Meet Our Team
Mary Cay Neal
Founder and Music Director
Naples Suzuki Strings
Mary Cay Neal is the founder and co-executive Director of Buffalo Suzuki Strings, a 55-year-old comprehensive Suzuki program in Buffalo, New York. Mary Cay, a violinist studied directly with Dr. Suzuki on many occasions between 1969 and 1991 learning his philosophy and method for teaching music to children of all ages. She is a pioneer in bringing the Suzuki method to the United States.
Mary Cay is a SAA registered teacher trainer and master teacher of violin and has served on the SAA board of directors. Since 1972 Mary Cay has taught at many Suzuki Institutes both nationally and internationally and has been an invited clinician and speaker at international Suzuki conferences. Several of Mary Cay’s former students are professional violinists in national and international orchestras and Suzuki violin teachers.
“I was introduced to the Suzuki Method of teaching the violin when I was in college in the 1960s. Although Dr. Suzuki’s ideas were already well established in Japan, they were very new here at the time and highly innovative. I was captivated by his ideas as well as his ideals.
“What Dr. Suzuki did for me, personally, was to help me translate my convictions into a vital pedagogical method. He made me see that all children have musical potential and that it is the teacher’s primary function to help them develop it. Through Dr. Suzuki I came to understand that the challenge was going to come from teaching all children and not just the gifted few.
“Dr. Suzuki taught us how to treat children with sensitivity; how to respect them and how to draw out their innate ability. He showed us how to talk to kids at their own level so that we can instruct them without being patronizing. Perhaps most important, he persuaded us that for student and teacher alike being happy with your music is synonymous with being successful.”
For the past 12 years, Mary Cay has resided six months of each year in Naples, close by her son Patrick and daughter-in-law Ann Marie, both of whom are violinists in the Naples Philharmonic, and grandsons Alessio and Giancarlo. During this time she recognized that a comprehensive Suzuki program would bring joy and value to the area. She, along with the help of her friend and colleague, Ginger Collier, decided to establish Naples Suzuki Strings, as a gift to the Naples community.
Mary Cay is a SAA registered teacher trainer and master teacher of violin and has served on the SAA board of directors. Since 1972 Mary Cay has taught at many Suzuki Institutes both nationally and internationally and has been an invited clinician and speaker at international Suzuki conferences. Several of Mary Cay’s former students are professional violinists in national and international orchestras and Suzuki violin teachers.
“I was introduced to the Suzuki Method of teaching the violin when I was in college in the 1960s. Although Dr. Suzuki’s ideas were already well established in Japan, they were very new here at the time and highly innovative. I was captivated by his ideas as well as his ideals.
“What Dr. Suzuki did for me, personally, was to help me translate my convictions into a vital pedagogical method. He made me see that all children have musical potential and that it is the teacher’s primary function to help them develop it. Through Dr. Suzuki I came to understand that the challenge was going to come from teaching all children and not just the gifted few.
“Dr. Suzuki taught us how to treat children with sensitivity; how to respect them and how to draw out their innate ability. He showed us how to talk to kids at their own level so that we can instruct them without being patronizing. Perhaps most important, he persuaded us that for student and teacher alike being happy with your music is synonymous with being successful.”
For the past 12 years, Mary Cay has resided six months of each year in Naples, close by her son Patrick and daughter-in-law Ann Marie, both of whom are violinists in the Naples Philharmonic, and grandsons Alessio and Giancarlo. During this time she recognized that a comprehensive Suzuki program would bring joy and value to the area. She, along with the help of her friend and colleague, Ginger Collier, decided to establish Naples Suzuki Strings, as a gift to the Naples community.
Ginger Collier
Administrative Director
Naples Suzuki Strings
Virginia (Ginger) Collier, spent her early years in New Jersey. After college, she followed her dreams and enjoyed years of teaching in public and private elementary schools, founding three preschools, and raising her two daughters. Ginger had the opportunity during those years to live in several states from California to New Hampshire. By the time her daughters had graduated from college, and she became an empty nester, it was clear to her that the Montessori Philosophy was calling to her. She moved to Massachusetts, completed her Montessori training and certification and founded The Sandwich Montessori School.
She discovered the Suzuki Philosophy and its method of teaching music during her tenure in Sandwich - thanks to her four-year-old granddaughter and her interest in playing the violin. Not only did Ginger embrace the young child’s passion to learn, but she also decided to add Suzuki Violin Lessons to the curriculum at Sandwich Montessori School. She realized Maria Montessori and Shinichi Suzuki would have been great friends, as their philosophies are very compatible.
Ginger transferred the school to new administration after many years in Sandwich and moved to Southwest Florida. She was fortunate to join the faculty of Montessori Academy of Naples (MAN). Several years ago, MAN secured a grant to begin a Suzuki Violin Program. Covid suspended that program, but in 2024, Ginger joined Mary Cay Neal, founder of Buffalo Suzuki Strings, in establishing a Suzuki Violin Program in Naples, Florida. She now oversees Naples Suzuki Strings, which is housed in the beautiful, welcoming campus of the Montessori Academy of Naples.
She discovered the Suzuki Philosophy and its method of teaching music during her tenure in Sandwich - thanks to her four-year-old granddaughter and her interest in playing the violin. Not only did Ginger embrace the young child’s passion to learn, but she also decided to add Suzuki Violin Lessons to the curriculum at Sandwich Montessori School. She realized Maria Montessori and Shinichi Suzuki would have been great friends, as their philosophies are very compatible.
Ginger transferred the school to new administration after many years in Sandwich and moved to Southwest Florida. She was fortunate to join the faculty of Montessori Academy of Naples (MAN). Several years ago, MAN secured a grant to begin a Suzuki Violin Program. Covid suspended that program, but in 2024, Ginger joined Mary Cay Neal, founder of Buffalo Suzuki Strings, in establishing a Suzuki Violin Program in Naples, Florida. She now oversees Naples Suzuki Strings, which is housed in the beautiful, welcoming campus of the Montessori Academy of Naples.
Lisa Hallinan
Suzuki Violin Instructor
Naples Suzuki Strings
Lisa Hallinan, is a native of Naples, Florida. She grew up studying violin with Erik Berg, a former violinist in the Naples Philharmonic. Lisa has also been heavily involved with the Naples Philharmonic Youth Symphonia and Youth Orchestra all throughout high school, eventually earning concertmaster position her senior year. In 2021, she was selected as co-concertmaster in the Collier County Honors Orchestra. Lisa is currently pursuing a degree in Music Education at Florida Gulf Coast University studying violin under Ming Gao, associate concertmaster of the Naples Philharmonic. Switching between concertmaster, co-concertmaster and principal second violin, it will be her third year in the Bower Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dr. Kyle Szabo. In 2022 Lisa traveled to Salzburg, Austria led by Dr. Ronald Doiron to perform works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Smetana at Salzburg College. Lisa also has had orchestral experience outside of FGCU, continuing her second season in the Florida Philharmonic and playing in the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2023. This summer of 2024, Lisa just completed an intensive Suzuki method violin teacher training course at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. During her time there, she focused on all the aspects behind Suzuki's philosophy and method, an extensive overview of all the songs in Book 1, as well as setting up a strong foundation for young students in the beginning stages of learning the violin. From Pre-Twinkle and beyond, Lisa is thrilled to pass on Suzuki's vision and passion for music to a growing community in the SWFL area.