Flute Piano Violin Viola Theory
Suzuki music lessons in Oakville that keep the whole child in mind, with qualified and experienced teachers, fostering a love of music and building lifelong skills one child at a time.
Students can start as young as age 4
The OSM fosters community and excellence in musicianship using the Suzuki Methodology of teaching in a nurturing environment with emphasis on the individual child and their needs.
“Perhaps it is music that will save the world.” — Dr. Shinichi Suzuki
Our teachers have University Music degrees as well as Suzuki training and are committed to nurturing every student's musical journey.
Meet Our Teachers
Parents, teachers, and students work as a team. Lessons are structured, repertoire is shared across levels, and every recital is a chance to celebrate how far a child has come — never a competition against anyone but their earlier self.
What Is Suzuki?Private lessons, Group Classes, Solo recitals, Multi-instrumental concerts, Theory & Music history, and exclusive resources for members.
Group classes are an essential part of the program. Students progress more quickly, they learn from one another and enjoy leadership opportunities in class.
Private lessons are booked directly with the teacher. Currently, the OSM teachers offer private lessons in flute, piano, violin, viola and theory on a weekly basis.
Meet the TeachersTheory printouts and videos (based on RCM curriculum), music history tutorials, curated listening lists, Ask-A-Teacher columns (for Parents) and more.
Members: click below and enter your personal passcode to unlock.
Our teachers have university music degrees as well as Suzuki Teacher Training and are committed to nurturing every student's musical journey.
Bethany has traveled a circuitous route from California to Finland to Québec to Ontario. Born into a musical family with professional musician parents, Bethany has been playing the violin since the age of four, starting with the Suzuki method. She studied with Manuel Compinsky, renowned violinist of the Compinsky Trio, Toscanini's NBC Orchestra, and master teacher of many prominent violinists. She studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki for two years before returning to North America and pursued studies at Laval University and the Conservatory of Music in Québec City. Bethany holds a B.M. and M.M. in Violin Performance in addition to a B.A. in Music Education, all from Laval University in Quebec City. She performed with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra for two years. Before coming to Oakville, she spent three years in Sudbury as Concert Master of the Sudbury Symphony, member of the Sudbury Symphony String Quartet, and the principal teacher with the Sudbury Symphony School of Music. Bethany has completed Suzuki teacher training for Books 1 through 10. Her mentors included Alice Joy Lewis, Pat d'Ercole and Ed Sprunger. In Oakville, Bethany has performed annually with various orchestras and groups, including The Oakville Chamber Orchestra and Masterworks of Oakville, for the past two decades. She taught violin for the Burlington Suzuki Association from 2004-2009 and the Oakville Suzuki Association from 2008 onward. Bethany's students have won RCM Gold Awards, as well as many first and second places and scholarships in music festival competitions. She loves teaching and watching her students develop a love of music as well as the many personal skills and self-confidence they acquire when studying the violin.
Michelle has taught and performed in the Oakville and surrounding area for more than 30 years and has experience teaching all ages and levels of flute and theory. She has a YouTube channel to help theory students "Theory in a Nutshell" and has also started a Podcast "Hidden Gems in the History of Music". Michelle's music degree is in both Performance and Music History from Queen's University. She received her Suzuki training at the Great Lakes Suzuki Institute and is an RCM Certified teacher for all levels of Flute, Theory, Harmony and Music History. Michelle's students have won Gold Medals for RCM exams, competed in festivals at the Provincial level, won school music awards and have gone on to music at the post secondary level including Masters and PhD degrees in music. Michelle loves to share her passion for the flute and music and believes in fostering a supportive community in her studio. She believes that each child is unique and teaches with that in mind helping them to achieve excellence in their musical journey.
