Hi All,
Welcome to our spring semester! Our new spring schedule starts up this week (Monday, Jan 17th-23). Be sure you know when your new lesson time is if your lesson time has changed this semester.
Also, I sent out all invoices via email this week. If you did not yet receive your invoice, or have any questions about it, please contact Laura Yeh.
This Saturday, January 24 will be the first of our group classes. Here's the schedule:
2-2:45pm: Suzuki Group classes 1 and 2 at Ivy Chapel
3-3:45pm: Fiddle rehearsal at Ivy Chapel
4:10-5:30pm Tour group rehearsal/coaching at school location
See you all soon!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday classes and some videos
Hi all and welcome back.
We hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break and we're looking forward to seeing you again at lessons this week.
We've got our last set of group classes of the semester this Saturday:
1:45pm Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 downstairs at Ivy Chapel
Here's a couple of fun videos to check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmrzVVu4FUM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8btewj_tE&feature=related
The first video is David Oistrakh (famous Soviet violinist) and his son Igor (also a successful concert violinist) playing a fun piece by the 19th century virtuoso violinst, Pablo de Sarasate. The second video is the gorgeous second movement of the Bach Double violin concerto (some of you have learned or are learning the first movement. This movement is worth learning too.)
If you're looking for good violinists to add to your budding musician's music library this Christmas, (hint, hint) you cannot go wrong with David Oistrakh. He's considered one of the greatest violinists ever and has that beautiful rich tone that we all try to get when we play. Check out his recording of the Tchaikovsky concerto too (I believe it can be found on youtube). You'll hear what a great tone he had.
Violists, cellists, and pianists, I haven't forgotten you! I'll have videos/listening suggestions for you shortly.
Listening to good quality music written for your child's instrument, in addition to listening to the pieces currently being studied is a vital part of the development of a good ear and musical expression. By hearing really fantastic musicians, students get a good musical tone in their ear which makes a big difference in their progress, not to be replaced by daily practice though of course! Feel free to talk with us if you would like suggestions for listening.
Happy listening!
We hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break and we're looking forward to seeing you again at lessons this week.
We've got our last set of group classes of the semester this Saturday:
1:45pm Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 downstairs at Ivy Chapel
Here's a couple of fun videos to check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmrzVVu4FUM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8btewj_tE&feature=related
The first video is David Oistrakh (famous Soviet violinist) and his son Igor (also a successful concert violinist) playing a fun piece by the 19th century virtuoso violinst, Pablo de Sarasate. The second video is the gorgeous second movement of the Bach Double violin concerto (some of you have learned or are learning the first movement. This movement is worth learning too.)
If you're looking for good violinists to add to your budding musician's music library this Christmas, (hint, hint) you cannot go wrong with David Oistrakh. He's considered one of the greatest violinists ever and has that beautiful rich tone that we all try to get when we play. Check out his recording of the Tchaikovsky concerto too (I believe it can be found on youtube). You'll hear what a great tone he had.
Violists, cellists, and pianists, I haven't forgotten you! I'll have videos/listening suggestions for you shortly.
Listening to good quality music written for your child's instrument, in addition to listening to the pieces currently being studied is a vital part of the development of a good ear and musical expression. By hearing really fantastic musicians, students get a good musical tone in their ear which makes a big difference in their progress, not to be replaced by daily practice though of course! Feel free to talk with us if you would like suggestions for listening.
Happy listening!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Upcoming Events
Hi all,
Here's what's on the schedule in November:
Saturday, November 6 (This Saturday) at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Suzuki group classes 3 and 4
3pm: Fiddle Class
Saturday, November 13 at SCHOOL AND IVY CHAPEL
1pm: Piano studio class (Ivy Chapel)
1:45pm: Theory class (in Laura's studio)
3pm: Studio class 1 (downstairs in Ivy Chapel)
Sunday, November 14 at IVY CHAPEL
3pm: Faculty Recital. Faculty members of St. Louis School of Music performing works by Vivaldi, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Ligeti, and Andrew Loyd Weber.
Saturday, November 20 at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Laura's Student Recital
4pm: Adam, Anita, and Lan Sin's Joint Student Recital
Monday, November 22-Sunday November 28. No lessons for Thanksgiving Break. Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's what's on the schedule in November:
Saturday, November 6 (This Saturday) at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Suzuki group classes 3 and 4
3pm: Fiddle Class
Saturday, November 13 at SCHOOL AND IVY CHAPEL
1pm: Piano studio class (Ivy Chapel)
1:45pm: Theory class (in Laura's studio)
3pm: Studio class 1 (downstairs in Ivy Chapel)
Sunday, November 14 at IVY CHAPEL
3pm: Faculty Recital. Faculty members of St. Louis School of Music performing works by Vivaldi, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Ligeti, and Andrew Loyd Weber.
