Master Max

Please join me in congratulating Master Max who recently graduated from Preschool!  Max is looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall.  HOORAY for Max!

Master Ryan

Please join me in a huge round of applause for  Master Ryan!  Ryan recently completed his Level 1 Primer Level (Purple) Books.  Ryan worked very hard at the piano and taught himself a lot too!  Ryan also enjoys Cub Scouts and soccer when he is not at the piano.  Ryan also enjoys spending time with his family.

Congratulations to Master Ryan! 

PS - Thank you for the delicious chocolate covered strawberries!  I truly enjoyed them!

Miss Adelyn

Congratulations to Miss Adelyn!  She recently played two songs on the piano for her entire preschool class and teacher!  Miss Adelyn told me her favorite part was when she played!  (I thought that was impressive, because my favorite part of any performance is when I lift my fingers off the keys and realize that I am done!) 

Master Jonathan

Please join me in a huge warm welcome to Master Jonathan!  Jonathan will be joining our piano family very soon!  I can't wait to work with you at the piano!

Miss Arianna and Master Ryan

It is with bitter-sweetness that I write this post about our friends Miss Arianna and Master Ryan!  Arianna will be moving to Arizona and Ryan will be moving to Texas soon!  We will miss seeing you in the piano studio!  We are excited for both of you and your families!  Please keep in touch!  I will be anxiously awaiting stories about your new adventures with your new schools and friends!  I completely understand how exciting and scary moving can be!   Best wishes to Ryan and Arianna!

Last day of school

The last day of school is FINALLY here!  Some of our students have been on summer vacation for quite awhile.  However, today is the day that all of our students are out of school and can enjoy their summer break!  Have fun!  Stay safe!  I am looking forward to seeing our students at their lessons this summer and hearing all about the fun they are having!

Our graduates

Congratulations to our students who are graduating this year!  There is a lot of excitement in the piano studio these days for all of our students, but especially our 2013 graduates!

Adelyn, Bridget and Gracie are graduating from preschool!

Katelyn, Katherine, Lexie and Sarah are graduating from kindergarten!

Grant and Jaime graduating from elementary school!

We are looking forward to watching where you will go in this great big world!  Best wishes to all of you!

Master Drew

Congratulations to our piano student, Drew, who successfully tried out for a traveling competitive league baseball team!  Drew will be playing baseball 5 days a week!  Drew will also continue his piano lessons and practice!  Congratulations Drew!  We are proud of you!

Nursing Home Recital

Please join me in a standing ovation for our students who did an amazing job playing the piano for the residents of a local nursing home!

Our fantastic performers were:
Charlie
Rachel
Sebastian
Gracie
Adelyn
Bridget
Charlotte
Lucy
Stacie
Ellie
Celeste
Grant

A lot of the students and their parents joined us at a local frozen yogurt shop afterwards to celebrate! 

It was a fantastic evening of fun!  It was wonderful to share our talents with the residents who were extremely grateful that we came to visit and perform.

Thank you to our performers!  Thank you to all of the parents who made the evening happen!

Master Alex

Please join me in welcoming Master Alex to our piano family next week.  I am looking forward to working with Alex at the piano!

Miss Lucy

Please join me in a huge warm welcome to Miss Lucy!  Miss Lucy will be joining our piano family this week!  Lucy has been teaching herself to play the piano from her sister's books.  I am thrilled and excited to work with her at the piano bench!

Piano Performance Pizza Party / Class

We had our 1st ever Piano Performance Pizza Party!

We ate Popcorn, Pretzels, Pepperoni Pizza, and "Plain" Pizza aka double cheese Pizza!

When we were "Parched" we had Pink lemonade!

We had Plenty of food before we went to class...

We laughed, we learned, we made new friends, we got to know friends better!  We all practiced introducing ourselves and had to tell everyone something interesting about ourselves that no one else in the room already knew!  That was fun!

We had a lively discussion about stage fright, and how to overcome it!

We practiced performing in front of each other on the grand piano and practiced being a good audience.  We talked about how Practice makes Perfect!

