Hill City Studio

Who is the teacher?

Susi Forshey has been a lifelong student of the Suzuki method. Beginning at age 4, she took piano lessons from Suzuki instructors all the way through high school and into her college years. She started her own private studio as a home business when she was just 13 years old in Halifax County, Virginia—beginning with a few neighbor children.

Portrait of Susi Forshey smiling, wearing a floral scarf. Its growth and success inspired her to receive official teacher training from the Suzuki Association’s teacher trainers. She was lucky enough to apprentice for a few summers in the studio of Gretchen Smith of Greenville, NC. Gretchen is a master teacher-trainer, a Matsumoto graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan, and has taught Suzuki method in the US since its introduction to our country in the early 1980’s. Susi completed training with Gretchen in 2002 and is registered with the Suzuki Association of the Americas through level 4. She has continued to pursue educational workshops and master classes with the SAA and Matsumoto graduates, earning a “Suzuki Principles in Action” certification in Tacoma, WA in 2013. She has also added training in Michiko Yurko’s Music Mind Games and Kodály instruction to her repertoire to help enrich her studio environment through singing, music games, and group classes.

After spending a decade on the West Coast where she taught piano at “Suzuki Olympia”, Susi returned to the Lynchburg area in 2016 and opened her home studio in Sandusky, where she has taught ever since. She offers classes to students of all ages in Lynchburg, including one-on-one piano instruction, Kodály-style group singing and music exploration/enrichment classes, voice lessons for children, recitals, and group music sessions throughout the year. Her four children all grew up at the piano, along with other instruments—solos, duets, playing by ear, improvisation, performing in recitals, playing for the elderly, and singing.

Video transcript 

[Susi Forshey, welcoming families to the recital:] Well, we’re going to begin. Welcome, everyone! There’s one student that we’re still missing, but if she shows up, we’ll add her to the end. Thank you, thank you! Your children have worked hard this year—every one of them. I’m amazed. I just told one of my kids yesterday that my beginner group class has emptied. They’re all in the intermediate-to-book-two, now. So, that’s so encouraging! And also the work, as you know, is thanks to the parents, who are at home, making them practice.

I want to give you a couple little details. After we’re all finished there are refreshments that you all have provided (thank you). If you would please keep them out of the sanctuary (the big room) that would be great. Hopefully I’ve set enough chairs out there, but if you need to you can drag a chair and have a seat in the foyer, if you would. Each student will play two pieces. And when they’re finished, they don’t necessarily need to return to their seats. If they need to come see their parent, that’s fine. Okay? So without further ado, we’re going to skip over Miss Anya, (because she’s not here today) and Grace is going to start. Come on up, Grace!

[The remainder of the video is the students each performing two piano pieces for the audience.]