Saturday, November 20 at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Laura's Student Recital
4pm: Adam, Anita, and Lan Sin's Joint Student Recital
Monday, November 22-Sunday November 28. No lessons for Thanksgiving Break. Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Upcoming classes plus assignments
Hi All,
Quick reminder of our upcoming Saturday Classes:
1:45 Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 at Ivy Chapel (downstairs)
Also, I'd like to post a couple of assignments from the classes over this past weekend.
Suzuki Group 3:
Start reviewing Gossec Gavotte now if you've already learned it. It will be on the spring festival and it takes a lot of work to get it sounding good as a group.
Keep working on using more bow!!!!!! You sound so fantastic when you do!!!
Also, start practicing identifying your note names for G Major on the violin. You should know the note names (G, A, B, rather than open, G1, G2, etc.) going up and down the scale.
Suzuki Group 4: Start your review for festival NOW! A lot of the pieces are ones you learned a long time ago and consequently harder to remember. Start learning the fiddle tunes now as well.
Fiddle: I know you all are working hard to play super in tune which is pretty grueling, so thank you for your efforts. Be sure to do lots of SLOOOOOOOWWWW practice and be sure to bring Bonaparte's retreat to your teacher. We've improved but we're still pretty out of tune on that one. Listen for the ringing tone on the 3rd fingers. We also need to tune up the 1st and 2nd fingers - so basically, all the fingers can be more in tune!
Experiment with slides and double stops in Fiddler's Dream. Don't forget to do slow boring practice on this one too. We're not really in tune yet on this one either....
Mariachi: be sure to take all shifts on page 2 to your teacher if you have trouble with them. We're trying to avoid crossing over to the E string (ick!) as much as possible. Be sure to practice all shifts individually for good intonation and relaxed, smooth shifts.
Good job guys and thanks for your hard work!
Quick reminder of our upcoming Saturday Classes:
1:45 Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 at Ivy Chapel (downstairs)
Also, I'd like to post a couple of assignments from the classes over this past weekend.
Suzuki Group 3:
Start reviewing Gossec Gavotte now if you've already learned it. It will be on the spring festival and it takes a lot of work to get it sounding good as a group.
Keep working on using more bow!!!!!! You sound so fantastic when you do!!!
Also, start practicing identifying your note names for G Major on the violin. You should know the note names (G, A, B, rather than open, G1, G2, etc.) going up and down the scale.
Suzuki Group 4: Start your review for festival NOW! A lot of the pieces are ones you learned a long time ago and consequently harder to remember. Start learning the fiddle tunes now as well.
Fiddle: I know you all are working hard to play super in tune which is pretty grueling, so thank you for your efforts. Be sure to do lots of SLOOOOOOOWWWW practice and be sure to bring Bonaparte's retreat to your teacher. We've improved but we're still pretty out of tune on that one. Listen for the ringing tone on the 3rd fingers. We also need to tune up the 1st and 2nd fingers - so basically, all the fingers can be more in tune!
Experiment with slides and double stops in Fiddler's Dream. Don't forget to do slow boring practice on this one too. We're not really in tune yet on this one either....
Mariachi: be sure to take all shifts on page 2 to your teacher if you have trouble with them. We're trying to avoid crossing over to the E string (ick!) as much as possible. Be sure to practice all shifts individually for good intonation and relaxed, smooth shifts.
Good job guys and thanks for your hard work!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Stars of Tomorrow Concert
I just got this message about an upcoming music concert featuring kids. It looks interesting although it's a bit of a trek from us here in St. Louis since it's out in Belleville. The little girl on the TV promo also plays quite nicely (note the beautiful intonation, good bow distribution, and nice vibrato!) and is worth watching.
"The Belleville Philharmonic "Stars of Tomorrow" concert will be on Sat Oct. 16th at 7:30 in Union United Methodist Church in Belleville. 3 soloists will be featured including Henry Meyers on cello, a pianist, and 9 yr-old Julia Harris on violin. The concert may be of special interest to violin, cello, and piano students. A promo for the performance was on Fox News this past Tuesday.
Here is a link to that TV broadcast:
http://www.fox2now.com/videobeta/b06af07c-c19f-4290-a632-01e8579ad8eb/News/Belleville-Philharmonic-Orchestra
If you find yourself in Illinois this weekend, check it out!
"The Belleville Philharmonic "Stars of Tomorrow" concert will be on Sat Oct. 16th at 7:30 in Union United Methodist Church in Belleville. 3 soloists will be featured including Henry Meyers on cello, a pianist, and 9 yr-old Julia Harris on violin. The concert may be of special interest to violin, cello, and piano students. A promo for the performance was on Fox News this past Tuesday.
Here is a link to that TV broadcast:
http://www.fox2now.com/videobeta/b06af07c-c19f-4290-a632-01e8579ad8eb/News/Belleville-Philharmonic-Orchestra
If you find yourself in Illinois this weekend, check it out!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Calendar Changes and upcoming recitals
Hi All,
We hope you are having a good fall so far. This weekend we have theory and studio classes:
1:45pm Theory in Laura's studio (note that we have moved the class 15 minutes earlier)
3pm Studio 2 - 3 octave scales and masterclass at Ivy Chapel (note the changed location)
There are a couple of changes in our calendar and location. First of all, all theory B classes will now be at 1:45 instead of 2pm to give Kirby time to get to the next class. Theory will still be held in Laura's studio at the school. The studio classes at 3pm have been moved to Ivy Chapel since attendance is higher than expected (great!) and the space in Laura's studio is a bit too tight for comfort.
