Christmas Group Recital

Congratulations Students! You all did a wonderful job at the recital last night. I appreciate all your hard work in practicing. It was so fun to play all those songs with you. Here are the pics from my camera. I decided to post them all because everyone looks different in each one. :) I hope you had as much fun as I did!


The songs we played were:
Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Jingle Bells
Old McDonald
Bile Them Cabbage Down
O Come Little Children
Cripple Creek
O Holy Night
Away in a Manger
Silent Night

Adult Orchestra

Charles W. Liu Fine Violins in conjunction with the Midvale Arts Council announce the beginning of Salt Lake Valley New Horizons Orchestra for beginning adults.  This is a great opportunity for Suzuki Mom’s (and Dads) to come and learn to play a string instruments themselves.  You CAN do it!!!  You’ve gone to countless lessons, rehearsals, and concerts in support of your children.  Now it’s your turn to discover your own musical potential.   

Call Charles W. Liu Fine Violins for more information 255-9636. 

What:   Salt Lake Valley New Horizons Orchestra for beginning adults.

Where: Midvale Performing Arts Center

            695 W. Center St. (7720 South)

            Midvale, UT 84047

                                        When: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00-11:00 am                                

           First Rehearsal October 28th

           1^st semester will start October 28^th and will run through December 18^th.

            2^nd semester will start January 12^th and will run through April 16^th.

            (A summer semester is a possibility and depends upon interest shown from the NHO members)

Who:  Sponsored by Charles W. Liu Fine Violins and the Midvale Arts Council

            Directed by Esther Larsen

Cost:    Tuition is $150.00 for the 14 week semester

            ($5.36 per lesson, $10.71 per week)

            (The first semester since we are starting later will be prorated $80.53)

Contact the shop to reserve your spot in the orchestra.

All the best,

Randen Heywood

Fine Instrument Sales

Charles W. Liu Fine Violins

Stradivarius International Violin Competition

www.finestringinstruments.com

www.stradcompetition.org

Group Class this Friday

Friday at 5:00

Everyone

Group

My House

See you then!

Songs to have ready: 

Jingle Bells

Old McDonald

Bile them Cabbage Down

Cripple Creek

Twinkle Theme

O Come Little Children

Listening Opportunity!

If you want a fun opportunity for your students to hear some great music, keep this Friday night open! Sorry for the late notice- I just found out about this concert. I will not be playing, although this is the group that I have been playing with.

Riverton Metropolitan Orchestra

Presents in Concert...

"Skull & Crossbones"

October 10, 2008

7:30-9:00 PM

Sandra Lloyd Performing Arts Center

12830 S. Redwood Rd. Riverton

Performing famous pieces including "Pirates of the Caribbean" & 

"Pirates of Penzance"

If you want to go, let me know and I can get you a coupon for $2 off single admission or $5 off family admission. You can even dress up in your Halloween Costume to attend this concert! They are very family/kid friendly at the concerts and I hope you all can go!

Don't Forget!!!

You'll probably want to show up 10-15 minutes early to get tuned up. I'm assuming they want to start as close to 6:00 pm as possible. There will be bandanas provided for the students, as well. Don't miss it- you'll have a blast! Wish I could be there! Click on The Aaron Ashton Band to listen to some samples... very cool.

SALT LAKE VIOLIN REGION

INVITES YOU TO ATTEND

FIDDLE FEST SUPER ACTIVITY!

Saturday, September 13th 2008

6:00pm

“THIS IS THE PLACE” 

HERITAGE PARK

2601 Sunnyside Avenue- across from Hogle Zoo

With Guest Artist

THE AARON ASHTON BAND!

Bring your fiddles, families, and western wear! All violin students will perform fiddle songs together featured in the “Fairfield Fiddle Farm” Books One & Two! The Aaron Ashton Band will also perform fun fiddle music! This will be a fun (and FREE!) evening for everyone!

Song Selections Include: Old McDonald, Bile them Cabbage Down*, Cripple Creek*, Old Joe Clark*, Polly Wolly Doodle*, Golden Slippers*, Down Yonder*, Ragtime Annie*, and the Orange Blossom Special*

*duet parts offered in Fiddle Farm Book One or Two

Unbeatable Teamwork

Thoughts taken from the American Suzuki Journal, Spring, 2008
By Elizabeth Young (a Suzuki Mom)

This article compares the life of a Suzuki family to a sports team. "Teamwork (is the) cornerstone of the foundation upon which our ideals are realized."

