Welcome to your April 2015 Newsletter! In this issue you'll read about:
- Guild Auditions
- April Master class
- Concert in April
Guild Auditions:
Guild is in just two and a half weeks, on Friday, April 24th at Denton Cottier and Daniels Piano and Organ store in Rochester NY! I am hearing wonderful things during lessons. With such a short time left, it can be hard to know what to focus on so here's a little to-do list for those students who are participating:
1) Keep drilling with a metronome using the music.
2) Do memory drilling on all pieces using a metronome (for those who are memorizing--this helps to combat the effects of nerves during the audition).
3) Find your pieces on You tube or in the email I sent and listen to them often, striving to imitate the musicality of professional pianists.
4) Daily review the scales and cadences for each of your pieces making sure you know the key signatures for all of your pieces by heart.
5) Follow all instructions on your practice assignment sheet carefully.
If you make a regimen of repeating these steps until audition day you'll 1) feel and be solidly prepared and 2) help to ensure a good experience at your first Piano Guild audition! Remember, a performance is simply a snapshot of your current playing skills. As you hopefully gain more and more playing experience, each time will feel different so keep your expectations high but appropriate for where you are right now. Do your personal best. :-)
April Master Class
This month, master class will be on the 25th (the day after Guild Auditions) from 10 AM to Noon. I hope everyone will be able to make it because it is Jazz Appreciation Month! We'll meet a few Jazz Giants, learn a little about the origins and history of Jazz, play a couple of Jazz forms and scales and try a little improvisation! By the end of the class, you'll be playing 12-bar piano blues and speaking Jazz lingo (after you swallow that huge bite of muffin, that is!). I'm really looking forward to this class!
Concert in April
If you enjoy attending local concerts, consider attending the Genesee Valley Wind Ensemble's Sunday afternoon performance on April 26th at 4:00 PM. It will take place in the Elba Central School auditorium and will feature a variety of works and styles including a medley of Japanese folk songs (including Sakura/Cherry Blossoms), a virtuosic trumpet feature by Alexander Goedicke, the charming and well loved English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Frank Ticheli's warm and richly harmonized arrangement of Shenandoah, the hauntingly compelling October by Eric Whitacre, Henry Fillmore's famous march Americans We and selections from John Williams' best loved soundtrack to Star Wars. I believe the cost is a suggested donation of $5 but I am not sure about that, so I'll try to update here if I'm wrong! It's going to be a rewarding experience, I truly hope to see you there!
- Guild Auditions
- April Master class
- Concert in April
Guild Auditions:
Guild is in just two and a half weeks, on Friday, April 24th at Denton Cottier and Daniels Piano and Organ store in Rochester NY! I am hearing wonderful things during lessons. With such a short time left, it can be hard to know what to focus on so here's a little to-do list for those students who are participating:
1) Keep drilling with a metronome using the music.
2) Do memory drilling on all pieces using a metronome (for those who are memorizing--this helps to combat the effects of nerves during the audition).
3) Find your pieces on You tube or in the email I sent and listen to them often, striving to imitate the musicality of professional pianists.
4) Daily review the scales and cadences for each of your pieces making sure you know the key signatures for all of your pieces by heart.
5) Follow all instructions on your practice assignment sheet carefully.
If you make a regimen of repeating these steps until audition day you'll 1) feel and be solidly prepared and 2) help to ensure a good experience at your first Piano Guild audition! Remember, a performance is simply a snapshot of your current playing skills. As you hopefully gain more and more playing experience, each time will feel different so keep your expectations high but appropriate for where you are right now. Do your personal best. :-)
April Master Class
This month, master class will be on the 25th (the day after Guild Auditions) from 10 AM to Noon. I hope everyone will be able to make it because it is Jazz Appreciation Month! We'll meet a few Jazz Giants, learn a little about the origins and history of Jazz, play a couple of Jazz forms and scales and try a little improvisation! By the end of the class, you'll be playing 12-bar piano blues and speaking Jazz lingo (after you swallow that huge bite of muffin, that is!). I'm really looking forward to this class!
Concert in April
If you enjoy attending local concerts, consider attending the Genesee Valley Wind Ensemble's Sunday afternoon performance on April 26th at 4:00 PM. It will take place in the Elba Central School auditorium and will feature a variety of works and styles including a medley of Japanese folk songs (including Sakura/Cherry Blossoms), a virtuosic trumpet feature by Alexander Goedicke, the charming and well loved English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Frank Ticheli's warm and richly harmonized arrangement of Shenandoah, the hauntingly compelling October by Eric Whitacre, Henry Fillmore's famous march Americans We and selections from John Williams' best loved soundtrack to Star Wars. I believe the cost is a suggested donation of $5 but I am not sure about that, so I'll try to update here if I'm wrong! It's going to be a rewarding experience, I truly hope to see you there!