Sunday, February 4, 2024 by Cortney Baker | Uncategorized

   February tuition                              

is due at your first lesson of the month.  Consult your monthly invoice for the exact amount. 

Ways to pay:

1. IN PERSON at your lesson
2. MAIL CHECK:  814 Pineland Dr, Cary, 27511
3. ONLINE PAYMENT: Google Pay or Zelle

   February Schedule                             

There are no lessons scheduled Wednesday, February 7 to Friday, February 9.

Looking ahead, there are no lessons scheduled for Monday, February 19.

Log in to your MyMusicStaff portal to see your specific lesson dates, times and location.  Also included in your account: the link to access the Zoom webpage, previous lesson notes, the monthly studio news, and much more!

   February Group Class                        

Group Classes will meet this month on Friday, February 16th.  Location: Saint Francis UMC. 2965 Kildaire Farm Road, 27518, Sanctuary. We will be continue our preparation for our March Chamber and Group Recital.  Come prepared to rehearse our fiddle piece - Turkey in the Straw!  

Group schedule:

                                 *arrive 5 minutes prior to group start time

   Outreach Concerts 2023-24               

All students are invite to participate in our monthly outreach concerts at Spring Arbor of Cary.  These events will require 2-3 studio participants each month.  We will prepare (during weekly lessons) a 20-min concert for the residents and perform it twice within an hour.  Please plan to participate in one of these monthly concerts.

To participate, log into your MMS account.  Go to the studio calendar tab and add your name to the event on the month you are available (See the How to Register for an Outreach Concert file in the online resources for more details).  

**WE are in need of 1-2 more students to sign up for the Sunday, February 18th outreach event.  If you are available, please add your student to the event on our studio calendar.

A hearty thank you to Claire Catalano, Jackie Kim and Glover Wilson for their preparation and participation in our January Outreach Event.

Upper Level Concert, group piece

Lower Level Concert, solos

    Studio Videos                                   

Reminder: link to our YouTube folders: https://pinelandsuzukistrings.mymusicstaff.com/Video-Links

For now, there the folders are for the Pre-Twinkle videos, Book 1 accompaniment, Daily Do (for Music Mind Games class), and Christmas Carols.

   Parent Education                              

I have loaded several articles to the Library & Downloads page in your MMS portal with articles and handouts for parents.  Find a title that interests you and read it!  I highly encourage you to take a moment this month to choose one and read it.  There is so much value in motivation for the Suzuki parent.  Let these articles give you that blessing!!  

This month I want to highlight the Suzuki Summer Institutes that are held all over the country during the summer. There are three articles for you to browse to learn more about Why a Suzuki Family should consider attending an institute week?  

1. 25 Reasons You Will Want to Attend a Suzuki Institute. Use this link:  https://app.mymusicstaff.com/FileDownloader.ashx?FileID=360564&FileType=DownloadLibrary&Mode=Inline
2.  Here are reflections from a Suzuki Violin teacher.  Thoughts on the Suzuki Institute Experience by Jan McClure. Use this link: https://app.mymusicstaff.com/FileDownloader.ashx?FileID=2379243&FileType=DownloadLibrary&Mode=Inline
3. Information from the SAA website about Summer Institutes  Use this link: https://app.mymusicstaff.com/FileDownloader.ashx?FileID=2379247&FileType=DownloadLibrary&Mode=Inline

To access these articles, you can also log into MMS and use the tabs to find our Online Resource's folder>Parent Education. 

Let me know what you think! If you have time, send me your reaction, thoughts. etc. I would love to know what speaks to you.

   Suzuki Summer Institutes                  

Registration for SUZUKI Summer Institutes is underway! Use this link to view all of the options around the country for summer study: https://suzukiassociation.org/events/institutes/

What is an Institute?  It is a 5-day family camp.  Each day, students have a Masterclass lesson and 2-3 classes (group repertoire, group technique, chamber music, orchestra, fiddle, etc) depending on the level of the player and their ability to read music.  Want to know more, please ask me!   

I want to encourage everyone to look at the dates and see how you can fit one of these amazing camps into your schedule this summer.  Several students have attended the NC Institute (which doesn't look like is happening this summer), others have attended virtual camps - there are LOTS of these to consider. 

I will be on faculty at the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute again this year, July 8-12.  I would love for you to consider joining me near our nation's capital.  Lots of fun sightseeing and history to observe when you are not in class!  Here is the link for more info: https://suzukiassociation.org/events/loc/university-louisville-suzuki-string-institute/

I will also be teaching at the Univ of Louisville Suzuki Institute, June 9-14.  Here is the link for more info: https://suzukiassociation.org/events/loc/university-louisville-suzuki-string-institute/

It seems that some Institutes are continuing virtual classes.  I highly encourage in person learning, but you can reduce the cost and time commitment and still experience some of what it is like to work with other teachers and students from around the country!  Several students in our studio have taken advantage of these opportunities in the past.  Each one has come away with a major boost in motivation and confidence! 

   Musical MARCH Madness              

Begins the week of February 12th.  Get ready to serenade family, friends, and neighbors with the gift of music! Your personal brackets will be available to take home that week. Brackets should be completed by your lesson the week of March 11th, which is just in time for our Group/Chamber Recital that weekend.     

   Special Listening                             

Just a reminder that wonderful videos and audio recordings of professional performers can be seen/heard on YouTube.  Use this as the Special Listening assignment for each week.  This month's famous performer is Christian Tetzlaff (see notes below).   

There are other recordings - enjoy looking around and learning more about this great artist of our time.

Please share these with the kids.

Enjoy!

Christian Tetzlaff

Born in Hamburg in 1966 and now living in Berlin with his family, there are three things that make this musician unique, aside from his astounding skill on the violin. He interprets the musical manuscript in a literal fashion, perceives music as a language, and views great works as narratives which reflect existential experiences. As obvious as it may sound, he brings an unusual approach in his daily concert routine.

Secondly, Christian Tetzlaff “speaks” through his violin. Like human speech, his playing comprises a wide range of expressive means and is not aimed solely at achieving harmoniousness or virtuosic brilliance.

Above all, however, he interprets the masterpieces of musical history as stories about first-hand experiences. 

Mozart, Concerto No. 3 in G major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukVuaZsJecw

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Op. 64, mvt. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpxl68woWt4

J.S. Bach, Unaccompanied Sonata No. 3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmDJKCz_H5k

    Local Performances                        

THIS SATURDAY, Feb 10:

The United Strings of Color Intermediate group is presenting a family friendly concert of two stories, one from Africa and one from the United States. Link for more details of the concert and music: https://www. unitedstringsofcolor.org/ event-details/usci-presents- stories-for-black-history

The concert at the Cary Arts Center is free for children through 12th grade and $5 for everyone else. Saturday Feb 10, 6:30 pm.

The performance is about an hour, with no intermission.

Tickets may be purchased online (see link below), at The Cary Movie Theatre box office at 122 E. Chatham St without added fees. (919-462-3051), or the day of at the Cary Art Center - the desk will open at 5:30 for ticket sales (again no added fees of purchased in person).

Link to purchase tickets online: https://www.etix.com/ticket/ online/performanceSale.do? method=restoreToken& performance_id=79402148& method=restoreToken

*April 21, NC Opera presents The Girl of the Golden West by Puccini: https://ncopera.org/2023-2024-season/the-girl-of-the-golden-west/

*denotes Dr. Baker is performing