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Angela Sojung Lee is a dedicated flutist, educator, and performer with over 10 years of teaching experience. She holds a Master of Music in Performance and Literature from Western University and a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Queen's University. Angela has extensive teaching experience working with students of all ages and skill levels in both private and institutional settings. As a Flute Instructor and Supervisor at the CFLTC Music Training Centre, she provided structured instruction, mentorship, and performance guidance to developing musicians. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes strong technical foundations, musical artistry, discipline, and confidence-building within a supportive and engaging learning environment. As an active performer, her performance experience spans orchestral, chamber, wind ensemble, and ceremonial settings, including concerts, military events, and community performances. Angela is passionate about inspiring students to reach their full potential while cultivating a lifelong appreciation for music. She strives to create a positive learning environment where students can grow both technically and artistically.
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Stephanie began playing the violin at age 5, at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music, and piano at age 9. She quickly became involved in chamber music and, at age 10, she joined the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra playing with them for five years, the last year as concertmaster. She later played with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra. She completed her ARCT in violin performance and a Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto, where she studied with internationally renowned violin teacher Lorand Fenyves, professor emeritus. Since graduating, Stephanie has been teaching violin and piano, and has played with several orchestras in the GTA. She was co-concert master of the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra for 2 years, and is currently concert master for the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera Company orchestra. About five years ago, she took up the viola, and is now principal violist of the Rose Orchestra Brampton. Stephanie lives in Burlington with her husband Mike and children Jeffrey, Jordan, and Robyn.
This approach to music pedagogy is based on the belief that every child can learn to play an instrument when provided with proper encouragement and a nurturing environment. Suzuki believed that learning an instrument was akin to learning a language. Using this “Mother tongue” approach, whereby children learn to speak by listening to the language spoken to, and around them, students listen to their music as well as learn by ear to begin.
Listening to music is an essential part of the learning process as is parental involvement, practice and repetition, learning in small steps, review and group classes.
Group classes are important as they foster community, problem solving, cooperation, self esteem, ensemble playing, leadership skills and reinforce techniques learned in private lessons.
Jean Grieve has been the driving force behind the Suzuki method in Oakville for decades. Her warmth and dedication with students has inspired several generations of musicians.
Our Flute teacher, Michelle Coon, was able to sit down with Jean as she shared some memories and her thoughts on the Suzuki methodology. Here are some excerpts.
Perfectly well!
There is a sense out there that at some point it's time to "stop Suzuki and go to RCM," which is a misunderstanding of what each thing is. Suzuki is a methodology for teaching music and the RCM is a Certificate Program. They are not mutually exclusive.
Students can benefit from exams for various reasons. Some students only do one or two exams during their journey, others do more, and for some students exams are not helpful for them — it really depends on the student. RCM practical exams have several components including repertoire, etudes/studies, scales, ear training and sight reading.
From Level 5 RCM onwards, there is a Theory Rudiments co-requisite, and from Level 9 there are two co-requisites, Harmony and History. These co-requisites are necessary to obtain the official RCM Certificate. Students can receive external High School Credits through RCM exams — the RCM worked with the Provincial governments to secure this designation. Level 7 (practical and theory) equals a Grade 11 credit and Level 8 (practical and theory) equals a Grade 12 external credit. The Practical exam grade and Theory exam grade are weighted equally in the determination of the final grade.
Many pieces in the Suzuki Books are found in the RCM Syllabi.
Many pieces from the Suzuki repertoire also appear in the RCM syllabus. Here is the full cross-reference by RCM level and instrument.
