Hello everyone and Happy New Year! We’ve had a crazy start to 2015, haven’t we? I recall similar frigid temperatures last year at this time, also resulting in some school closings and lesson cancelations. (And probably every year before that…) Here is your January Newsletter in which you will read about:
Our visit to Clover Hill went so well! All students carried themselves confidently and performed their pieces well. Additionally, the warm and friendly interaction between the residents and our families was a blessing to me and, I think, to our friends at Clover Hill. It was a nice reminder that we can use our music to create connections with people we might otherwise never meet. Let’s make this an annual event; perhaps we can even visit again in the spring to perform our recital pieces. Thank you to all parents for your support!
January to June
Briefly, I want to point out that our end-of-year recital is scheduled for Sunday, June 7th and that the last week of lessons is the week of June 15th. Also, there are four remaining master classes: February 28th, March 21st, April 25th and May 30th and three remaining progress reports in January, April and June. And by way of reminder, all Albion school holidays and vacations are observed in the studio as well—including snow and emergency closings. These dates are also on the studio calendar so feel free to request one if needed.
Midyear Assessments
Last year I tried a new thing in the studio: comprehensive mid-year evaluations. I also met with parents at that time as we discussed goals for the second half of the year. This year I am making a slight change. Because we had a performance last month and took some weeks to focus on perfecting our Christmas music, I would rather not pause again this month to reenter “performance mode.” Instead, I would like to evaluate only the scales and chords that each student has learned so far this year. An anecdotal evaluation will be provided to parents and students which will include end-of-year goals for scales and chords as well as the mid-year progress report. Also, I will open up the invitation (and Welcome!) for parents/guardians to attend a portion of their child’s lesson in February if any wish to touch base or discuss anything but I won’t “require” it. Students whose lesson falls on Tuesday through Friday will have these evaluations January 27th through the 30th and Monday students will test on February 2nd. Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Piano Guild Auditions
Yesterday I received the dates for this year’s Guild Auditions. There are three weekends scheduled for our Rochester chapter: March 19th-21st, April 23rd-25th and April 30th-May 2nd. The next step is to submit our dues, a final list of participants and our preferred weekend. When I looked at my calendar, the weekend that works best for me is the last one but I can make any of them work if needed. If you see a date you absolutely would not be able to attend, please let me know ASAP.
Each guild participant (currently 8 students) will receive an informational paper at their next lesson which will include a tentative list of songs and scales (we don’t have to finalize these until closer to the auditions though) as well as your fee amount (which is final). Please submit the fee to me by the end of January if possible as Guild requires that I cut a single check for the whole studio and the earlier, the better. If you want to change your participation decision—either withdraw or decide to participate—it’s ok, just let me know within the week! Any other questions please let me know!
- Christmastime visit to Clover Hill
- Quick Overview of January through June
- Mid-Year Assessments
- Piano Guild Auditions
Our visit to Clover Hill went so well! All students carried themselves confidently and performed their pieces well. Additionally, the warm and friendly interaction between the residents and our families was a blessing to me and, I think, to our friends at Clover Hill. It was a nice reminder that we can use our music to create connections with people we might otherwise never meet. Let’s make this an annual event; perhaps we can even visit again in the spring to perform our recital pieces. Thank you to all parents for your support!
January to June
Briefly, I want to point out that our end-of-year recital is scheduled for Sunday, June 7th and that the last week of lessons is the week of June 15th. Also, there are four remaining master classes: February 28th, March 21st, April 25th and May 30th and three remaining progress reports in January, April and June. And by way of reminder, all Albion school holidays and vacations are observed in the studio as well—including snow and emergency closings. These dates are also on the studio calendar so feel free to request one if needed.
Midyear Assessments
Last year I tried a new thing in the studio: comprehensive mid-year evaluations. I also met with parents at that time as we discussed goals for the second half of the year. This year I am making a slight change. Because we had a performance last month and took some weeks to focus on perfecting our Christmas music, I would rather not pause again this month to reenter “performance mode.” Instead, I would like to evaluate only the scales and chords that each student has learned so far this year. An anecdotal evaluation will be provided to parents and students which will include end-of-year goals for scales and chords as well as the mid-year progress report. Also, I will open up the invitation (and Welcome!) for parents/guardians to attend a portion of their child’s lesson in February if any wish to touch base or discuss anything but I won’t “require” it. Students whose lesson falls on Tuesday through Friday will have these evaluations January 27th through the 30th and Monday students will test on February 2nd. Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Piano Guild Auditions
Yesterday I received the dates for this year’s Guild Auditions. There are three weekends scheduled for our Rochester chapter: March 19th-21st, April 23rd-25th and April 30th-May 2nd. The next step is to submit our dues, a final list of participants and our preferred weekend. When I looked at my calendar, the weekend that works best for me is the last one but I can make any of them work if needed. If you see a date you absolutely would not be able to attend, please let me know ASAP.
Each guild participant (currently 8 students) will receive an informational paper at their next lesson which will include a tentative list of songs and scales (we don’t have to finalize these until closer to the auditions though) as well as your fee amount (which is final). Please submit the fee to me by the end of January if possible as Guild requires that I cut a single check for the whole studio and the earlier, the better. If you want to change your participation decision—either withdraw or decide to participate—it’s ok, just let me know within the week! Any other questions please let me know!