The team members are parent and student. The parent "brings an intimate and profoundly personal understanding of the student, and how she or he thinks and learns. This, by the way, continues to develop in the practice room, and becomes ever more useful throughout a Suzuki eduation. Likewise, the parent brings the deepest investment in the well-being and development of the child. The teacher, in addition to specific training in educational methods that work well at a variety of developmental stages, brings his or her own experiences as a musician, and a former student."

The opposition, hopefully is not the child, although it sometimes might feel that way. The "opponent may vary from day to day or season to season. One time it may appear in the form of a tendency to tire quickly on the part of the child. Another time it may be reluctance to try something new, or conversely, the inability to understand why we have to keep doing "old" stuff that has already been learned... Then there is the ever-threatening enemy ... an over-commitment to too many activities to ever be able to do any of them particularly well."

I'd like you to think about what some of the oppositions are in your "Suzuki Life". What is stopping you from practicing every day with your child? Would a specific practice time each day help? Are you listening to the CD every day? If not, then why? Do you understand the importance of listening to the CD? How about review? Why DO we keep going OVER AND OVER the "old" stuff? :)

Are you encouraging your child to enjoy practice time instead of dread it? Do you need ideas on how to do this? What are your goals as a parent for your child regarding music lessons? What are your child's goals?

"Your child's teacher is only a phone call or an email away and she would love to share your burden and offer you something new from that inexhaustible bag of tricks!"

Your child is the very important third member of the team. At first "a young child is typically not mature or experienced enough ... to engage fully in the cooperation and collaboration that drives teamwork... Your child needs you and your teacher to lead the way and model the success that comes from collaboration with another."

Please share with me your concerns, and ask for input when you need it! I will do the same. Ms. Young states that along the way, "Practice routines were easier to outline. Review was accepted without resentment. Progress became the norm. And here's the weird part... somewhere along the way each child (gained)... a sense of ownership and shared cooperation in dealing with the obstacles that remained to be faced."

A good saying from Dr. Suzuki for us to memorize: "Every child learns. It depends on the teacher; it depends on the parent; it depends on me. Therefore, I will say, "Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, Parent. I will do my best."

Recommended Links!

I just found these links... this quartet is awesome! You have to check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5MLNMgpywk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG6Ef-NQCi4&NR=1

Also, if you're interested in a really great concert this Thursday night the 31st at Park City, check out http://www.timeforthree.com (Different group, but still great!)

Awesome Violinist

If you haven't seen this video, you should really watch it... Don't get turned off by the "DJ" in the back. :) They do a great job together, and the technical ability of the violinist is incredible for how young he looks. I'm not sure how old he is, but you can tell he loves the violin and PRACTICES a LOT! (By the way... I encourage you to NEVER buy an instrument on ebay... you have no idea what quality you'll actually end up with.) :)

Check it out here! (I hope the link works.)

Students at ISSI

Here is a link to Ali's family page with their Institute experience. I hope it's ok to include this link- Steph, if not, let me know! :)

Ali at Institute

I'd like to include some of Cade's experiences too, so Ikuno, if you want to send me an email and/or pictures that would be great!

Joseph Silverstein

Excerpts from American Suzuki Journal- Winter, 2008

"I feel that the Suzuki Method has filled a very important void in the whole educational system of the United States. It has a very important function in sustaining the musical experience for young people. I consider the Suzuki approach to be a strong program that combines music, intelligence, and the family.

"My one strong piece of advice is to encourage the students to attend more live concerts and listen to great music. Encourage them to play chamber music and develop the bond with great music that will give them the view of what they can achieve through their studies."

I had the privilege of seeing Mr. Silverstein conduct the Utah Symphony a few times when I was in high school. He was just here in May, performing with the Symphony and I'm sad that I missed it! I am going to try to make it a point to go next time he's here... WONDERFUL musician. -Kayleen

Internationally acclaimed conductor and violinist Joseph Silverstein was Music Director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra from 1983 until 1998. http://www.utahsymphony.org/ As a conductor and soloist, Mr. Silverstein has appeared with hundreds of orchestras in the United States, as well as the Far East, Israel and Europe. He has been a member of the faculties at Yale University, the New England Conservatory, Boston University and the Tanglewood Music Center and currently is a member of the string faculty of the Curtis Institute and an artist member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York.

