The Late Idell Low

Idelll Low passed away on January 17, 2016 at the age of 90, still actively involved in the Suzuki Music Program of Los Angeles.

Idell Low's Suzuki training began in 1966 when she attended the first Suzuki Teacher Training Workshop in San Francisco taught by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. She also traveled to Japan for further studies with Dr. Suzuki. In addition to studying with Dr. Suzuki, Mrs. Low worked with other prominent Suzuki teachers such as John Kendall, William Starr, and Elizabeth Mills.

Idell Low was a pioneer in the training of students and teachers in the Suzuki Method™ throughout Southern California.  Idell founded the Suzuki Music Program of Los Angeles with Elizabeth Mills in 1974 and was its Director for almost 40 years, serving as Director Emeritus beginning in 2013. She initially taught in Pasadena, and then later in Sherman Oaks until her passing in January, 2016.

She helped create and was the first President of the Suzuki Music Association of California, and was on the Board of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She continued to serve on the board until her passing. 

As a visionary, Idell was the spark behind many SMAC/LA sponsored events such as the Suzuki Violin/Viola Graduation; the Showcase Concerts which featured Suzuki student soloists accompanied by an orchestra; the Suzuki Festival Concert which brought together Suzuki flute, violin, viola, cello, and piano students in a celebratory concert; the annual Suzuki Violin Teacher Workshop where local teachers may glean from and be inspired by the expertise of guest Suzuki Teacher Trainers from the USA as well as Japan. Her enthusiasm and energy for all things Suzuki were unbounded!
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Idell was a certified SAA Suzuki Teacher Trainer, and taught at many Suzuki Conferences and Institutes in the United States and Europe. 

Legacy
Many of her former students currently perform professionally with groups such as the New York Philharmonic, the Pacifica String Quartet, the Honolulu Symphony, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  One of her former students is Leila Josefowicz, world-renowned violin virtuoso. 

Literally thousands of students all over the country can trace their musical “ancestry” back to Idell personally, and to SMAC and SMPLA. In addition, two of her children, Dafna and David, are professional musicians (violin and cello, respectively), while her son Daniel, also a violinist, is a physicist, working at UCLA in radiology and oncology.

In 2013, when Idell became Director Emeritus of SMPLA, she didn’t just sit back and rest on her laurels. She was very involved with advanced students, and helped a group of them form the “Paganini Players.” She also continued to teach several students privately.
She loved music, she loved children, she loved her family, and she loved teaching!  Her resilient spirit, determination and grit helped form a strong foundation from which sprang many fine musicians, and many wonderful human beings influenced by the Suzuki philosophy. 
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We are very pleased and grateful to honor her, and we warmly acknowledge the gift of music that she brought to the world. Idell will be sorely missed but her legacy will go on. Every time you hear Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, you can think of Idell Low….

Her Life
Idell was born on December 5, 1925 in Chicago. She had a twin sister who passed away when she was very young. As a youth, she attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she received her bachelor's degree in music.  
Her early professional positions were with North Carolina Symphony, Columbus Ohio Symphony, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra.
She married and then traveled to Israel with her husband, living there for nine years. This is where her three children were born – Daniel, David, and Dafna. While in Israel, she played with the Jerusalem Radio Orchestra. She eventually moved to California with her family.