FEBRUARY Studio News
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 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:
- IN PERSON at your lesson
- MAIL CHECK: 814 Pineland Dr, Cary, 27511
- ONLINE PAYMENT: Venmo & Zelle
February Schedule
NO Lessons are scheduled from Feb 17 to 22.
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!
Inclement Weather
During seasons when school could be cancelled and storms cause travel to be unsafe, remember that we have many options for moving the lesson to an online format. Of course, this is given that we still have power to run our devices! The missed lesson policy will remain in place if you do not attend a lesson that we have agreed to move to an online format. In the event of a location change, I will contact you via text or email and will update the lesson location in the MMS calendar of events.
Group Class
Group Classes will meet on Friday, February 28th. Location: Saint Francis UMC. 2965 Kildaire Farm Road, 27518, Sanctuary.
This month's class will serve as the DRESS REHEARSAL* for our March 1 group recital. In order to perform on the Chamber & Group Recital the next day, a student must participate in the rehearsal. To that end...NOTE the change in schedule this month, so we can accommodate rehearsing the group pieces with everyone together.
*Dress rehearsal means we will rehearse in concert order to prepare for the recital. Everyday wear is expected, concert attire is not. ;-)
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*plan to arrive 10min prior to your assigned group time to unpack and be ready to tune.
^plan to stay until 6:00p
Chamber & Group Recital
Our studio group recital is Saturday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m., Saint Francis UMC, Sanctuary. The recital will be recorded and a link shared for family and friends to watch and support all of the performers!
All studio participants are expected to participate in our 3 recitals each year.
RECITAL ATTIRE:
Men/Boys - nice pants and shirt, dress shoes preferred (dark tennis shoes are fine)
Ladies/Girls - dresses (with a below the knee hemline - our "stage" is at eye level for our audience, so please plan accordingly) or dress pants and nice top, dress shoes preferred.
ARRIVAL:
Plan to arrive by 3:40 PM to unpack and tune
ALL students will prepare group pieces to perform on the second half of the recital in a Suzuki-style play-down. In lessons during February, we will check off each student's individual preparation of the group pieces they intended to perform on the recital. Be practicing all of the pieces you know listed below to prepare for your lesson.
Book 7+: C. Dancla, Air Varie
Book 4+: F. Seitz, Concerto No. 2, III
Book 3: G.B. Martini, Gavotte
Book 2: Hunter's Chorus
Book 1: Minuet 1, Perpetual Motion, Song of the Wind, Twinkle
Chamber Ensembles
This month, ensemble coachings with me are scheduled for Friday, February 7, at Saint Francis UMC. Consult the email you received or log into your MMS portal to see when you are scheduled for a coaching. If you feel an additional rehearsal would be beneficial, I am going to suggest setting up a time to meet during the week of Feb.19. There are no scheduled lessons that week, and this might be a good time to have a rehearsal. If you need to help facilitating a time and location, please reach out to Dr. Baker.
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/teachers/teacher-training/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, June 23-29. 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://gwsuzukiinstitute.org/
I will also be teaching at the Univ of Louisville Suzuki Institute, June 8-13. Here is the link for more info: https://louisville.edu/music/outreach/suzuki-studies/suzuki-string-institute
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! As my colleague David Strom has frequently expressed, "institute participants come away from an institute having grown in musical experience one whole year in just one week!"
Studio Videos
Reminder: link to our YouTube folders: https://pinelandsuzukistrings.mymusicstaff.com/Video-Links
For now, I have posted links to 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 link might help to take you there: https://app.mymusicstaff.com/Student/v3/en/online-resources
The Year of Listening
It has been exciting to see the progress of everyone's listening journey on our studio chart. Everyone is more attentive to the idea of listening as a benefit to their musical progress. Keep going!! ****Everyday is a new opportunity to listen.****
****When you complete your second or third 50-day chart, please hand it to Dr. Baker in your lesson.****
A reminder of why listening needs to be a focus each week:
This year, to encourage and build healthy habits, we will hold three Listening challenges. Each semester, there will be a 50-day listening challenge and throughout the winter a 100-day challenge. Students who complete a challenge will be recognized during the recital at the end of each timeframe, with a MASTER LISTENER award being presented to students who achieve the maximum 200-day listening challenge.
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 Chloe Hanslip. (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!
Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 "Spring": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCubFZNkrd8
Gershwin: Summertime from "Porgy & Bess": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGvgmXY67Ks
Waxman: Carmen Fantasy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ3zDtose0k
Please share these links with the kids.
Chloe Hanslip was born in Guildford, Surrey, and has been playing the violin since she was two. At the age of five she performed for Yehudi Menuhin and subsequently, at his invitation, studied with Natasha Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School. By ten she had played in major concert halls throughout Europe and North America, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Royal Albert Hall in London. At 13 she was the youngest recording artist ever to be signed to Warner Classics UK. Her debut album, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra under Paul Mann, was released in September 2001 to great critical acclaim.
Since then, she has performed in Russia, France and Japan, performed numerous time for the British Royal family, and been featured on several TV shows. In 2017, Hanslip became the first Artist in Association at the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Hanslip plays a 1737 Guarneri del Gesu violin.
Local Performances
*April 4 & 6 - NC Opera presents The Marriage of Figaro by W.A.Mozart: https://ncopera.org/2024-2025-season/the-marriage-of-figaro/
*denotes Dr. Baker is performing