Institute Final Concert

Once again, a great performance experience! It's so fun to see how well all the children are playing. Every group had clear, beautiful tone, superb intonation, and expressive performance. I recorded the whole concert and am planning on having a party night with my students to come and watch it. Hopefully this will help them be motivated to attend Institute next year! I'm anxious to hear about the experiences of my students that did attend, and to see what progress they've made this week. I know that Macy has progressed a lot, and I'm excited to keep working with her!

Elise and Macy were mostly good during the concert. It's important for children to learn Concert Etiquette young as well, so it's good they were there. Their favorite song was "Witches Dance" and they were disappointed that the performers didn't actually do the dance. I think Macy had a hard time waiting until the very end to perform, but when she got up on stage she did well. Not so well with watching the teacher, but she played well. There was one little boy who was bobbing his knees to the beat in between every Variation of Twinkle... SO Adorable! The audience was cracking up. I saw his mother afterward, and commented on his cuteness, and she was clearly mortified. It's funny that we can all giggle at each other's children, but when our children are the "distraction", it bothers us. Oh well.

Thanks so much to all the teachers and people who contributed to the education of our children this week. It is a lot of time out of their schedule, but you can tell that they all love to be there, and I admire that selflessness. The love of Music, and of Dr. Suzuki's teachings and ideals is very apparent when you attend Institute. I know that I want Institute and Talent Education to be a part of my life as well as my family's for many years to come!

Institute Day Six

I brought Elise with us to class and the concert yesterday. I really hope both the girls can attend Institute next year- it's such a good experience! I would have signed her up if I had known that we'd have custody of her by this time.

Mrs. Keddington started out Technique class with the "How Come?" game. She reminded the kids all the reasons we need to have bent thumb, round pinky, and flat knuckles- a good bow hold. She played them some examples of how songs sound when you have a bad bow hold, and a good bow hold. Then she went around the circle and asked each child, "Why is it important to have a good bow hold?" And each child that answered (all of them), got a Skittle as a reward. We were taught "Rosalie's Rule: Never play a note until you're ready!" Take your time to set up and make sure everything is correct before you start. We had a race with violin hold and heavy heads- each child had a gummy bear placed on their violin, and they had to give the bears a boat ride across the room without tipping and letting it fall off. The kids all did well. Then Swiper from Dora tried to steal their violins... "Swiper, No Swiping!", and if Mrs. K. couldn't get the violin away, she'd say "Aw, Man!" Seth's mom and I got to be the posture police and look for secret things while the kids played, and if they were doing what we were looking for, they got a sticker. It was extra hard, because they didn't know what we were looking for. So they had to do everything correctly! The last game was differentiating between Staccato and Legato. Mrs. K. had a picture with dots on it, and a picture of a wave. The kids had to stomp, clap, jump for staccato, and twirl a scarf for legato.

I missed the Rep class, cause I took Elise to get her hair done. I did see a few bits and pieces as I walked back and forth every 10 minutes or so while we waited for Elise's turn.
Once, James Hutchins' class was visiting Macy's class, on a "World Tour" and they were playing together. And I think they were mostly reviewing the same type of stuff they did on Friday. I took Macy out 5 minutes early to go get her hair done before the final concert.

Institute Day Five

Friday morning at Technique class, Mrs. Keddington taught the kids to say hello in Japanese- if I could spell it I would, but it sounds like "Ohio Gozaimos". They said this as they bowed. Warm-up time with Twinkles, as the kids practiced the bow hand specifics- rainbow pinkies, flat knuckles, and bent thumbs. Out came the Magic Drum, and the children practiced clapping, stomping, and tip-toeing to the beat, depending on the sound the drum made. Macy had a GREAT time with the hand-slapping game. We paired up with our children, and listened as Mrs. K. played a song. Taking turns, if one person heard a wrong note they got to slap the other persons' hands. Then we switched. Macy just laughed and laughed. Professor Doggy visited us and he checked the children's posture while they played through some more songs. Then they got to practiced feeding a "Marshmallow" to "Little Foot" who lives in the screw of the bow. This helps coordinate which direction the arm should go while bowing.

