The 34^th American Suzuki Talent Education end-of-the-year concert at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 22, at Stevens Point Area Senior High School, will honor longtime Suzuki program assistant Barbara Ziebell, who will retire this fall from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The concert will include 275 students from 26 Central Wisconsin communities. They were prepared by faculty members Dave Becker, Patricia D�Ercole, Kyoko Fuller, Mary Hofer, Lawrence Leviton, Dee Martz, Ann Marie Novak and Tom Yang.

The program will begin with works performed by the Central State Chamber Orchestra, a group of select high school string players who must audition to gain membership. The concert will continue with piano four hand pieces, then group performances by singers, a violist, cellist and violinist. The program will conclude with all of the groups combined performing a number of traditional Suzuki method pieces. The "Suzuki Theme Song," Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, will be led by Professor Emeritus Margery V. Aber, founder of the UWSP program.

During her 24-year career with Suzuki, Ziebell has interacted with thousands of musicians from around the world. She says the best part of her job was organizing the annual American Suzuki Summer Institute, a series of annual workshops that draw as many as 4,000 students and their families from throughout the world to UWSP. In 1997 she was presented the Suzuki Chair Award, an honor which Ziebell describes as one of the highlights of her career. She was recognized for working "hard, fast and accurately while remaining cheerful and focused under the most stressful circumstances," according to Suzuki Director Dee Martz.

"It�s been exciting to watch the students grow musically and physically," Ziebell says. "It�s fun to meet the families outside the Suzuki House environment and have the young people recognize you." One young student thought Ziebell lived at the office since the Suzuki program is located in the old home economics management house adjacent to campus.

Among Ziebell�s other accomplishments was her election as the first female member of the Rudolph Village Board.

Upon her retirement she plans to travel, visit her grandchildren and continue to do volunteer work in the community.

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