| RCM Level | Cello | Flute | Piano | Violin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prep | Book 1French Folk Song, Go Tell Aunt Rhody, May Song, Lightly Row, O Come Little Children, Allegro |
Book 1#5 Lightly Row, #10 Long Long Ago |
Not yet compiled | Book 1Go Tell Aunt Rhody, May Song, O Come Little Children, Song of the Wind, Allegro (Suzuki) |
| 1 | Book 1Rigadoon, Happy Farmer, Minuet 2
Book 2Moon Over the Ruined Castle |
Book 1#15 Minuet (Petzold) |
Not yet compiled | Book 1Andantino, Minuet 1 (Bach), Allegretto, Happy Farmer, Allegretto |
| 2 | Book 2Long Long Ago, March in G, Minuet 1, Minuet 3, Musette, Gavotte, 2 Grenadiers |
Book 1#17 Bourree (Handel)
Book 2#1 Menuet (Gluck), #6 Theme (Beethoven) |
Not yet compiled | Book 1Minuet 2 (Bach), Minuet 3 (Petzold, attr. Bach), Musette (Bach)
Book 2Long Long Ago |
| 3 | Book 2Bourree, Witches Dance
Book 3Minuet (Petzold) |
Book 2#4 Minuet (Bach)
Book 4#3 Rondeau (Bach) |
Not yet compiled | Book 1Gavotte (Gossec)
Book 2Minuet in G Major, Gavotte (attr. Lully), Waltz, Two Grenadiers (Schumann), Witches Dance
Book 3Minuet, Gavotte (Becker), Gavotte (Martini) |
| 4 | Book 3Gavotte in c minor, Minuet (Boccherini), Gavotte (Marais, formerly attr. to Lully) |
Book 4#2 Siciliano (Bach) |
Not yet compiled | Book 2Minuet (Boccherini)
Book 3Gavotte in g minor, Humoresque (Dvořák) |
| 5 | Book 3Sonata No. 1 (Bach), Minuet in G (Beethoven), Scherzo |
Book 3#3 Serenade (Drigo), #4 Scherzando (Anderson) |
Not yet compiled | Book 3Bourree, Concerto #2 mvt. 3 (Seitz), Concerto #5 mvt. 1 or 3 (Seitz) |
| 6 | Book 4Concertino No. 2 (Bréval), Chanson Triste |
Book 3#3 Serenade (Woodall), #6 Serenade à Pierrette (Schulz)
Book 4#4 Sonata “La Vibray” (Blavet) |
Not yet compiled | Book 4Concerto in a minor mvt. 1 or 3 (Vivaldi), Perpetual Motion
Book 6Gavotte (Rameau), Sonata #3 F Major (Handel) |
| 7 | Book 5Concerto (Goltermann), Arioso (Bach)
Book 6Tarantella
Book 7Sicilienne (von Paradis) |
Book 3#2 Dance of the Blessed Spirits, incl. Bk. 2 #1 Minuet (Gluck) |
Not yet compiled | Book 5Concerto in g minor mvt. 1 (Vivaldi)
Book 6La Folia, Allegro (Fiocco)
Book 8Sonata in g minor (Eccles) |
| 8 | Book 6Concerto in G (Bréval), Concerto in D (Vivaldi)
Book 7Sonata in g minor (Eccles) |
Book 5#4 Allegretto (Godard) |
Not yet compiled | Book 6Sonata #4 D Major (Handel)
Book 7Concerto in a minor mvt. 1 (Bach), Sonata #1 A Major mvts. 1, 2 and 4 (Handel) |
| 9 | Book 7Gavotte in D (Popper)
Book 8Sonata in G (Berteau), Élégie (Fauré), Allegro Appassionato (Saint-Saëns) |
Book 5 / 6Suite in b minor, #1 and #2 (Bach)
Book 7#1 Carnival of Venice (Genin)
Book 8#2 Fantaisie (Fauré)
Book 10#2 Concertino (Chaminade) |
Not yet compiled | Book 8Sonata in e minor mvts. 1 and 2 (Veracini) |
| 10 | Book 8Scherzo (Goens)
Book 9Concerto in C (Haydn) |
Book 7#3 Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy Op. 26 (Doppler)
Book 8#1 Concerto in G Major (Quantz) |
Not yet compiled | N/A |
| ARCT | N/A | Book 9Concerto in D Major (Mozart)
Book 11Concerto in G Major (Mozart) |
Not yet compiled | Book 9Concerto #5 A Major (Mozart)
Book 10Concerto #4 D Major (Mozart) |
Note: at Level 3, the source syllabus lists the violin piece as "Book 1: Gavotte (Gossec)" — it appears in Book 3 in most current Suzuki Violin editions; families should confirm the specific edition with their teacher. Piano cross-references have not yet been compiled and will be added once available.
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An up-to-date calendar of recitals, concerts, group class dates, and special events.
All our students are amazing! As they develop and progress, they will often find themselves receiving awards from schools, music festivals, competitions and more.
Questions about lessons, schedules, or getting started? Reach out any time.