In Rep class, the kids first practiced singing "A", "D", "D goes up to A", and "A goes down to D". Then they got to play "Suzuki Says"... just like "Simon Says". The cup game was next- passing the cup down the line with bows while teacher plays a song to see who is faster. Mrs. White talked about watching the leader at the concert, and following whatever she did, whether it was to point the scroll a different direction, or turn around in a circle, etc. Then they practiced heavy heads, and Magic Bow- teachers' bow can magically make the students bow copy what it does. Some children played Allegro while others did the actions- kind of like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Then we got to play the slapping game again- Macy was thrilled. :) Kids took turn rolling the dice to see how many times to do certain Circle Bows. They worked on dynamics and echoes in Song of the Wind. Then they did a harder version of the cup game, using ponytail holders. After that, she divided the room, and half played Var. A, while half played Var. B. That was sort of tricky at first, but they got the hang of it. The last thing was the Perpetual Motion game- kids did a different action on the last two beats of each phrase.

Macy finished a couple more lessons and games in theory, but not enough to get more treats. She is doing really well with the pitch games, and finding the notes on the staff and on the piano. The rhythm games are harder. I really like the program we used.

In Master Class, Mrs. Yong started out with a Tuning Bar. Each child got to take turns hitting the bar and singing what their favorite food was. She talked about hearing the sound waves when you hit the bar, and trying to hear them when you play your violin. All the kids played Song of the Mosquito- every time there is a circle bow, you slap your leg or tummy, or other shoulder. Then Mrs. Yong played, and the kids just practiced doing the circles on the shoulder, without violin. I bought a little bunny puppet to use with my students, and Macy was excited to show Mrs. Yong, so she used it during Macy's private lesson. We did 4 long bows, with the goal of stopping at the frog tape, and if Macy went past it, the bunny nibbled her arm. If she stopped at the tape, bunny would kiss her cheek. Macy loved that!

Institute Day Four

Technique Class: All the parents got to participate today. We got to be the soft bunny, and say "Ahh!" if the child squished us with their left hand. We also got to be the mouse in the hole, and say "Eeeek!" if we got squished there... the spot in between thumb and first finger on left hand. Mr. Smilie got stamped on the side of the left hand by the pinky, and if the child wasn't looking at Mr. Smilie the whole time they were playing, we got to say "BZZZ!" Macy really liked all those games.

Repertoire Class: Played pass the cup with bows. Played Tuckas Down the Line- working on Unison. Played Twinkles and other songs with dynamics and echoes.

Theory Class: Macy worked on some more games. She's learning the notes on the piano. She's still really great at pitch games, and rhythm games are harder for her. It's interesting how all the children learn differently. The program we are using is very educational. Mrs. Dalgleish says she likes it better than Sibelius as far as educational value.

We stopped and got Macy's hair done in a Princess Up-Do with glitter spray for $3, as well as sparkly Twinkle stars on both our cheeks. She was thrilled with that! We also got to have cake with lunch today, to celebrate Institute's 30th Anniversary. Yay for Costco buttercream frosting! :)


The Honor's Recital at 1:00 pm was good. I especially loved the stunning rendition of the Mendelssohn violin concerto by a young lady who looked to be about 12 years old. I played that song in college, and today she played it better than I did back then! We observed two more classes during our "break". The first was Robert Richardson's class that was saw on Monday- some good progress has been made in 4 days. We also went to see Terry Durbin's late Book Two Rep Class. He was HILARIOUS. The kids were obviously having a great time in his class. Lots of fun stories to go along with the songs, that it seemed like he was making up as he went. Tons of energy and great facial expressions. The warm-up was Twinkle Twinkle GPS star, where they had to turn a different direction depending on which finger they were playing- it looked like lots of fun.

Master Class: Macy was happy and cooperative during her turn. She got to go first. Worked a little bit more on the quick quick slow bows. Also worked on keeping thumb bent, and keeping 1st finger off the bow stick. She did a great job with it.

We saw a fun Fiddle Concert with Goran Berg's enrichment Swedish Fiddling class at 5:00. Then the Fun Night Presentation started at about 5:45. It was the Suzuki Olympics. We were regaled with such events as Baseball, Weight Lifting, Synchronized Swimming, Hurdles, and Gymnastics. These events were basically all the teachers doing lots of silly things with their instruments. It was entertaining, and somewhat surprising. Lots of "illegal" things were done- such as hitting a whiffle ball with a violin acting as bat, Jumping over things while playing songs with "lifts" in them, and of course, bribing the judges. Pretty funny. :)

Institute Day Three

Technique Class: Worked on heavy heads and good bow hands. I got to participate in the lesson, so that was fun. I need to get a Magic Wand for my lessons!

