ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Music (SLM) announces that it is now the exclusive distributor of the Nagoya Suzuki violin line in North, Central, and South America. Effective immediately, all sales of the Japanese string instruments throughout the Americas will be arranged through St. Louis Music.
“It was just last year when we secured the honor of distributing these fine instruments in the U.S., so we are pleased to be further trusted to bring them to more players throughout the western hemisphere,” says SLM VP Jim Eaton. “Key is our ability to invest in inventory, and we have already made a substantial commitment in stocking Nagoya Suzuki products here in our St. Louis warehouse.” He adds that the central shipping location, advanced logistics capabilities, and the experience of the SLM management, sales staff, and the shop personnel influenced the decision.
“Our efforts to promote the world-renowned Suzuki string instruments is a major priority of St. Louis Music,” Eaton continues. “The quality and the name are well known to educators everywhere, and we’re pleased to do business with old friends.” (Both Eaton and SLM’s CEO Mark Ragin worked with members of the Suzuki team during various times of their careers, including when they were in retail.)
For more information on placing an order or becoming a Suzuki Violin dealer, please email [email protected] or call 1-800-727-4512.
St. Louis Music is a division of U.S. Band and Orchestra Supplies Inc. and the corporate owner of Knilling® Stringed Instruments, Perfection® Pegs, Austin Guitars, and Zonda Reeds. SLM is the exclusive international distributor of Alvarez Guitars and the exclusive North American distributor for P.Mauriat Brass and Woodwind Instruments, as well as Suzuki Violins and Alvarez-Yairi Guitars.
Suzuki Violin History
Masakichi Suzuki was born in 1859 in Nagoya, Japan. At age 14 he had worked in a lacquer-ware shop and later began his studies to become an elementary school music teacher. He started making violins and by 1888 he had hired several assistants to help in making instruments. Soon orders for violins came in one after the other. It was durin
g this time that he created the first fractional-sized violins.
In 1914 a severe earthquake in Europe, coupled with World War I, prompted a huge increase in orders for Suzuki violins from Japan. The high quality of Japanese workmanship was quickly discovered by the world. Suzuki’s workforce rapidly increased to over 1,000 employees. In 1930 the Suzuki Violin Manufacturing Corporation became a publicly traded company. Suzuki was president, a son-in-law was the administrative assistant, and his son, Umeo, became the managing director.
Shinichi Suzuki, one of 12 children of Masakichi Suzuki, was born in 1898 and would develop the famous Suzuki Method, which strongly incorporates listening skills. It is one of the most popular methods of learning the violin, and thousands of children around the world use it. Educational violins, for which the company enjoys the top market share, are the first violins that beginners take in their hands. There are seven fractional sizes available for the violin, two fractional sizes for the viola, and six fractional instrument choices for the cello.
The company does not cut corners on quality because it knows how important this is for young people. A violin that gives the joy of producing beautiful sounds without spoiling its original function is what people need when they are beginning to play music. It is the expert technology Suzuki has developed and handed down through generations of craftsmen that allows it to manufacture easy-to-play, quality educational violins today. From start to finish, the Nagoya Suzuki is the most dependable and well-suited instrument for the progressing student.
The people at SLM have a rich history with the Nagoya Suzuki company as well. “My personal experience with Nagoya Suzuki goes back to 1968 in education, 1979 in retail, and 1981 in wholesale,” says Eaton. “Mark [Ragin] was selling Nagoya Suzuki at retail probably since 1975. [President] Stan Morgan managed Nagoya Suzuki at SLM for five years when he managed the string division.”
