Nicknamed “Mozart’s Mother” by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki in 1984, Alice Kay Kanack has spent 40 years researching, teaching, and writing about how the creative process works in the brain. She has published multiple books in her Creative Ability Development (CAD) Method, which includes her latest works: Improvising String Quartets, Basslines & Fantasies, and Playing From the Heart, available at Creative Ability Development Press. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Kanack School of Musical Artistry and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Creative Ability Development.

As the founder of the CAD movement, she has been a frequent presenter at the Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference, the American String Teachers Association National Conference, as well as making appearances at the Suzuki Association of Ontario in Canada. She has presented at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in Finland and Columbia University, demonstrating her methods through live performances and workshops. Professor Steven Doane of the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Academy of London writes, “Alice Kanack is an educator of true originality and inspiration, who has been at the forefront of the movement to encourage creativity through musical improvisation in young musicians. At her music school and through her training programs she encourages students of all ages to include improvisation skills in daily practice, as an organic part of one’s musical development. I’m inspired by her continuing exploration of the pedagogical potential of this movement.”

She currently lives in Rochester, NY with her two children, Daphne and Alexander.

Photo by Ken Tryon