Newsletter

Music House November Newsletter-November 4, 2011

Greetings students and parents

Some updates:

Holiday Charity Concert

This year’s December concert will take place on Sunday, December 18, 2011 at Humbercrest United Church.

The evening will be divided into two shorter concerts and proceeds (beyond the cost of the church rental) of the show will be donated to charity in keeping with the spirit of holiday giving. The concert will take place in the Sanctuary rather than in the basement and students will be able to play on the Steinway concert grand.

The first group of performers will be our younger students while the second concert will feature older players. Participation is optional, as always, but we encourage you to come out! Positive performance experiences make for positive feedback for students. These performances are always inspiring to other students as well as they reflect on what might result from committed practice.

Students playing in the later concert will decide upon which charity will receive the concert proceeds. This should make for a more meaningful performance all around. There will be plenty of room for family and friends (cousins, grandparents, friends, etc.), so please come out and support our wonderful students! All students and their friends and families are welcome also to stay for both concerts.

This event will take place on Sunday, December 18, 2011. The first concert will be held at 6:30 PM and the second show at 7:30 PM. The suggested donation amount for this event is $20 per person, but it is a truly suggested donation, and we understand the need for sliding scales for events such as these. We will not be using the kitchen for this event to cut down on rental costs but will be able to socialize in the sanctuary and lobby of the church after each show. This will bring the overhead costs down significantly.

Older students will be given the opportunity to rehearse at Music House together as a group. This will function as a dress rehearsal and will be at a time when all students are able to make it, close to the date of the performance.

New performance opportunity: Davenport Festival of Music.

The deadline for entry into the festival is December 2, 2011 and the syllabus can be found at davenportfestivalofmusic.org While I don’t get many requests for competitive piano opportunities (though there have been some), it strikes me that this festival is somewhat unique. For one, it takes place at the Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church, located at Bloor and Kennedy—it’s close by! It also takes place during the month of April. As a teacher, I find that springtime is a little difficult for students. There are no impending deadlines; it’s in between recitals, and exams are still two or three months away. Year after year, there is a lull in practice during the spring and I thought this festival might help shed some of that winter sleepiness!

Participation in the festival is a good opportunity for some positive feedback or at least a practice run-through for students who plan on taking exams in April or June (yes, the 2012 April session has just been announced). Students are also able to participate in multiple genres beyond “classical.” There are classes for RCM pieces, popular music, broadway, and jazz, and even the chance for students to write their own compositions and play them. There are also specific classes for those who are playing music by Canadian composers (they do exist, and some of us are even alive!!!).

Although there is a competitive element to the festival –pieces are graded and students placed—to me it is more about the process. Students work to polish and memorize a piece or more of music, and build on their portfolios of positive performing experiences. For those who get the performance jitters, playing in front of an is a great way to figure out how to deal with nervousness. Personally, I find the first 30 seconds or so are the worst and then the nervousness plays itself out.

I have never been to the Davenport Festival although I have done the contemporary showcase with some students who have written their own music, and have been to Kiwanis. As a teenager, I regularly performed in competitions and even made a little cash along the way doing so.

Guitar student jam

The next guitar jam will take place on Sunday, January 15th at 2:00 and will be hosted here at Music House. All guitar students and their parents are invited. Now that we have a little bit more space here at the house, there’s even more room for fun and good music too! Come out and jam. Beginners and seasoned guitarists alike are always welcome!

Adult student soiree

Speaking of fun in January, we are looking forward to hosting the next adult student soiree on January 28th at Music House. Mark your calendars and get ready for an evening of lively entertainment in an easy going atmosphere. Our evening will begin at 7:30. We’re looking forward to hearing all of your pieces!

Music House October Newsletter—October 14, 2011

Big Changes

It's that time of the year again! We hope you have had a good summer with some time to kick back and relax. We've made many changes over the summer and hope that you enjoy the new studio spaces. As you know, the student entrance is now through the front door, the red door off Jane Street with the kitty knocker. Nicole's (aboveground!) studio now has a grand piano and her French double manual harpischord. Richard's studio is located across the hall from Nicole's and also has a piano to facilitate theory and piano lessons. We know you will love the new spaces.

Things to look forward to this year:

Looking forward to seeing you in your lessons!

Nicole and Richard



Music House January Newsletter—January 23, 2011

Book Exchange

If you have any used books that you no longer in need feel free to list them on the signup sheet in the waiting area (or email your teacher and let them know about your books) with the title, condition and price you would like for the books, as well as with contact info for yourself. For those who are going through the conservatory grades, while you may wish to hold onto the Repertoire books—these books are often fun to revisit later—sight reading and technique books are seldom used after the exam, unless they are passed on to younger siblings or friends. These would be prime examples of books that might turn up on our book exchange list! The RCM turns over its syllabus from time to time though, so there may not be many takers for the older rounds of conservatory books. Currently, the RCM books use the "Perspectives" Series.

