Back to School Again!

Posted by MaryO on August 26, 2019

Fairfax County Schools Begin. Need I say more?

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🎼 Pender Music: Military Polonaise Op. 40 No. 1 in A Major
During the Postlude at Pender UMC's Traditional Service on June 11, 2023, we were treated to "Military Polonaise Op. 40 No. 1 in A Major” by Frédéric Chopin played by Heidi Jacobs. This was Music Appreciation Sunday.
🎂 Sing or Play Happy Birthday Whenever You Want
You’re legal now! None of the companies that have collected royalties on the “Happy Birthday” song for the past 80 years held a valid copyright claim to one of the most popular songs in history, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled on Tuesday.
☕️ Even J. S. Bach Celebrated International Coffee Day!
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was also apparently a coffee enthusiast. So much so that he wrote a composition about the beverage. Although known mostly for his liturgical music, his Coffee Cantata (AKA Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211) is a rare example of a secular work by the composer. The short comic opera was written […]
🎹 Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Archduke Trio
Even more arresting is the first of the Opus 70 trios (1808) nicknamed ”The Ghost” because of its mysterious and haunting Largo. Its sibling boasts a cheerful bombastic finale that is the most entertaining music that Beethoven composed for this combination of instruments.
☦️ Hymn History: Sanctuary
“Sanctuary” was the offertory anthem at Pender's 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 10, 2023 It was sung by Pender's Sanctuary choir, directed by Jane McKee and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs. This popular praise chorus is paired with original words and music by Lloyd Larson. The prayerful message calls for each worshiper to […]
😍 Singer Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins was an American socialite and amateur soprano who was known and mocked for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. The historian Stephen Pile ranked her “the world’s worst opera singer … No one, before or since, has succeeded in liberating themselves quite so completely from the shackles of musical […]
🎂 Happy Birthday to George Gershwin!
George Gershwin lived between September 26, 1898 and July 11, 1937. He is considered to be a twentieth century composer. If you hate homework but like roller skating, you have something in common with American composer George Gershwin.
🎹 Frozen: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Disney's Frozen and its catchy music has been a smashing success in the movie theaters and beyond. This collection features 10 songs from the soundtrack arranged for intermediate/advanced piano solo: Do You Want to Build a Snowman? * Fixer Upper * For the First Time in Forever * Frozen Heart * Heimr Arnadalr * In […]
🎼 The Cool Bass Clef
Learn the notes of “The Cool Bass Clef” by watching this cool animated video. Music by Karl Hitzemann. Animation by Bill Belongia. The song originally appeared in Music K-8 magazine, Vol. 22, No. 3.
🎹 Day Seven ~ Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice
We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano? Day 7. The Concert Promoter: As a parent myself, I know that showing off our kids comes naturally. For this reason, proactive parents can take […]
🎂 Happy Birthday, Ray Charles!
Ray Charles (Robinson) was a singer, pianist, composer who was born in Albany, Ga in 1930. He lost his sight (from glaucoma) when he was six and attended a school for the blind where he learned to read and write music in braille and play piano and organ. Orphaned at age 15, he left school […]
🎹 Day Six ~ Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice
We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano? Day 6. The Piano Studio Janitor: Parents are the ultimate, and original, janitors. While it is important that students learn to organize their own practice […]
☦️ Abide With Me
Abide With Me was on this tape set and it remains a favorite to this day. Whenever we have an opportunity in church to pick a favorite, my hand always shoots up and I request page 700. When someone in one of my handbell groups moves away, we always sign a hymnbook and give it […]
🎹 Super Mario Bros Theme for Piano
Pianist and composer Sonya Belousova celebrated 30 years of Super Mario Bros. with an epic piano medley on the world’s coolest piano. YouTube channel Player Piano had Belousova play the tribute to the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata on a piano styled after a classic Nintendo Entertainment System. While the medley is good, it’s the […]
🎹 Day Five ~ Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice
We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano? Day 5 The Youtube Liaison: As students get older, it can get harder for piano parents to be active in the home practice process. By […]
☦️ Hymn History: When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee
“When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee” was the closing hymn at Pender's 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 10, 2023. It was sung by Pender's Sanctuary choir, congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.
✍️ 2023 Fall Piano Lesson Registration
Thank you for your interest in the O’Connor Music Studio! Available times are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the day and after school for all ages and levels. There may be other times available if requested.
🎹 You Think Playing the Piano is Hard?
The appeal of the Fotoplayer to theatre owners was the fact that it took no musical skill to operate. The Fotoplayer would play the piano and pipe organ mechanically using an electric motor, an air pump, and piano rolls while the user of the Fotoplayer would follow the onscreen action while pulling cords, pushing buttons, […]
‼️ NEW! ‼️ The Cinderella Solos, V. U. Level X: A Modern Playbook in C Major and A Minor for Intermediate Piano. by Andrea Dow
Composed in the keys of C major and A minor (two-octave scales), The Cinderella Solos, V. U. Level X is a story told through powerful piano pieces and their breathtaking melodies. Your intermediate teen players will be captivated as they play through the soundtrack of this familiar tale, experienced in a brand new way! And, […]
📰 A Manuscript of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K331
The manuscript of Mozart’s A major piano sonata K331 has recently been discovered in Budapest. Having spent the majority of its life in the Budapest’s National Széchényi Library for decades, the coveted manuscript was rediscovered by Haydn scholar Balazs Mikusi.

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Back to School Again!

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