Pender’s annual summer Music Camp will be held on July 6-10 from 12:30pm-3:30pm. Our theme this year is “The Amazing Grace Race.” Children in rising 2nd through rising 6th grade are invited to participate. Rising 7-12th graders who are interested in volunteering can also sign up online through the Pender UMC website.
The cost is $25 per child, $50 per family (siblings only).
If you have any questions about Music Camp, please contact Theresa Carpenter or Nicole Parrish.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was initiated to honor the soldiers for the Union and Confederate armies who died during the American Civil War.
Celebrations honoring Civil War heroes started the year after the war ended. The establishment of a public holiday was meant to unify the celebration as a national day of remembrance instead of a holiday celebrated separately by the Union and Confederate states. By the late 19th century, the holiday became known as Memorial Day and was expanded to include the deceased veterans of all the wars fought by American forces. In 1971, Memorial Day became a federal holiday.
The original national celebration of Decoration Day took place on 30 May 1868. When Memorial Day became a federal holiday, it was given the floating date of the last Monday in May.
The O’Connor Music Studio WILL be open!
Student recitals can be lots of fun and create valuable experiences for pianists. Unfortunately, they can also be a source of anxiety or stress if students aren’t ready and/or guidelines aren’t followed.
There are guidelines and rules of behavior all performers and audience members should follow during recitals, concerts or other performances.
Audience members must remember the reason for their visit to the recital hall – to listen quietly, actively and appreciatively to the music being offered by the performers.
For the performer:
1. Dress appropriately. Performers being nicely dressed (or following the recital theme) shows respect for the audience, the teacher and themselves!
Girls in knee-length or longer skirts/dresses or slacks. No spaghetti straps, no platform shoes, flip-flops, bedroom slippers or athletic footwear.
Do not wear dangling, jingling jewelry – especially bracelets. You may need to remove rings if they twist around easily.
Boys in dress pants and buttoned dress shirts with ties preferred, or suits.
IMPORTANT: Remember to practice several times in your outfit, shoes included. You don’t want to get to the recital and find that you can’t use the pedal properly because of your shoes.
2. Clean hands! Dirty, sticky, or oily fingers can hurt your performance and bother the next pianist. If you complete a long piece and notice some keys are slippery with sweat (a very common issue), notify your instructor so they can clean the keyboard before the next performer.
2. When it is your turn, stand quickly and walk up to the stage. Do not run!
Bow before you perform to acknowledge the applause. Audiences used to know that it was appropriate to clap for the musician who was entering the stage to perform. This now isn’t always the case (I will start clapping if it doesn’t happen automatically). Students should bow to their applauding audience before they sit down at the bench (not acknowledging applause is generally considered to be rude).
2. Enter the bench from the side furthest from your audience. This was a biggie for my former piano teacher and I’m reminded of it every time I see a student slink in from the “front side”… or climb over the top. I used to think this was awfully stuffy – but when you see a student do it, it just looks right.
3. Hands in your lap before you begin. I use this with my students to give them a moment to hear the first few measures in their mind before they begin. Once fingers are on the keys it means you’re ready to play. If the bench needs adjusting it should be done first… and then hands should be placed in your lap before beginning to play.
Play the scale of the piece in your head and think over tempo, markings, etc. Then arch your hands onto the piano and position feet on the pedals or flat on the floor–NEVER under the stool. Proceed to play!
3. Should you make a mistake while performing, you should try to continue playing without starting over or repeating. This makes sufficient practice before the recital very Very VERY important!
If playing more than one piece, you should acknowledge applause in between with a nod or smile.
4. Hands in lap after you finish. So many piano students are already lifting themselves off the bench as they play the final note (perhaps really eager to return to their seat in the audience!?) Learning to place your hands in your lap after finishing gives the audience a moment to truly relish what they just heard.
5. Rise and stand at the edge of the piano (with left hand on the wood). Bow from the hips, don’t curtsey. Bowing nicely takes practice! In handbells, we bow towards the table and say silently “I love handbells”. The same can be said in piano recitals – “I LOVE Piano”.
6. Walk calmly off the stage or away from the piano. No running… no matter how badly you want to get back to your seat!
For the audience:
Recitals are a special occasion and so it is customary to dress nicely.
• Please arrive a little early in order to find a comfortable place to sit.
• Make sure all your invited guests understand the importance of arriving on time. If they arrive late, it makes it difficult for those performing.
• Please invite as many friends and family members as you’d like. Our recital hall has lots of room, and can accomodate likely as many as you’d like to invite. And if not, then a standing room only crowd would be a fantastic crowd to have, and a wonderful problem to deal with!
• Turn off all cell phones and any electrical devices that may produce sound.
• Once the recital begins, please listen and be quiet. Crying babies should be taken out. They are not happy, and neither is the audience or the performer!
• If you arrive late, please wait to enter between pieces when you hear applause. Do not enter the recital hall or switch seats while someone is performing.
• The soloist will bow and your response is to applaud politely!
• No whistling, yelling, or other loud methods of congratulation. While boisterous congratulations are meant to show support for the performer, it may actually cause unintended problems instead. The best way to show appreciation for the performance is with thunderous applause, and an occasional “bravo” at the end of an especially great performance.
• Compositions that have movements or suites are, in general, performed without applause in the middle.
• Respect the performers. Unnecessary noise from whispering, talking, candy wrappers, etc. during a program is not acceptable. Reading, studying, and writing letters during a program are also inappropriate.