Repertoire Class: Played lots of Twinkles. Macy did Twinkle Theme with one group while another group played May Song. She really enjoyed that. She's also attempting to play Song of the Wind all the way through, even though she hasn't officially learned it all yet.

Theory Class: Macy finished Lesson and Game #5, so she was rewarded with 3 Jolly Ranchers. She shared one with her brother Isaak, and one with her friend Addy when we got home.

Master Class: We worked on Quick Quick Slow bows. We also need to work on Macy opening her elbow- she's using her shoulder too much when she bows. Mrs. Yong taught me a technique to help with that.

Macy told me again that she loves every class she's taking, and that she wants to come to Institute every summer.

Institute Day Two

Our day was a little more eventful today. We started at 9:00 with a group Technique class. Macy learned some fun new games to play with bow hands - focusing on bent thumbs, round pinkies, and flat knuckles. She also worked on having a heavy head to keep the violin up tall. Mrs. Keddington, the teacher was very upbeat and fun with the children.

Next was a group Repertoire class at 10:00, where the children worked on playing in unison. They mostly played through the Twinkles, but also did Lightly Row, Song of the Wind, Go Tell Aunt Rhody and O Come, Little Children. Macy really wanted to play the songs she doesn't know yet, and was a little discouraged that she couldn't. But she still did really well with following directions and playing her best on the songs she knows. Mrs. White (teacher) also had some fun new games. I'm really enjoying my observation time and the ideas it gives me as a teacher.

Our computer class was at 11:00. Macy is supposed to try to make it through 5 lessons a day. We're averaging two... Some of them are really difficult. But it's ok, she's still learning a lot about theory and enjoying herself. Tonight when I asked her what her favorite class is, she said, "I just like all my classes!" I'm really glad we're doing this together. I hope it will become a yearly tradition, and that next year we can include Elise as well.

We came home for a couple of hours to have lunch and play with Isaak, then Rob picked him up and we went back for our Master Class with Mrs. Yong. Macy did really well with the bowing exercises she was given yesterday, so she got some more to work on. I'm videotaping her classes too, so we can watch and review what she needs to work on. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Come to the Final Concert!

ISSI FINAL CONCERT

Saturday June 21st, 11:00 a.m.

Juan Diego High School Auditorium

I recommend you come early to find seats- it will fill up FAST. We are not allowed to save seats beforehand. This is the concert where all the students get to show off the things they've been working on this week. Please come and support them, and see what fun things YOU could be doing NEXT SUMMER!!!

Jenny Oaks Baker

SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2008
7:30 PM
Temple Square Performances:

Jenny Oaks Baker, Violin
Location: Assembly Hall

Please go see her perform! Your children need to see this wonderful violin virtuoso!

Institute Day One

Macy and I had fun yesterday, although it was quite a long day. Registration was at 9:30, where we received our packet with our schedule of classes on it. Next we headed into the auditorium for the Play-ins. All the children go on stage, and if you know the song that they're playing, you play along. If not, you sit down. Each song was led by a different Faculty member, and some of them did some really fun games with the kids.

Our first class was Music Theory games on the computer. They're using a fun program called Music Ace Maestro (I believe). It says ages 8-adult on it, so I don't feel too guilty helping Macy with some of the tasks. There was a difficult rhythm one I helped her with today. She usually does really well on the pitch recognition and differentiation games. Mrs. Dalgleish is the teacher for that class.

We sat and observed a late Book One class, and then an early Book Two class. They were both really fun- especially the one by Robert Richardson, the Crazy Canuck... (that's what he calls himself). He's got a lot of personality and has a lot of fun with the kids. Macy especially enjoyed watching him, in between her coloring/playtime break.

Our second class yesterday was our Master Class. There were four children for Mrs. Yong to spend about 10-15 minutes with each. Macy tried to play Lightly Row, but somehow went into Song of the Wind, and then finished up Lightly Row. I was trying not to laugh, but it was cute- she just kept playing... didn't even realize the mistake she was making. She did mention it to me on the way home, though, so I know that she knew that it wasn't quite right. Mrs. Yong gave her some bowing exercises to work on.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Jenny Oaks Baker concert. She is playing again sometime soon at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. I'll try to find the info and post it. Jenny gave us an assortment of dance pieces that were varied and fun together. I think she's playing basically the same program at the other venue, so I really recommend that you try to make it to that.