Mark your Calendars!

Sunday, February 6th, 2 PM: Guitar Jam. We are pleased to announce that this year's guitar jam will be held at the Fredericks/Schwarz residence at 161 Indian Road (between Howard Park and the Queensway). Ask Richard for further details. We'd like to extend a warm thanks to the Fredericks/Schwarz for hosting this event!

February 21: Family Day. Revised Lesson Schedule (talk to your teacher)

March 1st: deadline for registration for theory and practical examinations for May (theory) and June (practical) sessions.

March 9th-13th: Nicole and Richard are away. Nicole is pleased to announce that she will be delivering a paper at the annual conference of the US branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, in Cincinnati—all missed lessons will be made up either during March Break or at another point.

March 14th-18th: March Break. Nicole and Richard will be teaching this week, either for students who need to make up missed lessons from the week before or for regular students. If you are away for the week of March Break subtract one week from March's cheque. If you are away for more than one week, we request that you make up your lessons. Generally one weekend every month will be reserved for makeup lessons and these will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. If students are not available during this makeup weekend, alternate arrangements can be made.

April 22: Good Friday. Revised Lesson Schedule (talk to your teacher)

April 25: Easter Monday. Revised Lesson Schedule (talk to your teacher)

Saturday, June 18th, evening: This year's end of year recital will take place on the day before Father's Day Sunday, rather than on the actual day and will be held in the evening, beginning at around 6 PM. Further details about specific times for these concerts will be announced in the upcoming months.

Monthly Cheques:

Please take into account the following number of weeks of lessons when making out your monthly cheques. Any missed lessons will be made up at the mutual convenience of student and teacher.


Music House November Newsletter—November 10, 2010

A word or two about RCM Exams:

If you are interested in examinations through the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) this year please talk to your teacher. Examinations require much preparation and this intensifies as the levels progress upward. In addition to more committed practicing habits, once students reach Grade 5 they should also be looking to fulfill the theory co-requisites that the RCM requires students to have before they may receive their practical certificates. Practical material is worked on gradually throughout the year and students, because they have to register three months ahead of time, are given ample time to prepare. Please let your teacher know well in advance if you intend to work towards an exam. That said, exams aren't everybody's cup-of-tea. In fact most students decide to forgo exams in favour of working towards events such as recitals as goals. Also, a significant portion of exam material is dedicated to learning 'Western Art Music' (WAM) which, while being a strong starting point for many non-WAM genres of music (rock, heavy-metal, jazz, ragtime, pop) it's understandably not the primary interest of some students; essentially what really matters is that students work on material that motivates them to practice! (and yes, this more often than not requires ongoing encouragement from parents).

Parking

Please do not park on the North side of Weatherell in front of the walkway between the houses!!! It's unsafe for students to be exiting and entering vehicles that could be rear-ended by traffic turning off Jane onto Weatherell. Jane is an excellent place to park but there is no parking between 4 and 6 PM. There is parking on Weatherell and on Humber Trail during those times. For those that live nearby, walking is a terrific alternative!

A word or two about Payment

Payments in cheque form made out to your teacher's names are due at the beginning of the month and should include all lessons for the month. Please check your calendar and include the number of weeks that fall on the day of the week on which you have your lessons. For example, if your lessons are on a Tuesday, then look to find out if there are four or five Tuesdays in the month. This ensures a two-way commitment: 1) the commitment to showing up and participating in the month's lessons, and 2) our commitment to hold your spot for you. Scheduling is often a delicate matter requiring logistical gymnastics, so please understand that your time-slot is your reserved time-slot. Post-dated cheques for the first day of each month of lessons are the preferred payment option. Not only does this secure students' spots but it lessens the amount of 'reminding' your teachers need to do. If you must cancel, please give us as much notice as possible so that alternate arrangements can be made to make up missed lessons. These will take place at a mutually agreed upon time. We generally do not make up make-up lessons so if students "forget" about a lesson or fail to show up for a rescheduled lesson. When students occasionally 'forget' about lessons, your teachers are left waiting for you to show up, using up valuable studio time that others may have used. These lessons will be considered forfeited. Please make an effort to make up canceled lessons. Consistent lessons are vital to progress at one's instrument. Be advised that there will be no makeup for makeup lessons if the student fails to show up for their makeup lesson.

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