Silvija Abols has been a piano instructor for over three decades, teaching children, parents and other teachers at workshops and institutes across North America. She has degrees in music (Honours B.Mus.Ed.) and in education (B.Ed.) from the University of Western Ontario, as well as performing diplomas from The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Silvija began her Suzuki studies with Dr. Haruko Kataoka (founder of the Suzuki Piano Method) in 1982, when Dr. Kataoka came to visit Canada for the very first time. After that Silvija did a two-year apprenticeship with Dorothy Jones (a well-known and respected Suzuki pioneer in Canada), and continued to study with Dr. Kataoka every summer, as well as with other fine Suzuki teachers such as Bruce Anderson, Doris Koppelman, Jeanne Luedke and others from across North America at summer institutes. In 1987, she decided to go to Japan to immerse herself in the Suzuki Method at its source. Silvija is one of only two Canadians to have graduated as a “Master Teacher” in piano from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, where she studied for four years (1987-1991) with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki and Dr. Haruko Kataoka.
Silvija is noted for her serious silliness for which she makes no apologies and said she learnt from two very significant men in her life: her father and Dr. Suzuki. With a husband, a son, a dog and a full studio, she says it comes in very handy and keeps her happily sane or insane — whatever the day may bring.