Yummy bbq beef sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks, and Creamies were the end of our lovely first day... all included in the price of registration. I hope you all are able to attend next year- I know that your children will greatly benefit from the experience!

Poem of the Month

Teaching a Dream

Music is a joy for him

Teaching guitar is what he loves most,

Fingers plucking at the strings,

Twinkling out some notes.

Ev'ry student moves at their own pace,

Learning song by song,

But he's always there to help,

Never to steer them wrong.

He teaches of rhythm, tone and dynamics,

To make the music more precise,

But also to make it come alive,

He gives them some advice.

He says you have to get into the music,

To make it beautiful,

Look beyond what is really there,

so it doesn't sound dull.

For him, teaching is a dream come true,

It's like a blessing sent from above,

and as always he tells me,

Do always what you love."

- Serena Doyle, 13

Serena Doyle studies piano with Sara Chan. Her father, Jim Doyle teaches Suzuki guitar in his home studio where Serena hears him teaching daily. She wrote this poem about her dad.

Encouraging Practice

The below comments are taken from "Keeping the Ball Rolling" by Rochelle Pearson from the American Suzuki Association, Vol. 35, #4.

Back in Greek times there were three disciplines: Math for the mind, Gymnastics for the body and Music for the soul... It has been proven that you use more of the brain in playing music than you do in any other activity. It incorporates emotion, mathematics, history, language, etc. Children who play an instrument tend to perform better academically. Therefore, it should be part of a child's daily activity, like doing homework or brushing teeth...

Most children don't naturally migrate to the things that are good for them in life. If left to their own, they would likely want to watch TV and/or play video games most of the day.

It is important that we approach practicing with a positive attitude, encouragement, and constructive criticism. There is no reason why practicing can't be enjoyable... Go to concerts, listen to recordings... do whatever you can to make the love of music an integral part of your lives.

I have never ... had an adult come up to me and say sadly, "Why did my parents force me to take violin lessons?" I've only heard adults say to me remorsefully, "Why did my parents let me quit!?!"... Any fine art form like dance or music must be developed young, when the muscles are developing and the mind is quick to absorb new information.

Remember that it doesn't matter whether or not your children go into music professionally in the future. What matters is that they develop mentally, physically, and emotionally as they mature, and that they develop a true love and appreciation for music for the rest of their lives.

(Ideas for practice incentives:)
Practice 10 sessions without one complaint, receiving a star each time, and after 10 stars they get a little prize.
Media time: They don't get to do screen time until all homework and practicing is done.

Hang in there- it takes time to get into a groove. Just as with the laws of motion, once you get the ball rolling, it will continue to roll, but once it stops then it takes extra effort to get it rolling again.

SAU Super Activity

SALT LAKE VIOLIN REGION
INVITES YOU TO ATTEND

FIDDLE FEST SUPER ACTIVITY!
Saturday, September 13th 2008
6:00pm

“THIS IS THE PLACE”
HERITAGE PARK
2601 Sunnyside Avenue- across from Hogle Zoo

With Guest Artist
THE AARON ASHTON BAND!
Bring your fiddles, families, and western wear! All violin students will perform fiddle songs together featured in the “Fairfield Fiddle Farm” Books One & Two! The Aaron Ashton Band will also perform fun fiddle music! This will be a fun (and FREE!) evening for everyone!

Song Selections Include: Old McDonald, Bile them Cabbage Down*, Cripple Creek*, Old Joe Clark*, Polly Wolly Doodle*, Golden Slippers*, Down Yonder*, Ragtime Annie*,

and the Orange Blossom Special*
*duet parts offered in Fiddle Farm Book One or Two

Riverton Metropolitan Orchestra

The group I play with is performing at the Riverton Arts Festival on Thursday, June 5th at approximately 8:00 p.m. I recommend you arrive around 7:30. We will be playing many favorite Patriotic Tunes, as well as a few fun Swing Numbers. Concert will be held at Riverton City Park. The address is 12800 South 1400 West. Hope to see you there!

Institute Guest Artist Performances

All concerts held at Juan Diego High School

11800 South 300 East, Draper Utah

Monday June 16th

5:00 p.m.

