Nov reminders

Hello everyone!  Thanksgiving is soon upon us!  November is flying by!  Soon we'll be decking the halls and drinking gallons of hot chocolate (if we haven't already haha)...

Wanted to let you know that even though next week is a make-up week for most students (aka no lessons), there WILL be performance class NEXT Saturday, Nov 26 @ Steinway from 10:30 - 11:30 am.  Students are encouraged to come to either this class or the dress rehearsal on Tuesday, Dec 6 from 4-5 pm (or both!) in preparation for the upcoming recital.  Students should plan to play their recital pieces for these last two classes.  Final decisions for recital rep should be made no later than Wed, Nov 23.  We'll also review our understanding of the Baroque and Classical eras and talk about the Romantic some as time allows during these final classes.

Please don't hesitate to encourage your student to play their recital pieces for family and friends as much as possible over the Thanksgiving holiday... a good way to ward off that pesky turkey coma, I always say :)

Thanks so much!  See you in lesson.

Spring 2012 Schedule

What a planning nightmare this next spring is proving to be!  There are a couple of new things this semester that we’re going to try as a studio, but rest assured, we won’t go crazy.  For one thing, spring is my busiest time of year, with competitions and festivals for the choirs I accompany, Lent, Easter, and then Graduation.  Once February 1 hits, there’s no rest for me until June.

A couple of things to warn you about:

-         Steinway Gallery is really, really, really booked up this spring.  I tried so, so hard to get performance class times that were conducive to family schedules but some of them are just downright inconvenient.  We could maybe go back to the choir room at Central Pres but I would have to work something out with the music director… I kind of feel like I owe him something (like singing in the choir) for allowing us to use the space and quite frankly, I really don’t have the time to commit to that this spring.

-         We are going to do a festival.  We’re going to just try it and see how it goes.  The National Federation of Music Clubs has a really good group of teachers here in St. Louis that my teaching mentor has ushered me into.  I think it would be really good for the kids to have this experience.  If you aren’t familiar with Federation, you can think of it as a competition, but it’s really not.  The kids only “compete” against their own merits and since we’re starting out with a clean slate, they have nowhere to go but up.  Plus, they get the experience of preparing and memorizing pieces, playing them for a judge, and getting feedback from someone else.  It’s scary enough to make them work hard but nothing they can’t handle without proper coaching and a little encouragement.  They’ll be working on pieces that are right at their level, but taking it to the next step by memorizing them and playing for someone else.  All of the teachers in the Federation group want the kids to succeed and want it to be a positive experience for them.  Believe me when I say I will do everything I can to make sure my students are adequately prepared and that the entire experience is as successful as humanly possible.

-         We’re going to go to the Symphony.  I want to attempt this at least once or twice.  The St. Louis Symphony has an awesome palette of concerts on the docket this spring.  It would be good for the kids to have the experience of going at least once, especially if they’ve never been before.  My undergraduate advisor always used to say that music doesn’t exist in a vacuum and neither do we.  So it’s important to get out of the living room and experience it in a live setting, especially when you get to see it done by the pros.

-         And last but not least, I want us to do a little reading.  There’s a book I read during my undergrad that was phenomenal (“The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle).  It completely changed my life as well as my philosophy of teaching…  so much so that I think it’s worth being read and discussed by the studio parents at some point this semester.  I think you can pick up the hardcover on Amazon for about $15.  And there’s always the library.

Studio Semester Schedule / Logistics / Overview

-         Semester runs from January 9 – May 18, 2012

-         19 weeks total, instead of 18 like Fall 2011

-         16 weeks of lessons, 2 make-ups, and a Plus 1 Week (aka a free lesson or a free make-up week… you decide which one you need more)

-         Tuition is the same as last semester, either up front or divided into five installments, due at the first lesson of each month.  Federation participation will be an additional $23 per solo entry.

-         Make-up weeks are March 5-9 (I go on tour with Lutheran High Mar 8-11) and May 14-18 (week after Recital), and Plus 1 week is April 2-6 (Holy Week)

-         Federation participants need to come to TWO performance classes before March 4; All other students are expected to come to THREE performance classes before the recital.  Students who participate in both Federation and the Recital are encouraged to come to FOUR performance classes throughout the semester (two before Federation and two before Recital).  Although not an absolute requirement for participation in both, it is strongly encouraged.

Performance Class / Recital Schedule

-         Performance Class:  Sat, Feb 4 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm @ Steinway Gallery

-         Performance Class:  Sat, Feb 25 from 6:30 – 7:30 pm @ Steinway Gallery

-         Performance Class:  Sat, March 3 from 10:30 – 11:30 am @ Steinway Gallery

-         St. Louis Area National Federation of Music Clubs Festival:  Sun, March 4, Time TBA (afternoon) @ St. Charles Community College

-         Performance Class:  Sun, April 1 from 3 – 4 pm @ Steinway Gallery

-         Performance Class:  Friday, April 20 from 5 – 6 pm @ Steinway Gallery

-         Performance Class:  Friday, May 4 from 5 – 6 pm @ Steinway Gallery

-         Recital:  Saturday, May 12, 9:30 am @ Steinway Gallery

… seriously, I’m so sorry.  I was on the phone with the administrative assistant for a long time trying to figure it all out.  I think other teachers must’ve booked the hall a year ago.

St. Louis Symphony Concert Dates

-         Mozart’s Magic Flute [Family Concert]:  Sunday, January 15 at 3 pm

-         Leon Fleischer plays Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand Alone:  Sunday, April 15 at 3 pm

-         Beethoven Symphony No. 5 / Stephen Hough plays Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3:  Sunday, May 6 at 3 pm

All concerts are at Powell Hall.  The Mozart is a family concert (tickets will be much cheaper, roughly $7-15) as opposed to the others, which are part of their regular concert season (approx $20/ticket or $10 with valid student ID, each ID able to purchase up to 4 tickets).  There are a number of other fantastic concerts I am unable to attend, which you might want to look into as well on your own, like the 5 Browns… five pianos on stage.  I encourage you to check out the schedule on their website:  www.slso.org.

Book Discussion:  Date and Time TBA.  We can talk more about this later, when I find out who wants to participate.  Highly, highly recommended reading though.