Then the students begged me to play.  So I played a Pop song while the students had a dance party - talk about distractions!  WHEW!  Then I played a piece of classical music (Pachelbel Canon in D) while the students shouted out the different emotions they thought the piece represented.  Then the students crowded around the grand piano to watch all of the moving parts.  Again that was quite distracting.  So we concluded about how we worked through the distractions and fears!  It was a Positive and Perfect Piano Performance Pizza Party! All of the students earned pretty certificates and had a folder of goodies to take home!

Thank you to all of our students who participated!  Thank you to all of the parents who chauffeured the students tonight!

Good night!  This piano teacher is pleasantly tired!

Miss Celeste Continued

Congratulations to Miss Celeste!  Celeste recently performed in a local performance of High School Musical 2.  Celeste had a terrific time, however, she informed me that hanging out backstage was the most fun!  Hooray for Celeste!

Miss Celeste

Please join me in congratulating Miss Celeste!  Celeste successfully auditioned for a role in a local production of a Rodgers & Hammerstein Musical! 

My homework was to locate my collection of Rodgers & Hammerstein music.  I completed my homework and I am looking forward to sharing it with Celeste!

Miss Taylor

Drum roll please...

I am thrilled to announce that Miss Taylor completed her Primer Level Piano Adventures Books!  Miss Taylor has already started to work out of her Level 1 Books!  Miss Taylor works very hard at the piano and usually works ahead the assignments given to her!

Taylor's grandfather was visiting from Ohio and got to watch Taylor receive her certificate!

When Miss Taylor is not playing the piano she can be found on the soccer fields, riding her bike, playing outside or using her iPod touch.  Taylor has been studying the violin this year too!  Taylor would like to take a hip hop dance class someday.

CONGRATULATIONS TAYLOR!  I am VERY proud of you!

Miss McKenna

Please join me in a standing ovation for Miss McKenna!

Miss McKenna made a public debut by playing the piano at an Irish Pub on Friday evening in front of her family and patrons of the Pub.  Miss McKenna played a Taylor Swift song that she has been working on for several weeks.  I was fortunate enough to have a video clip texted to me!  It was FANTASTIC!

CONGRATULATIONS MISS MCKENNA!  We are proud of you!

Miss Lydia

Congratulations to Miss Lydia!

Miss Lydia presented a piece of artwork that she created in front of her entire school!  She was on stage all by herself with her artwork and a microphone!  The artwork was a quilt, I am hoping to see photos of this masterpiece very soon!

Please join me in a gigantic round of applause for Lydia!
I love watching our students excel in music, and the arts.  Lydia is a fantastic figure skater as well.  I just know that I will be writing more posts about Lydia - stay tuned!

Miss McKenna

Please join me in a enormous round of applause for Miss McKenna!  McKenna completed her Level 2B Piano Adventures Books and has already started working away in her Level 3A Books. 

Although, she does not know it, McKenna has been an inspiration for ME!  She often finds pop music, websites and music apps and shares them with me.  She keeps this old dog semi hip and semi current!

When McKenna is not playing the piano, she enjoys spending time with her family and puppy.  She also  enjoys playing soccer.  McKenna can often be found studying hair techniques, nail designs and origami through YouTube videos.  McKenna is a very creative person who has a smile that can light up any room.  Next week, she is being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society!

We are all very proud of you Miss McKenna! 

Hugs and high fives to you from MA!

Piano & Cake Baking!?!?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this post and this idea!  I think we will start "baking piano cakes" very soon in our studio!

https://www.pianopronto.com/blog/piano-teaching-tips-bake-that-cake-a-little-longer/

Senior Center

I am thrilled to announce that starting this week I will be starting something new!  I will be going to a nearby senior center and teaching private lessons to several different senior citizens each week.  I can hardly wait!  I am grateful to the scheduling coordinator at this senior center for making this happen in the midst of a very busy senior center!

Miss Kara

Please join me in a big warm welcome to Miss Kara!  Miss Kara will be joining our piano family next week!  I am looking forward to it already!