MARCH studio news
Sunday, March 2, 2025 by Cortney Baker | Uncategorized
March 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
March Schedule
There are no changes to this month's schedule.
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!
Musical March Madness
Musical March Madness brackets were handed out at last Friday's dress rehearsal. Most students have 3-5 "games" to complete during the month of March (with April as a carry over month). So plan accordingly. Start those review engines!!
How it works: You will review two pieces that are connected by a bracket. When you are comfortable playing the pieces, choose a lucky friend or family member to be your audience and give them a personal concert! Before or after you play, ask them to choose the piece they enjoyed hearing you play the most. That piece, moves forward on the bracket to the next level! Repeat until you have a WINNER!
Sharing our gift of music is not only a motivating reason to practice, but a useful insight as to why we spend hours mastering an instrument. AND, a wonderful byproduct --- spreading joy to those around us! Be creative in ways you share your gift: knock on a neighbor's door, video call a family member who lives far away. Have another idea? Please share! I'd love to know about your experience.
Group Class
Group Classes will meet on Friday, March 21st. Location: Saint Francis UMC. 2965 Kildaire Farm Road, 27518, Sanctuary.
This month's classes will follow our usual schedule. Group schedule:
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*plan to arrive 10min prior to your assigned group time to unpack and be ready to tune.
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
Our state has a local institute! Consider heading a little east to join them for a week of music making! North Carolina Suzuki Institute, July 13-18https://www.ncsuzuki.org/ncsi-home
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 gained one whole year of musical growth in just one week!"
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.
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. AND handing out achievement awards for 50-, 100-, and 150-days of listening at our past recital was a joy!
Keep going!!
****Everyday is a new opportunity to listen.****
****When you complete your second, third OR fourth 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 at our May recitals.
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 Ray Chen. (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!
Vitali: Chaconne: https://youtu.be/HvMYJmO5lrE
Tartini: Devil's Trill Sonata https://youtu.be/orWePX13N3M
Massenet: Meditation from 'Thais': https://youtu.be/bnzQcP7x46g
Waltzing Matilda: https://youtu.be/4c364LnyOU4
Please share these links with the kids.
Ray Chen is a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century. With a media presence that enhances and inspires the classical audience, reaching out to millions through his unprecedented online following, Ray Chen's remarkable musicianship transmits to a global audience that is reflected in his engagements with the foremost orchestras and concert halls around the world.
Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and was supported by Young Concert Artists. He plays the 1735 “Samazeuilh” Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. This instrument was once owned by the famed American violinist, Mischa Elman (1891-1967).
https://www.raychenviolin.com/
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
