Studio Winter Recital

Here is the group! These are most but not all of my students. 21 of these students in the picture have been studying with me for less than 18 months. I have heard a lot of progress this year!

I really enjoyed this year-end recital; We made sure that most students did not stretch to play their hardest pieces so they were very comfortable performing. I heard a lot of genuine musicality, phrasing, dynamics and real involvement in the music making experience, from all ages and levels. As the teacher I felt so comfortable and, well, thrilled at what was happening from the beginning. I'd already done a bad thing setting up that night by spilling an entire gallon of apple juice on the carpet- I felt like I was setting the tone for a bad night- but no way- it was awesome. The students really shone. I also really appreciated how well behaved the kids all were: they were supportive of each other, nobody was running around and playing pianos... At first the shop owner was really worried about the crowd we had coming- over 100 people! But they all behaved beautifully, and he was definitely happy: the parents were quickly cleaning up at the end- 10 minutes with several hard workers had all the chairs away, cookies cleaned up, everything back in order. (...Now if we could only get the piano teacher not to drop the apple juice jug!!)

Afterwards we enjoyed getting photos taken by a professional photographer ...as well as the obligatory cookie reception. What a great evening!

Saturday, December 10 2011, 6:00 Recital Program (Last names edited out for privacy)


Ella, 5
Lemonade Stand (Faber)
All My Friends (Faber)
Firefly (Faber)

Violet, 3
Frogs on Logs (Faber)
D-E-F March (Faber)
Marching (Dmitri Kabalevsky)

Sriya, 6
The Juggler (Faber)
“This is Not Jingle Bells” (Faber)

Sarah, 8
The Haunted Mouse (Faber)
The Grumpy Old Troll (Faber)

Ashwin, 6
Young Hunter (Faber)
Canoe Song (Faber)

Luke C, 7
Marching (Dmitri Kabalevsky)
Red Feather (W. E. Robinson)

Luke D, 6
Romantic Story (Gurlitt)

Luke B, 7
The Sleeping Dragon (Nancy Telfer)
Reflections and Swooping Blues (Paul Sheftel)

Livi, 9
Morning at Spring Meadow (Hartsell)

Sowmya, 9
Aria (Daniel Speer)
Gavotte (Handel)

Rowan, 8
Dance of the Irish (Faber)

Taylor, 10
Don’t Wanna Leave You Blues (Martha Meir)

Drew (13) and Taylor
Hush a Bye and Jamaica Farewell (Folk Tunes)

David, 10
Theme from New World Symphony, mvt. 2 (Dvorak)
Pumpkin Boogie (Faber)

Chloe, 6
Dance Song (Sperontes)
Grandfather’s Musical Clock (Rohde)

Amber, 6
Sonatina in G Major (Thomas Attwood)
Morning at Spring Meadow (Randall Hartsell)

Jackie, 7
Ballerina in a Chinese Garden (Composed by Jackie)
The Great Escape (Randall Hartsell)

Daniel, 9
Relay Race (Jon George)
Sonata in D minor K. 90d (Scarlatti)

Andrew, 12
Clowns (Dmitri Kabalevsky)
Arabesque (Burgmuller)

Eashan, 7
Musette (J. S. Bach)
Sonatina in G major, Mvt. 1 (Beethoven)

Jamin, 8
Jazz Sonatina,Mvt.1: Rhythmic (Robert Vandall)

Emily, 8
Recollections (Randall Hartsell)

Stella, 10
Invention No. 8 in F major (J. S. Bach)
Sonatina in F major mvt. 2: Rondo (Beethoven)

Haily, 12
Prelude No. 16 in D flat Major (Robert Vandall)

Katie, 16
Waltz in A minor (Edvard Grieg)

Lauren, 13
Fur Elise (Beethoven)

Dan, 17
Scherzo from Sonata in E flat Major (Beethoven)

Stefan, 15
Sonata in C minor Mvt. 1: Molto Allegro (Mozart)

Dawson, 17
Canon in D by Pachelbel (duet with Ms. Bonnie)
Improvisation

On a different note, we are preparing for another recital entirely, to happen next week... starring three of these students!

Pipe Organ Field Trip

Today many of the students in my studio went on a field trip to a large church that had a pipe organ with 2,996 pipes. The organist is always so accommodating to my studio, bringing extra pipes and instrument parts, explaining the workings of the monstrous instrument, describing the different-than-piano-technique needed to play the organ, and best of all, getting just the right sound for all the students' pieces. Today it was mostly my youngest students, and it was a really nice group. If you look carefully through the pictures, you can see the reactions of some of the youngsters when the organ reaches its loudest volume!

The children were kept fascinated not just by the playing, but also by the demonstrations.

Pictured above is the LaDonna, the organist who has been a wonderful guide to my students in their first introduction to the king of instruments!

(Did anyone ever write a method called "Teaching Little Feet to Play?")

When you pull out all the stops for the lowest pedal pipes the whole room vibrates and it can get startlingly loud...

...inducing fits of giggles

(You gotta do what you gotta do!)

The "tubas" up top

Their duet turned out to be more suited to the organ than the piano!

There were more students who are not pictured playing, but sometimes I had to listen, too! This is the only instrument I have ever seen that has its own telephone. I should have given it its own picture, as well as the pile of little shoes that grew as more and more children performed! LaDonna, as well as the other listeners had many fine things to say about these young performers who adapted their considerable pianistic skills to the pipe organ this afternoon.

Thanks to all that participated!