UT began a program of applying the methods of Japanese teacher Shinichi Suzuki in teaching children to play the violin in 1964, six months after Suzuki introduced his teaching program in the United States. Professor William Starr, of the UT Music Department initiated the program and in 1971 took a group of his Suzuki students on their first concert tour abroad. The touring group of 15, ranging in age from 6 to 15, gave 19 concerts in Venezuela on their 10-day tour.