Calendar for Winter Quarter

December
Group Lessons: December 8 and 9, 4:00-5:00 pm
No Lessons December 21-January 1

January
Group Lessons: January 19 and 20, 4:00-5:00 pm

February
Group Lessons: February 16 and 17, 4:00-5:00 pm

Please note that this schedule has changed!

Teacher's Notes for December

Congratulations on another awesome recital! The quality of our recitals gets better and better. I am so proud of all of you. I didn't get any pictures taken of this recital...if anyone has a good picture of the group, will you please email it to me? Also, I haven't received the recital fee from a few of you, if you wouldn't mind taking care of that this week, I would greatly appreciate it!

This week we will be picking a "posture song", which is a piece we will keep working on until you can play the entire thing with a perfect bow hand and violin hand. We need to constantly be working on keeping our posture perfect...I've been seeing quite a few questionable bow hands lately! :) We will also review your recital performance on video and discuss it.

Group lessons will be on Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9 this month at 4:00 pm. As usual, you can attend either day. We will work on posture, and play some fun review games and Christmas pieces.

Thanks for working so hard. My students are the best!

Teacher's Notes for November

Recital month is upon us once again! Our Fall Studio Recital will be held at the Piano Gallery in Orem on Saturday, November 21, at 10:00 am. I will need to charge everyone a recital fee of $6 to cover the rent of the recital hall, and also to pay our accompanist (I've had to hire someone new since Aimee will still be out with her baby). You can include this with the monthly tuition, or pay me the week of the recital.

Remember to dress in your Sunday best and have your solo piece and the Christmas pieces memorized. We will be practicing our Christmas pieces at group lesson next week, so try to have them memorized by then. You will also have a chance to play your solo in front of the group if you like.

We will have group lesson on Tuesday, November 10 and Wednesday, November 11 from 4:00-5:00. Come on either day!

We will have a practice session with the piano tentatively scheduled for Thursday, November 19, at 6:30 pm if you would like to run through your piece with our pianist.

Remember there will be no lessons the week of Thanksgiving. Normal lessons will resume the week of November 30.

There was an incident recently during lesson time where somebody's child scribbled all over our basement walls with crayon. Sibilings are welcome to come to lessons, but I would ask that they remain in the main studio area from now on. Your cooperation with this is appreciated!

Remember one of the best things you can do to get ready for the recital is to listen to your piece over and over and over again. Put it on repeat, turn the volume down low, and listen all night long. Try to play your recital piece superbly memorized with dynamics at least 5 times a day. Thanks for all of your hard work with practicing. This will be another awesome recital!

Teacher's Notes for October

Make sure to get a new practice chart for October. We will be putting polka dots on pumpkins for every day practiced this month, so look for your pumpkin on the wall at lessons this week.

We have seven 100-days charts turned in so far! When you finish your chart, bring it in so I can hang it on my cabinet. Good job to those who have completed the 100-days challenge this year. You're awesome! You will get an award at our fall recital.

If you would like to attend the Terry Durbin workshop, the money is due THIS WEEK. I will need to know if you are attending by Tuesday, October 6th, at the latest. The cost is $8 for SAU members, and $33 for everyone else. The workshop will be held November 20 and 21 at Orchard Elementary in Orem on Friday, and Fox Hollow Elementary in Lehi on Saturday.

Congratulations to Elias Baker and Syndey Norwood, who have completed Books 1 and 2 respectively, and will have their book recitals this week, and also Samantha Rampton, who will have her Twinkle Graduation recital this month.

At group lesson this month (held on October 13 and 14), we will work on our group numbers for the fall recital. Everyone should have copies of Jingle Bells and I Saw Three Ships--please work on these pieces and have them ready to play through at group lesson. We will also talk about famous violin concertos and play variations on the theme of Perpetual Motion.

Our fall recital is coming up on Saturday, November 21. We will pick your recital song this month. Thanks for all of your hard work!

Phone List for Exchanging Lessons--Fall Quarter 09

Monday
2:00 Samantha Elmer 766-2180
2:30 Rylee Scoresby 766-1313
3:30 Dessa Mulholland
4:00 Sydney Norwood 766-1217
4:30 Samantha Rampton 770-2799
5:00 Pamela Rampton 770-2799

Tuesday
3:00 Kylie Hunter 768-1735
4:00 Dylan Dixon 369-2506
4:30 Amanda Marble 331-6937
5:00 Elias Baker 254-7735
5:30 Cindy Gee 768-1869

Wednesday
12:00 Clarissa and Landan Jenson 404-9670
3:00 McKenna Empey 768-0813
4:30 Kelsey and Mikayla Bond 789-2728
5:00 Shelby and Jaden Bond 789-2728
5:30 Madeline Ward 766-4395

Thursday
4:00 Garrett Jenson 404-9670
4:30 Amanda Jimenez 836-2350
5:00 Seth Hamilton 616-3687
5:30 Lauren Christenson 836-6292

Friday
3:00 Robbie Menssen 766-0307

Teacher's Notes for September

First of all, I loved our end of summer fiddle concert! You all did such a great job, and I had a great time playing the bass. Thanks for all of your hard work to make it such a fun concert!

This month, group lessons will be on Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9 from 4:00-5:00. You can come either day, whichever one works best with your schedule. We will be working on music theory, start our fall recital group piece (Christmas music in September!) and do some posture work.

Keep going on your hundred days of practicing! We had a few start-overs, but I think that most of you will be able to make it by our November concert. What great practice habits we will all have!

There are four great orchestras in our area that are accepting students of all ability levels, and they are pretty reasonable, ranging from $20-$45 per month.

• The Timpanogos Chamber Orchestra is for more advanced students, and it meets on Saturday mornings at Timpanogos High School (I think)
• The Utah Valley Youth Orchestra meets in Spanish Fork, and accepts beginning students
• The American Heritage Orchestras accepts students of all levels, and meets at the American Heritage School in American Fork on Saturday mornings. Their top orchestra plays at a college level and trains students for entrance into the BYU Philharmonic and the U of U Symphony Orchestra. The costs for their orchestras range from $20-$45 per month.
• The Lehi Youth Chorus and Orchestra meets on Thursdays at the Lehi Arts Center and is only $25 per month.

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these, and I can get you more information. Orchestra is a great way to develop technical, note reading, and ensemble playing skills.

Pictures from the Fall Recital

Terry Durbin Workshop

There is an upcoming Suzuki sponsored workshop with Dr. Terry Durbin, a fantastic teacher and performer. I've attended a few of his classes at Institute, and he is hilarious, and a fabulous violinist. He is doing a masterclass workshop on Friday, November 20th at the American Heritage School. If you are interested, I think the fee is $35. Here is a link if you want to find out a little more about him: http://web.mac.com/timothydurbin/Site/Welcome.html

You have to pre-register for the masterclass, so let me know if you want to attend.

Calendar for Fall Quarter

September
Group Lessons: September 8 and 9, 4:00-5:00 pm*

October
Group Lessons: October 13 and 14, 4:00-5:00 pm*

November
Group Lessons: November 10 and 11, 4:00-5:00 pm*
Studio Recital: November 21, 10:00 am, at the Piano Gallery
No Lessons: November 23-27

*Note that Group Lesson days have been changed to Tuesday and Wednesday, to fit better with the school holiday calendar.