Congratulations
Winter 2017 RCM Examinations
Bravo to the following students who were successful in their practical examinations in January:
Ai. Lao, Level 7 piano, 92, January 2017
K. Sebastian Baba, Level 4 piano, 86, January 2017
C. Leis, Level 3 piano, 89, January 2017
N. Hosseini, Level 3 piano, 82, January 2017
E. Cairns, Level 2 piano, 80, January 2017
E. Punchihewa, Level 1 piano, 92, January 2017
G. Thompson, Level 2 piano, 92, January 2017
I. Lake-Bork, Level 1 piano, 90, January 2017
R. McGovern, Level 1 piano, 85, January 2017
S. Lipoczi, Level 1 piano, 84, January 2017
M. Cairns, Level 1 piano, 81, January 2017
2017 North York Music Festival and Oshawa-Kiwanis Music Festival
This year 20 Leading Note Music Students participated in these two music festivals bringing home numerous awards, medals, trophies, and scholarships. Bravo to all of the participants! For the full results click here: 2017 Festival Results .
Special congratulations to Isla Lake-Bork who was one of the twelve pianists selected to perform at the 2017 NYMF gala concert. She was also the 2017 Best of Grade 2 trophy winner at this festival.
Special congratulations to Aidan Lao who was a senior piano playoff finalist and medal winner at the Oshawa Whitby Kiwanis Music Festival. He was also selected by this festival's adjudicator as a Level 8 provincial finalist to compete at the 2017 Ontario Provincial championships in Hamilton, Ontario.
Special congratulations to Leiya Jangam and William Mark who were junior piano playoff finalists and medal winners at the Oshawa Whitby Kiwanis Music Festival.
Upcoming Events
Leading Note Music June Recital
Saturday June 10th 6:30 p.m.
Scarborough Bluffs United Church
3739 Kingston Rd, Scarborough, ON M1J 3H4
June Session RCM Examinations
Good luck to the following Leading Note Music students who will be taking practical examinations in January:
Leiya Jangam, Level 3
Bridget Puhacz, Level 6
This month's feature: Summer Music
Wow! What a busy year we’ve had at the studio! I am proud of all of the progress made by every one of my students. I especially want to thank my students for being a bright spot in my day. This year in particular, you made me laugh and smile at the most trying of times and for that I am so grateful!
I want to spend some time now talking about continuing to make music a part of your summer. Summer is often a time to rejuvenate and refresh and taking a break from daily routines from time-to-time is healthy and beneficial. What isn't beneficial is when these breaks become too long. In my experience, two months away from the piano can often result in the “summer slide”… a loss in valuable skills learned during the year. After such a long break students often get frustrated upon returning to lessons in the fall once they realise that their skills have deteriorated (which can happen even with just a few short weeks away from the piano). Since I wish for my students to continue on their paths to success, piano lessons continue in my studio throughout the summer. This year there will be small breaks in the summer studio schedule on the Canada day weekend in July, the civic holiday weekend in August, and the week leading into and including labour day weekend in September. Students who continue through the summer also receive first choice of lesson days and times for the start of the teaching year in the fall. For those who would like summer lessons during the day on a week day, I do have time slots available for that too.
In the midst of summer fun, it can be hard to find the time to practise. One of the best ways to overcome this is to plan for short duration practise sessions occurring first thing in the morning. This means that, no matter how busy a day becomes, practice has already happened. Short, but regular practice sessions at the piano will maintain skills, so setting a routine to practise right after breakfast would be a fabulous way of keeping skills sharp.
In addition, parents may want to:
I want to spend some time now talking about continuing to make music a part of your summer. Summer is often a time to rejuvenate and refresh and taking a break from daily routines from time-to-time is healthy and beneficial. What isn't beneficial is when these breaks become too long. In my experience, two months away from the piano can often result in the “summer slide”… a loss in valuable skills learned during the year. After such a long break students often get frustrated upon returning to lessons in the fall once they realise that their skills have deteriorated (which can happen even with just a few short weeks away from the piano). Since I wish for my students to continue on their paths to success, piano lessons continue in my studio throughout the summer. This year there will be small breaks in the summer studio schedule on the Canada day weekend in July, the civic holiday weekend in August, and the week leading into and including labour day weekend in September. Students who continue through the summer also receive first choice of lesson days and times for the start of the teaching year in the fall. For those who would like summer lessons during the day on a week day, I do have time slots available for that too.
In the midst of summer fun, it can be hard to find the time to practise. One of the best ways to overcome this is to plan for short duration practise sessions occurring first thing in the morning. This means that, no matter how busy a day becomes, practice has already happened. Short, but regular practice sessions at the piano will maintain skills, so setting a routine to practise right after breakfast would be a fabulous way of keeping skills sharp.
In addition, parents may want to:
- Sit and have a morning cup of coffee while listening to your children play. Children love an audience and will practice more diligently if someone is listening.
- Ask your children to play for friends or relatives that have come by for a summer get-together. Having a mini-performance goal is a great motivator to hop on the piano a few extra times. Recently, one family of students played "music festival" and had a lot of fun adjudicating themselves!
- Encourage improvising at the piano. I always find this to be a stress-relieving and relaxing activity.