Carnival of the Animals Concert

It was so fun for me to perform with my oldest son with an orchestra this past week!  We each got to play on our own grand piano and play with the Odyssey Orchestra.  

I need to get some more photos from the event with us at the piano, but in the meantime here we our in our Gold and black...since we were performing The Introduction, and The LION!

The Carnival of the Animals is such a joyful collection of music inspired by animals.

It was such a fun performance!  Playing with an orchestra is so exhilarating!

St. Patrick's Day Recital!

We worked on some new skills for our St. Patrick's Day performance: Accompanying and learning what it means to "chord" and use a piano "fake book."  The students did a wonderful job accompanying some fiddlers and Irish Step Dancers...and the audience loved all the music you shared!

Piano Christmas Recital 2018

This is my first Piano Recital with my students in Missouri and it was so much fun!

We had a wonderful time bringing Christmas time cheer with our music to these senior citizens.  They appreciated the music you shared so much!

Halloween Recital

It was so fun to perform in costume!  These students all composed their own music to perform tonight along with their other pieces.  I surprised the students with a book with everyone's compositions in it called, "Musical Managerie" because it's special to be a published composer!

Goodbye Recital

Goodbyes are the worst.  Good thing your amazing playing brought me so much joy!

I will sure miss all of my students in Arizona, as our family is moving to Missouri.  You all have been an important part of my life over the past 5 years!

I was recently reading an article that talked about the influence a piano teacher has--because that teacher is one of the very few constants from year to year that a child consistently sees every week; and how few others outside of family have such a regular and long term relationship with a child over the course of their life.

What the article didn't mention is how those students bless the life of their teacher because they consistently come and spend time together.
I have been so very blessed to spend my hours in the company of these amazing souls.

You are fantastic musicians and incredible people.  I was joking with one of my students that I had seen him for at least 200 weeks of lessons.  That's no small thing!  The music and friendships that have come into my life because of music and teaching have been such a blessing!  I will dearly miss you all!

Christmas and J.S. Bach Recital

J.S. Bach wrote some of the most beautifully complex music.  These students did such a wonderful job sharing their music written by Bach along with all their fun seasonal music!  I love making Christmas ornaments each year for my students.  This year I put a copy of the music you learned from J.S. Bach on your ornament.  I love you love it!

Sharing some Christmas Cheer

Some students have been sharing Christmas cheer through playing their music at the Post Office for all the people standing in line!  Hearing and watching them play Christmas music cheered them up while waiting in long lines.  Thanks for sharing your music!

100 Pages of Music Celebration

Over the summer I challenged the students to learn and play 100 pages of music.  I did this because I knew it would increase their music reading ability, help them to play A LOT of different kinds and styles of music, and improve their sight-reading skills, and be TONS of FUN!

In order to complete the challenge, the students needed to learn about 10 pages a week of music.

Some students went about and beyond and learned even more.....

And it worked!  These students have improved so much this summer!  It was great to celebrate their amazing new abilities at this Recital!

We also loved hearing the piano quartets perform!

Quartet Time!

It's almost show time for our piano quartets!  They are sounding so good...but so loud too!

It is so exciting to play in a piano ensemble and these kids are learning some great team work and the beauty of how their part fits into the whole to create this beautiful music!

Solo Recital and Graduation!

I am so proud of Krissy!  She gave an absolutely beautiful Solo Senior Recital!  It has been a joy for me to teach her over the past 3.5 years and help her find more joy in music and grow in her piano skills.  Tonight she shared that all in a beautiful way and it was so fun to celebrate all she has accomplished!  I'm excited for her and all the great things she will continue to do as she heads to college!

Piano Testing done!

The Arizona Study Program is such a fantastic goal for the students to work towards.
They study throughout the year and come to be evaluated on their Theory, technique, performance, and Music History.

It is such a big triumph to complete it.  All of my students received high honors and performed 4 pieces of music by memory.  I'm so proud of all the hard work they did...because it helped them grow so much!

May the 4th be with You!

Dressing up makes practicing more fun...can you tell what music they are working on?

Practice, practice!

Do you ever stop right in the middle of what you are doing to go practice?  Any time is a great time to practice and have fun at the piano!

Playing the Piano on my trip to Estonia

When my husband mentioned that I was a concert pianist while we were touring a beautiful church in Tallin, Estonia they invited me to go and play their piano!  It was such a treat for me!  The acoustics in here were amazing!

Spring Recital Moosic

I was so proud of you all for sharing your "moosic" with the residence of the retirement center.  They were so grateful for the inspiring concert you all played.  Sharing music makes it even more joyful!

There are two weeks until the ASP where you will play for a judge and receive some feedback and take your music theory/history test.  This is a great opportunity for growth and I have seen you all progress so much in your preparations!  You're prepared and ready to go and that feels great too!  

Composer Birthday Party Masterclass

With everyone preparing for the ASP performances and testing, there is so much fantastic music being played in my Studio right now!  What a delight!  We had a great time at Masterclass hearing so many well-prepared students share their music.  Each piece and it's composer got a candle on our Musical Time Period birthday cake.  And of course we celebrated with cupcakes after all the great playing!  

Wearing the birthday glasses just made it that much more fun!  Here are a few of the students that participated:

And just look at this fantastic-looking practice record!  It belongs to Colton and it's no wonder he is playing so well with the great SMART practice he is doing!!

Christmas Recital 2014

This year my students prepared Christmas Duets to share.  They learned how to turn pages for each other and a lot about playing in an ensemble.  They also each prepared a piece by J.S. Bach for the Christmas Recital.  

Bach wrote much of his music for church and his music is very difficult to learn and it was rewarding to watch the students as they worked hard to turn the notes into beautiful music. The music of Bach, a Christian who believed that God gave him his talents and music to write, was perfectly paired with the Christmas music.

Solo Recitals!

It has been a joy to see some Solo Recitals from 2 students this semester.  One student, Katelynn is 6 and the other student, Jacob is 8 years old.  Giving a Solo Recital is something any age can prepare and share.  Katelynn prepared about 8-10 pieces to perform from memory and Jacob played for about 30 minutes from memory.

They both gave successful performances and I was very proud of them for their hard work and dedication as well as their desire to share their music with others.
Way to go Katelynn and Jacob!

Superior!!!

All my students received SUPERIOR ratings on their Arizona Study Program Evaluations and Performances!  That's the highest possible!

Below are just some of these talented students.  

Congratulations to you all!!

May Recital 2014

What beautiful music was shared at our May Recital!  The students had prepared so well for their Arizona Study Program evaluation and when the music sounds that good, you just have to share it!

The Residents at the care center loved it!  And I loved hearing all the hard work the students have put in come to fruition in a live performance.  What fun!