Also, Suzuki group classes 1 and 4 have been moved to a larger classroom downstairs in the Sunday School at Ivy Chapel rather than in the multipurpose room as attendance at Suzuki classes has been very high (yay!) and we need some more space for everyone to feel comfortable. Hopefully with these changes everyone will feel a bit more comfortable and less cramped at classes now.
Halloween Recitals!
They are coming up!! Our Halloween recitals are for students up through 5th grade. (Sorry older students! You're getting too big now!) It's really snuck up on us as the recitals will be happening in just a few weeks on Saturday, October 30th at 2pm and 4pm. Students need to have their pieces ready no less than 3-4 weeks before the recital to be adequately prepared and perform their best, so be sure to get your piece picked out and be doing lots of practice! We don't like for kids to feel stressed at the last minute getting ready (it's hard to play well in those circumstances) so being ready well in advanced will make for a relaxed recital for everyone, including us teachers!
Dress: Students are invited to wear their Halloween costume as long as they can comfortably play in it so be sure to check ahead of time that the costume is comfortable for playing whatever instrument your child plays. Parents are welcome to come in costume too if they'd like!
Volunteers: We'll need parent volunteers to help us with set up, providing spooky treats and punch for the reception, clean up, etc. We'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a few days for the specific jobs. If you can help out, please do sign up as we really appreciate all parent support we receive.
Recital Times: There are two Halloween Recitals, one at 2pm and one at 4pm. Because we only have a limited amount of time booked at the church (they charge hourly instead of the flat fee we paid at our other church) and since we like to keep recitals for the little ones to an hour or less, we need to make sure that we have two fairly equal length recitals. For this reason, we'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a couple of days. These sign ups will have a number of spots available on each recital. Please be sure to sign up for a time!
Happy Practicing!
We hope you are having a good fall so far. This weekend we have theory and studio classes:
1:45pm Theory in Laura's studio (note that we have moved the class 15 minutes earlier)
3pm Studio 2 - 3 octave scales and masterclass at Ivy Chapel (note the changed location)
There are a couple of changes in our calendar and location. First of all, all theory B classes will now be at 1:45 instead of 2pm to give Kirby time to get to the next class. Theory will still be held in Laura's studio at the school. The studio classes at 3pm have been moved to Ivy Chapel since attendance is higher than expected (great!) and the space in Laura's studio is a bit too tight for comfort.
Also, Suzuki group classes 1 and 4 have been moved to a larger classroom downstairs in the Sunday School at Ivy Chapel rather than in the multipurpose room as attendance at Suzuki classes has been very high (yay!) and we need some more space for everyone to feel comfortable. Hopefully with these changes everyone will feel a bit more comfortable and less cramped at classes now.
Halloween Recitals!
They are coming up!! Our Halloween recitals are for students up through 5th grade. (Sorry older students! You're getting too big now!) It's really snuck up on us as the recitals will be happening in just a few weeks on Saturday, October 30th at 2pm and 4pm. Students need to have their pieces ready no less than 3-4 weeks before the recital to be adequately prepared and perform their best, so be sure to get your piece picked out and be doing lots of practice! We don't like for kids to feel stressed at the last minute getting ready (it's hard to play well in those circumstances) so being ready well in advanced will make for a relaxed recital for everyone, including us teachers!
Dress: Students are invited to wear their Halloween costume as long as they can comfortably play in it so be sure to check ahead of time that the costume is comfortable for playing whatever instrument your child plays. Parents are welcome to come in costume too if they'd like!
Volunteers: We'll need parent volunteers to help us with set up, providing spooky treats and punch for the reception, clean up, etc. We'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a few days for the specific jobs. If you can help out, please do sign up as we really appreciate all parent support we receive.
Recital Times: There are two Halloween Recitals, one at 2pm and one at 4pm. Because we only have a limited amount of time booked at the church (they charge hourly instead of the flat fee we paid at our other church) and since we like to keep recitals for the little ones to an hour or less, we need to make sure that we have two fairly equal length recitals. For this reason, we'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a couple of days. These sign ups will have a number of spots available on each recital. Please be sure to sign up for a time!
Happy Practicing!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Labor Day weekend
Hi All!
In honor of Labor Day weekend we have no group classes scheduled this Saturday. However, all private lessons for this weekend and on Labor Day are scheduled as usual unless you have already worked out an alternative time with your teacher. Have a great weekend!
In honor of Labor Day weekend we have no group classes scheduled this Saturday. However, all private lessons for this weekend and on Labor Day are scheduled as usual unless you have already worked out an alternative time with your teacher. Have a great weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)