• Please stay until the performance or event is completely over. Attending a recital so that other families will serve as audience to your student, and then leaving before the other performers have finished is rude, inconsiderate and unacceptable. If you have other obligations or matters to attend to before the recital is over, please do not attend.
• Flash photography is not appropriate during a performance. The flash can disrupt the performer’s concentration.
• Enjoy! Your presence is the greatest affirmation!
For Everyone:
No Perfume! Your perfume or cologne will linger around the piano after you leave the stage (especially under hot lights), and it might give the next pianist some sinus or eye irritation; or, at the very least, create a distraction that can prevent them from getting “in the zone.”
Parts of this article adapted from It’s The Little Things That Count… Piano Etiquette and Your Piano Students | Teach Piano Today
At this year’s VBS, kids will embark on an icy expedition where kids overcome obstacles with God’s awesome power. Anchor kids in rock-solid Bible truths that will guide them through life’s challenges.
In addition, each day kids will rotate through music, recreation, snack, craft, storytelling and even some “laboratory” time!
Basics:
Please Read:
Registration opens today April 1, 2015
Register the first and second child(ren) here.
If you have more than 2 children to register, choose VBS 2015 (Family) here.
Register yourself or your youth (rising 7-12 graders) to volunteer here.
I have a copy of this music (Faerie’s Aire and Death Waltz) if anyone is interested in playing it!
I am considering getting this split bench for the O’Connor Music Studio since we play lots of duets here.
The current bench that came with the piano is one of those that opens up and has some storage but is not adjustable at all. This creates a problem for some of the older students and we have to move the music rack quite far forward so they can see properly. An adjustable bench would help them, too.
There may be a quiz on this option at your next lesson – give it some thought!
Found on Pinterest
So often transfer students will come to me and play a piece they’ve been working on. When they make a mistake, they’ll stop and start the piece all over again instead of correcting the mistake on the spot and moving on.
If they do this at home in practice, they’ll have played the beginning part many times more than the ending – or they may have never gotten to the ending at all!
The infographic above shows a way to get around this problem. It’s also great for memorizing pieces during recital preparation.
Similar to this are some pieces in the early pages of beginning method books. Lines 1, 2 and 4 will be identical with only line 3 being changed.
If a student plays this over and over all the way through, he’s learned line 1 three times better than line 3. I always suggest practicing line 3 by itself several times to help counter this problem.
I WILL be teaching next Monday, March 30 (even though it’s Fairfax County School break) if you can come.
Some of you have noticed that I am switching your students (or yourself!) over to Piano Pronto and may have wondered why.
It was one of the first “method book series” to be integrated into Piano Maestro, so some of the songs have already been worked on using this iPad app.
I am in a Facebook group with the author/composer and many other participants have said that once their students have started in Piano Pronto, the students “forget” the other books at home or in the music bag.
So, a simple experiment was started here and the same thing happened. Only the Piano Pronto book (Keyboard Kickoff) came out of the bag.
Then, another student got hooked, and another…
Even the young boys seem to love the duets, which are excellent at helping with counting and listening to other musicians.
A minor point but one that makes life easier for the teacher. All books are $10.00 (plus shipping) Other method books have varying prices in hard to find locations, some hidden in codes on the back.
Piano Pronto books can be ordered online at https://www.pianopronto.com/ and they are available at our local Music and Arts store in Oakton. If something is needed fast, digital copies are available to print (or add to the iPad)
If you would like to look through any of the books, just ask!
From the composer, Jennifer Eklund, on Facebook:
Let me give you my fast 5 “things that makes us different from everyone else”:
#1 – On the staff reading day one (I take what I call a “total immersion” approach to note-reading/learning – watch the webinar for the full scoop)
#2 – Aurally pleasing music from very early on. I challenge you to find better and/or more consistently solid arranging in another method series. I don’t wait 2 years to introduce 8th notes. The tunes used in the series are strong and familiar and therefore we can get to more of the fundamentals earlier in the lesson process. Students practice with confidence at home because they recognize the melodies and therefore progress faster.
#3 – All-in-one integrated books (i.e. there aren’t 4 separate books per level the most you ever need is the method and maybe one supplement book)
#4 – The material is age and gender neutral. Clean layout with no illustrations to distract.
#5 – We start teaching how to *effectively* practice from the get-go with our “Pronto Prep” sections that pull out the difficult portions of pieces *before* a student learns the piece.
Other less important stuff:
#6 – The supplements are rooted in my “pop/jazz” background so while the method books are very “classically-based” the supplements are full of pop-style stuff that really creates well-rounded students
#7 – I challenge you to find more varied/interesting teacher duet parts.
#8 – I’m actively writing/creating new items constantly. I really listen to my customers and am writing to suit the needs of the market. If you need something and I don’t have it odds are I’ll probably end up filling your request.
#9 – I stay out of your way as a teacher. The material is extremely flexible. I wanted to give you a solid curriculum that is paced thoughtfully and you can augment the series with all the tools available in your toolbox. You will not feel restricted in any way by the material.
#10 – You can SEE and HEAR everything before you buy. There is NO guesswork involved with shopping with Piano Pronto.
An insight into the Yamaha factory in Japan where a large range of pianos are hand crafted and completed to be ready for sale.
The grand piano in the O’Connor Music Studio is a Yamaha. I have had it for many years and it has served me and my students well.
MaryO'Studio 