Our Mission Statement
Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia is committed to providing quality music instruction in a positive and nurturing environment, following the concepts and pedagogy of Shinichi Suzuki, violinist and teacher. STEA aspires to bring the highest quality instruction to its students and to make its programs available, whenever feasible, to a wider segment of the community, including the handicapped and the economically disadvantaged through grants and scholarship programs.
The History of STEA
Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia was founded in 1967 as part of the Kingsport Symphony Association. Because of the success of this original program, the Kingsport Suzuki Association was created in 1980. Since 1980, the Suzuki program has expanded to include students in 15 different cities in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Due to this expansion, the Board of Directors voted in 1990 to change the name of the organization to Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia (STEA) to better reflect the region it serves.