Half Notes

The Cal State Northridge Suzuki String Program will offer performances at the university’s Recital Hall on Sunday afternoon. Music of the great composers will be presented in a series of violin, viola and cello solos . . . played by preschoolers.

“We’ve got some as young as 4 1/2 and 5 that are already playing Bach,” said Lowell Crystal, who teaches many of the performers. “They dress up. We present them in a concert atmosphere. I mean, they look like little artists.”

The Suzuki program teaches string instruments to students from age 3 to 15, bringing an early taste of classical performance to young musicians, some of whom aren’t much taller than their bows. There are 50 or so youths enrolled in the CSUN Suzuki program, and all of them will grab a few minutes in the spotlight Sunday.

“We’ll put the kids up on stage, and they’ll play,” said Kathleen Goodkin-Ramelot, the program’s director. “They’ll play concertos ranging from one minute to six or seven minutes.”

The recital is open to the public but, normally, parents are the only people who show up at these performances. Perhaps for good reason--although some of the teen-age performers are somewhat accomplished, the tiny children, despite weeks of rehearsal, have yet to master the tone and expression of their instrument.

“People, if they do come, have to realize that these students do not play perfectly,” Goodkin-Ramelot said. “They are in the learning process.”

Perhaps enjoyment can be gleaned from other aspects of the performance.

“We’ve had parents come out to see it, and it blows their minds that these really little kids are playing violin well,” Crystal said.

“It’s inspiring,” Goodkin-Ramelot said. “People come up to me afterward and say, ‘It’s so wonderful to see children doing this.’ ”

Still, the director offers one more caution for those considering attendance: There might not be enough cookies and punch at the refreshment table for everyone.