It is always a sad day when a fellow teacher passes away.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/20/3395824/davidson-college-pianist-ruskin.html
Category: NCMTA
Spring Break
It is spring break here in Charlotte, NC for the CMS school district. Yes, we are having lessons this week.
In fact, this week would be a great time to schedule a trial lesson for piano, voice, or oboe. As a teacher, I find it very important to meet and evaluate potential students. It isn’t an audition but a chance for me to see what methods might work best for the student and what a student might already know.
As always, trial lessons are free at Brunner Studios.
Give Brunner Studios a call to see about scheduling your trial lesson. Even if you don’t want to begin lessons until school lets out for the summer, now is a great time to meet. Students of all ages are welcome.
Contact information is: 704-787-4644 or heather@brunnerstudios.com
NCMTA Festival Charlotte
Congrats to all the students who participated yesterday in the NCMTA Festival for the Charlotte area.
A big thank you to all the teachers who ‘volunteered’ and helped the day run smoothly. Is it really volunteering if participation is mandatory?
See everyone again next year.
Support a Music Festival and Volunteer
This year I am chairing 2 different piano festivals. Honestly, the amount of work doesn’t bother me. The hours of paperwork, a whole lot of email, phone calls, it really isn’t that big of a deal. The hardest part is getting volunteers.
Now for both of these festivals it is mandatory, according to the festival rules, that participating teachers volunteer on the day of the festival. The option is given to send a student or parent representative from your studio. Some teachers are really great about being ready to volunteer and even sending students. Many kids can get community service credit. Other teachers really drag their feet. There are very few legitimate excuses for not helping in some fashion, but you know from the paperwork that you submitted that volunteering is required. So if you just had surgery or have been sick, please find someone to take your place. If you are out of town, find someone to take your place.
Teachers who are only entering 1 or 2 students do have a little bit of a harder time, but it is right there on the paperwork. Those one or two students still have to be checked in just like those students from the teacher who entered 25.
It takes team work to make these festivals work. Students don’t need to be harried because there aren’t enough grownups to keep things running smoothly.
So call up your local music festival and see if they need some help. I promise that they will probably be happy to see you.
Welcome to New Students
I just want to give a big welcome to all my new students. Brunner Studios is growing at a very steady pace. I am excited that we added piano and oboe students to the roster this week. Wednesday lesson times are now down to 1 available slot.
Keep up the good work parents and students. Don’t forget that you get a 10% referral discount for any new students that give your name.
And here is a funny picture. This is so true. Well, except for that time in college when I was so sleep deprived that I tried to play with my music upside down. It still looked like the top example in that case.
Festival Paperwork from the Other Side
This blog originally was more for piano teachers than for students and parents. Today I think I’ll hit a topic more for teachers.
This year I’m chairing 2 different festivals and they both require copious amounts of paperwork. Teachers send in their teacher information, check, registrations forms and certificates. The state organizations send me forms, forms and more forms to fill out and certificates. We are starting to talk a paper avalanche here. Now the good thing is that I don’t mind paperwork. I like organizing and creating schedules and making processes more efficient.
What I don’t like is illegible handwriting and disorganized lists. What can you do to help your festival chair and make the job a little easier? First up is to write legibly. If that is an issue or if English isn’t your first language, find a computer and go to town with some typing. I can always transfer the information to an official form if need be. However, if I can’t read your writing, a number of problems could occur. Your student’s name could be spelled incorrectly and that could affect any number of thing. I could misunderstand what piece they are playing. That would be a serious disaster. I might not be able to read your phone number or email address to get in touch with you to correct the above listed issues. So write neatly or type. It saves a lot of time on my part.
Now, if you are reading this blog, you probably have email Surprisingly enough, there are quite a few teachers who don’t. If you know your teacher doesn’t email. Offer to be an ambassador for them. There are items that I email to most teachers and thereby save time and money. You get your playing times sooner and paperwork without creases.
Keep your paperwork organized. If you are entering students in a festival with categories, when you starting filling out the paperwork, keep the students grouped together. Groups A and B shouldn’t be intermingled. That is just a problem waiting to happen. As careful as organizers try to be, accidents happen sometimes. Help keep things working smoothly by keeping your paperwork as organized as possible.
These are just a few ideas to help your festival organizers out. These events are a lot of work and it takes volunteers to keep them running. Be nice to the volunteers!
Starting Piano Lessons or Any Type of Lessons in January
So you or your child or your spouse received a keyboard or piano during the holiday season. Now what? It’s time to find a piano teacher.
Is it ok to start lessons in January? The answer to that is yes. New Year’s resolutions aside there is no reason not to start lessons now.
Your schedule is established. The kids have the hang of the school year and all of those sports schedules are pretty much known for the time being.
Go ahead and call around. Teachers should be willing to have a free trial lesson or meeting with a prospective student.
Find the teacher that is right for you and get started. There is no time like the present.
Here at Brunner Studios in Charlotte, NC, I am looking for a few new piano, voice and oboe students. Most teachers will have a few mid-year opening in there schedule. There is still time to get started with lessons and participate in spring recitals and festivals.
Festival Deadlines
This is just a reminder to all the local teachers that there are several registration deadlines this month:
NCMTA District is due on Jan. 21, 2012.
NFMC Non-Scholarship and Scholarship are both due on Jan. 14, 2012.
The paper work for these festivals states there are NO EXCEPTIONS on the deadlines. Please plan accordingly.
NCMTA Piano Contest-Festival Registration Form
Hello to all my fellow teachers in North Carolina. If case you have lost your registration forms for the spring contest, you will find them at the bottom of the Resources pages of www.brunnerstudios.com
https://www.brunnerstudios.com/resources
Good luck to everyone this spring. The registration deadline is January 21, 2012.
2012 Festival Dates and Locations for Charlotte, NC and Surrounding Areas
Festival season is upon us and registrations deadlines are coming up fast. Here are a few of the dates you need to remember:
National Federation of Music Clubs
Deadline for all applications is January, 14, 2012
Dates and Locations:
Hymn Playing: Feb. 4, 2012- Carmel Baptist Church
Piano Scholarship: Feb. 18, 2012- Queens University
Piano Make Up Date: Feb. 18, 2012- Queens University
Instruments: February 18, 2012- Queens University
Voice- February 18, 2012- Queens University
Piano Non- Scholarship- Feb. 25- Queens University, Central Piedmont Community College, First Baptist Church
NCMTA Piano Contest-Festival
Deadline for all District Applications: January, 21, 2012
Deadline for all State Applications: March, 16, 2012
Dates and Locations:
Charlotte, NC (District 2)- March 3, 2012- Queens University
West State Contest- March 31, 2012– Queens University