About
Dr. Colleen Snyder
and the Sierra School of Music
Dr. Snyder is a graduate of Stanford University and has been a music educator for 60 years. She has taught all ages from pre-school to adult. She is also a professional performer on piano, violin, viola, and saxophone/clarinet and performs regularly in several bands and orchestras. She is frequently asked to be a professional adjudicator for music festivals and competitions.
Teaching music is her greatest passion and she regularly attends workshops and conferences to continue to hone her teaching skills and keep abreast of new developments and publications.
She is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has participated in many teacher training classes with many different SSA instructors, including John Kendall, June Itami, Allen Lieb, Cathy Lee, Tim Durbin, Charles Krigbaum and others.
Trained in the line that brought Suzuki to America
John Kendall, named above, is the teacher who introduced the Suzuki approach to the United States. He traveled to Japan in 1959 to study it at the source, published the first English edition of the method books, and built the first college program for Suzuki teachers at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Training in that line is a direct connection to how the method arrived in this country.
Read about the Suzuki approachAbout the studio
A small studio, run by one teacher.
Sierra School of Music is a private teaching studio in Smyrna, GA. Dr. Snyder teaches every student herself, so a child who starts at four is still working with the same teacher at fourteen.
Students know one another. They play in group sessions, perform on the same programs, and get out of the practice room together now and then. For a child who might otherwise practice alone, that is often what keeps them going.
What is taught here
Piano and Strings
- PianoAge 2 through adult
- ViolinAge 2 through adult
- ViolaAge 2 through adult
- CelloAge 2 through adult
- String bassAge 2 through adult
Also taught
- ClarinetBeginner through advanced
- SaxophoneBeginner through advanced
How the year runs
35 private lessons across the August through June season, with group sessions two or three times a month. Students perform 3 times a year at recitals, and again in December on the Christmas tour.
Beginning young, and beginning late
Suzuki string students can start at two, with a parent in the room learning alongside them. Beginners are welcome at any age adult beginners are more common here than most people expect.
Instruments
Children move up a size every year or two, so families usualy rent rather than buy. The studio keeps a limited selection of string instruments for rent, in the sizes children need, so in most cases you can rent one here. If a family wishes to buy an insturment, Dr. Snyder will make an appropriate recomendation.
Events
Students participate in multiple performances and events throughout the year as well as some group trips.
The studio's History
38 years in California before moving to Smyrna
Sierra School of Music spent 38 years in California's Central Valley, where Dr. Snyder taught generations of families, directed four ensembles at Reedley College, and conducted the Kings Symphony Orchestra.
In 2026 she moved to Smyrna to be near her new grandchild and she brought everything except the old address: the same Suzuki approach, the same curriculum, and the same teaching methods.
Give us a Call
Dr. Snyder would be glad to hear from you.
Smyrna, GA, and welcoming families from Vinings, Mableton, Marietta and Austell.