New Blogging Software and Blog Topics

My wonderful husband has insisted that I try some new ‘easier’ blogging software.  So in the spirit of trying new things, I am asking for ideas.  If there is topic you would like to see covered in the blog, I want to hear about it.  You can either submit your idea via email or through the comments section.  Topics could range from music reading to what is it like to be a professional music teacher.  I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Masquerade Musicale

Just a quick note about how proud I am of my students. Saturday night was the Masquerade Musicale. There were 4 seatings and I had students playing in all of them.

Everyone did an excellent job. Their costumes were adorable and their behavior during the concerts was excellent.

Congrats and I can’t wait to see what the Winter Recitals will bring.

Those first graders know how to practice!

I would just like to congratulate my student Savannah.  She is in first grade and this is her third year of lessons with me.  Savannah is the final student to still have a perfect practice record for this semester.  That is all gold stars for 9 weeks!  She has met her practice goals and had her practice chart filled in every week.

Savannah will be receiving a book of her choice as a reward.  I am very proud of her hard work and dedication.

Top 5 Book Picks for Christmas Lists

As a musician a well stocked library is a must.  Music literature and reference books are  vauable resources for the aspiring pianist and teacher.  So here are my top 5 picks that should be on your shopping list. 

*Make a note that I never said these are cheap or easy to find.

1.  The New Harvard Dictionary of Music

2.  The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music

3.  Guide to the Pianists Repertoire by Maurice Hinson

4.  Famous Pianists and Their Technique by Reginald Gerig

5.  With Your Own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein

Nobuyuki Tsujii

Nobuyuki Tsujii will be performing at the Halton Theater in uptown Charlotte, NC, on Oct. 15 at 8:00 pm.  Tsujii was born blind but at the age of two began exhibiting a talent for the piano.  In 2009, he tied for the gold-medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. 

Check back later this weekend for a recap of the concert.  I look forward to blogging about my student’s reactions to what they will hear at this event.

Road Trip for NCMTA Workshop

The things we do for professional advancement and for the good of our students. North Carolina Music Teachers Assocation hosts a festival in the spring for those students to aspire to a high level of musicianship. Due to the large volume of literature to choose from, the NCMTA puts on 2 workshops in the fall so that teachers can hear all of the music in a live setting.

Since I will be out of town next weekend when the workshop is in Charlotte, I elected to drive to Raleigh for the day. Leaving at 6:00 this morning in order to get there by 9:00 was not my idea of fun. But it was well worth it. The music was wonderful and God bless those clinicians. I can’t imagine learning that quantity of music. For a quick guestimation, they each played approximately 40 pieces of music. The level of difficulty ranged from early intermediate to advanced repertoire.

So 3 bottles of water, 3 diets cokes, a cup of coffee, and a stop of Chick-fil-a later, I am home. Oh yeah and a bag of gummy worms, the yellow ones are the best.

For more information on the NCMTA festival visit www.ncmta.org Also, watch the website for more updates.