Suzanne Stevens

Suzanne Stevens

When did you start playing your instrument?

Instrument

A late bloomer, I started on viola, my first string instrument, when I was 15 years old. Dr. Herman Giersch, of Lower Merion School District fame, found me an instrument, and stuck me in the back of the orchestra after 2 lessons.

Viola

What do you do when you’re not playing in the LSO?

I am currently retired after 25 years of teaching for the School District of Philadelphia as a special education, resource room teacher. I now try to stay connected to family members who live all over the country.

When, or how, did you come to join the orchestra?

As an empty nester, I was talking to Wendy Schmidt about orchestras to consider, and she convinced me to try LSO.

Do you play in any other musical groups?

Since college days I have loved to play string quartets and other chamber music. Currently, my most regular group is all from the Landsdowne Symphony, so we began to to call ourselves the Landsdowne Ladies” Farmers Market String Quartet or L2 FMSQ. Guess where we perform every year?

Do you come from a musical family?

Yes ,but with one exception we are and were amateurs. The sounds of practicing and habit of playing and singing for and with each other are part of earliest memories, and happily continued as Allen Prebus and I raised our daughter.

Does the instrument you play on have a story?

My current instrument was made by Hiroshi Iizuka, when he lived in Narberth. I tried one of his violas about 15 years ago and fell in love with it. When driving past his house, one could see violas curing in the sunshine in all the windows, or hanging on a clothes line in the garden. Three years ago, my dream of having my own Iizuka viola came true. I find the viola d’amore shape allows ease of shifting and a rich sound for a small viola.