislator Award for Excellence and the Rural Middle School Teacher of the Year for the state of Utah.  I also taught at early summer Suzuki Institutes in Utah and Idaho (cello, string orchestra and art classes).  Later I worked for 10 years at Hideo Kamimoto’s string shop in San Jose, CA. I raised two cello and guitar playing daughters. Now, in my seventies, I teach cello and folk guitar in my private studio in South Jordan, Utah.
       

        I was inspired by Dr. Suzuki and his approach to music education, and as a humanitarian, his contributions to world peace!