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In the heart of downtown, teachers, students, parents and music lovers gathered in Heritage Square as the sound of violins filled the air, bringing Flagstaff together to celebrate the young, talented musicians of Marshall Magnet Elementary School.

The cement steps of Heritage Square were filled Thursday, May 8, with a total of 170 kindergarten, first and second grade students, creating a sea of Marshall-blue T-shirts. The 45-minute performance took the crowd through a brilliant showcase of the musical skills students have worked all year long to develop.

Janelle Reasor, principal of Marshall Magnet Elementary School, has been a part of the violin program for 18 years after starting as a parent volunteer, and she has been proud of how much the program and performances have evolved over the years.

Going into her eighth year now as principal, Reasor said she feels fortunate to have the support of the community to keep such a beloved tradition alive.

“There’s something to be said about tradition, right?� Reasor said. “To keep something going for 25 years and to take over Heritage Square like this? I mean we’re so fortunate to get the support of the community to showcase this right in the heart of it.�

As a K-5 Title 1 arts and science magnet school and in preparation of this event, Marshall Magnet proudly provides two 30-minute Suzuki violin lessons each week during the school day for all K-2 students. Each student is assigned their own violin to practice with for the year at little to no cost, making it affordable for all families.

This is Marshall Magnet's 25th year since becoming a magnet school, meaning its curriculum emphasizes the integration of the arts and science specifically in order to promote the social and academic development of its students through diverse educational pathways.

The violin program is one of 15 unique extracurriculars Marshall Magnet offers.

With the partnership of Karin Hallberg, the school has been able to facilitate young violinists and also teach students something new through an applied pedagogy.

Hallberg has been with the magnet school since 2001 and is a coordinator, instructor and grant writer for the Suzuki String Program. She holds a master’s degree with an emphasis in Suzuki Pedagogy, a master’s degree in counseling and human relations, and a doctorate in educational psychology. Her research has focused on the impact of early instrumental musical instruction on working memory in kindergarten children.

“Suzuki is a way of teaching the violin that is similar to how people learn a language,� Hallberg said. “Children learn their language and words through hearing before they learn to read, and so the same thing is here.�

The Suzuki method is a musical education approach reasoning that most people can learn to play an instrument based on language-learning frameworks.

Students demonstrated the effectiveness of this method throughout the performance. The young violinists were doing a lot of stopping and listening, waiting for their moment to play alongside their classmates. They were intentional and swift with their movements.

They were also engaging in refining their fine motor skills, as playing the violin requires multitasking and precision.

Through the Suzuki method, Hallberg said, she has seen a significant difference in students� coordination and attention span.

“I had a statistically significant change in attention -- what they call controlled attention,� Hallberg said. “It doesn’t mean steering and only attending [focus]. It means shifting your focus from one thing to another and coming back. The kids, after 15 hours of Suzuki, all improved in that.�

Ultimately, students were able to effectively overcome interference from distractions that might more or less divert their attention from the cognitive task and stay focused on the performance because of the Suzuki Method.

Hallberg wanted to get involved with Suzuki musical education because children are the future. She said research shows during these formative years of their education that it's important to encourage their self-esteem and to push them to take risks even if they make mistakes.

After 25 years, Hallberg will never get tired of the annual Suzuki violin performance -- what she calls, pure joy.

The school is now opening its violin program to third, fourth and fifth graders to expand the program. According to Reasor, though the school has faced challenges after the pandemic, such as funding and finding faculty, it is proud of how much its been able to do over the years.

“We are so proud of how we’ve expanded [the Suzuki violin program] and keep it going despite COVID-19,� Reasor said. “It’s been a beautiful program.�

Both Reasor and Hallberg are already looking forward to next year’s performance, as the school is planning to construct a space designated for performing. This will allow for all grade-level performances.

For now, they are both proud of this longtime tradition promoting their students' skills in both music and cognitive development.