Jenny Oaks Baker - Violin

Tuesday June 17th

5:00 p.m.

Jesus Morales - Cello

Wednesday June 18th

1:00 p.m.

The Fry Street Quartet

I'm not sure if the concerts are supposed to be only for Institute Attendees or not. Last year my husband came and met me and my daughter. So, I think it should be ok. I especially recommend seeing Jenny Oaks Baker play... it will be very inspiring for the students.

http://www.intermountainsuzukistringinstitute.com/guestartists.aspx

Meeting Recaps

Hello Everyone!

Here are a few of the things that we talked about in our meetings this week. We mostly focused on practice ideas, and how to keep your child motivated as they learn the violin/viola. If you haven't filled out a feedback chart for me yet, please do. It gives me a lot of good info to work with as far as how I can help you in your home practice, and how I can help your child to achieve their musical goals.

Practice Ideas:

1- Have a 3-ring binder or other folder to help keep track of assignment sheets. It's important for your student to review their weekly sheets and use them in their daily practice. You can also include things like Note FlashCards, the Suzuki book, and any other non-Suzuki songs I give you copies of. This helps the student to remember what they need to practice each day, and it creates a good system for Review. Just have them play through everything in the book every day, and Review is easy!


2- Draw faces on the practice chart to tell me how that day went. This is especially effective for younger students. A smile means good practice, no fighting. A frown means the practice was a struggle. Eyes with a straight line means it was somewhere in between. This way I can see what areas of practice your student enjoys, and where you might need ideas to help practice be smoother.

3- Remember that Review and Listening are THE MOST IMPORTANT parts of daily practice. If you don't have much time some days, or if it's not a happy practice day, just do the Review and Listening. These days are okay periodically. Try to let your child have some control over what they're practicing- as long as they do what's on their chart, it doesn't matter too much what order they do it in. I recommend saving their "favorite" thing to do at the end of practice... it's the dessert, the reward for practicing well. Also, remember to use those practice charts and ideas I've given each of you. If you don't have any more, or never got them, let me know.

Motivation:

In the packet I give out when you start with me, there is a sheet called "Fun Practice Ideas". This has lots of good motivating ideas on it for you to use with your student. I will be incorporating some of the Practice Charts into our lessons and offering rewards for them.

Another great way to motivate students is for them to see musical performances. I will be posting information about the concerts available at Institute in a couple of weeks. I believe they are available to the public, and are free. I would especially encourage you to take your student to the Jenny Oaks Baker concert. She is an amazing and very accomplished violinist.


Whenever I hear about good performance opportunities for your students to see, I will let you know.

I will also be giving out Christmas music to start learning over the summer. I would like to have a Christmas Concert in December after I have my baby. So, we need plenty of time to practice before I take maternity leave.

We will not be having group lessons during the summer. I will let you know how group classes will be in the Fall.

Also, remember that the SLC Area Violin Graduation is in January. You must be a member of SAU to participate. The fee is $30 for the whole year. There will also be an activity in the fall, and I'll let you know when I get info about that.

Happy Practicing, Keep up the good work, and Remember your goals as you work with your child! Harmony in the parent-child relationship is one of the most important aspects of the Suzuki Method, so keep that in mind.

Parent Meeting

Don't forget- Parent Meeting this week!

Tues. 27th at 7:00 p.m. OR Thurs. 29th at 10:00 a.m.

At my house. Feel free to bring children with you if needed. Come excited to get to know each other and with any questions you may have for me about lessons or the Suzuki Method!
http://suzukiassociation.org/about/suzuki/

See you soon!

A Neat Concert to Attend

Rocky Mountain Strings 2008 Concerts

Rocky Mountain Strings is an advanced performing group of 45 young violinists directed by Deborah Moench and Ramona Stirling. At the invitation of the Wieniawski School of Music in Lodz, Poland, the students and their directors introduced the Suzuki Method of music education to the people of Poland and the Czech Republic during a tour in October 2000. In 2003 the group gave performances throughout Italy. In 2005 they performed at schools and the Tabernacle in St. George, Utah. The group has also performed at the International Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference in Chicago (1998) and the Conference in Minneapolis (2006). In August of 2008 they will tour Argentina as part of an international Suzuki Violin method exchange.

Locally, Rocky Mountain Strings loves performing at venues such as Libby Gardner Hall, The Assembly Hall on Temple Square, First Night, Gala Fundraisers, Utah Symphony Lobbyfest, weddings, conventions, churches, private parties, and schools.
Benefit Concert
May 21, 2008
7:00 p.m. Libby Gardner Hall
Tickets are $10 and available from Rocky Mountain String Members
or call 599-4021

Other Performances:
Sunday August 10th
Cordoba, Argentina
Saturday August 16th
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Summer Lessons

Welcome to Spring! I wanted to give you a heads up about things to come. First of all, I will be teaching regular lessons the last week of May, so please let me know if you won’t be able to come.

Summer lessons be will scheduled a few weeks at a time. We will not necessarily have a set time from week to week, since everyone’s schedule seems to change so much during the summer. Rather, everyone will have TEN lessons to spread out in June, July and August to schedule at times that are convenient for everyone. Please plan to either pay for 2 ½ months of tuition up front in June, or to leave postdated checks for July and half tuition for August when you pay your June tuition.

Students who plan to continue lessons with me in the fall are required to have summer lessons. I find that students who don’t have lessons over the summer take months in the fall to return to the same level they were at the end of spring. This is discouraging for everyone. There is a lot of flexibility during the summer- we can even do more than one lesson in a week if you want. Please take a look at your summer calendar and plan on scheduling lessons for June before group lessons in May. If you want to increase your lesson time from a half hour to forty-five minutes, summer is a good time to do it. I recommend 45 min. lessons starting early to mid Book 2.

Summer lessons will be especially important, as Rob and I are expecting a baby due September 18th. My Macy was born a week early, but as birth is unpredictable, I have a tentative plan set up. I would like to continue teaching in September until the baby is born. You can pay for one lesson at a time. That way we’ll be able to keep going as long as possible. If for some reason I am unable to teach and you’ve already paid for lessons, they will either be credited or made-up if possible.

I would like to resume lessons mid-October or at the beginning of November, depending on my recovery time. I will definitely keep you posted. I’d like to do a group recital in the beginning of December. It will be sort of like a group lesson, where all students will play the songs that they know all together, rather than a solo recital. I’d like to incorporate some holiday music into this recital as well. I will try to have music for this ready before I have the baby so that you can continue to practice with your child during the break.

I’d also like to start having quarterly parent meetings. We would get together for about an hour, here at my house. I would give a short presentation about a particular topic, then the remainder of the time will be used for mingling/questions/giving each other encouragement as we discuss each of our musical journeys with our children. Of course, refreshments will be provided, and you are welcome to attend as a couple or an individual- whichever is better for you. Our first meeting will be held the last week of May. Please let me know which date will work better for you- either the 27th at 7:00 pm or the 29th at 10:00 am. I am willing to do a meeting both days to accomodate everyone. Also, if you need to bring children with you, that is fine.

Thanks for all you do as parents, and for the chance to work with your students. As always, let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Recital

We had our Spring Recital on April 26th at Herriman City Hall. I was a little stressed out, as I forgot to pick up the key, and request a piano for it! Thankfully, my mother bailed us out- she had a key and was able to find the piano for us.

Everyone did such a great job performing! I'm so proud of all my students and all that they are accomplishing. I love teaching and I love getting to know new people. I have a lot of new students right now, and it's so fun to see them grow and progress in whatever they're working on.

Here's to many more fun musical experiences together!

Time Flies

Wow- it's been forever since I've blogged here.

I'm doing my Book Two teacher training right now with Jeanne Grover. It is so much fun, and so exciting to be able to steal ideas from other people! I feel rejuvenated as a teacher, as well as better equipped to teach the things I'm learning.

Teacher Training requires a certain number of hours of observation. What a blessing it has been to be able to watch other teachers in action. I remember when I taught traditional method how much I wished that I could watch other teachers and steal their ideas, but I never felt comfortable in asking. And now I'm "required" to do it! :)

Thanks to great locals like Ramona Stirling, Jeanne Grover, Leslie Thackeray, Renee Dalgleish, and Stacy Smith, I am now armed with a plethora of practice charts, ideas, methods, etudes, and incentive programs to bombard my students with. Oh, I guess I still need to learn moderation. And how to determine which students need which tools.

Good thing there is plenty of time to keep learning!

Also, I can't wait to take Macy to Institute in June, where I will get to steal even MORE ideas from teachers all over the world- not just little old Utah. :)