Recital Countdown

We are just 12 days until the recital and although things are sounding great, there is still lots to be done.

Important Reminders:

Dress Code - Amy's Violin School T-shirt and dark bottoms.
If you need a new T-shirt size, now is the time to purchase these ($15/each)

Arrival Time on May 14th - No later than 1:45.

Take the time this week to focus on all the recital pieces. Everyone has pieces that are easy and pieces that are a challenge. Find confidence in knowing that we are all working together for a common goal.

Although some focus was lacking from class tonight (who can focus at 5:30 in the evening anyways?) the listening was impeccable. We will be focusing in on more recital details in this weeks and next weeks private lessons.

I am so excited to perform the full Seitz Concerto, along with special spot performances, a wacky Witches Dance, beautiful harmonies and pizzicato pieces.

Although the recital takes place on May 14th - Mother's Day, I think there are many people along with all the Mothers that can be recognized for their incredible work and dedication. We'll find out who before we sing Wishing on recital day!

Wishing Auditions

Interested in playing the violin part to Wishing this year? Check out the sheet music below. Let me know in lesson if you are interested and take the week to look over the parts. Next week in lesson, I will be holding auditions to put together this years Wishing Ensemble! Good luck and start playing!

(better copies of music available in lesson)

Musical Show & Tell

I enjoyed Tuesdays musical show and tell so much. It was great to see what is popular among so many different ages and the other musical talents students have. I have seen such growth in students secondary instruments over the past few years. What a hard working group of students to be able to accomplish so many different things! Here are a few examples of what we did.





I have also had many students who have been composing songs to sing or play on the violin (click HERE to check out Incredibox!). Other students are being creative in how they practice and play their review pieces. The fiddle class is underway with new repertoire to listen to and the advanced students are working away at learning the full Seitz Concerto. I look forward to many more creative weeks ahead!

Year End Recital Repertoire (Sunday May 14th)

Book 4

Concerto No. 2 in G Major by Seitz

Book 3

Bach Gavotte

Book 2

Lully Gavotte
Witches Dance

Bouree

Book 1

Minuet 2

Perpetual Motion

Long Long Ago

May Song

Lightly Row

Ti Ti Sh Ti

Twinkle Theme

Other

Wishing, Fiddle Class, Advanced Ensemble

Get to know the full Seitz Concerto! (Psst... no clapping in between movements!)

Family Inspiration

I've been reflecting on the past few weeks of lessons and some of the things I've heard and seen from my Suzuki families. Some students have gotten into great practice routines while others are still struggling to make new habits. Some follow their review charts precisely while others are a bit more choosy. Whatever your practice challenges may be, the start of Spring signifies the return of routine and a second chance to set healthy habits.

I'm taking motivation today from my some of my students who are working hard to make music an important part of their daily lives. I hope they don't mind me sharing their stories.

Start a family band or weekly kitchen party!
I know many families who not only have children playing the violin, but siblings who play other instruments or the parents play instruments themselves. Gather as a family with the instrument of your choice and play anything together. Even the youngest in the family can join in with simple percussion instruments like shakers or drums. Have fun experimenting and enjoying the time together being creative.

Family Review Time
Start practice off with a challenge. Assign a leader for the week (a family member). The leader must initiate the start of practice for the day and lead the family through review pieces. Then you may all break away and work on your own repertoire. If the leader forgets to initiate practice for the day, the leader loses all electronic privileges. So proud of this family for such an amazing idea!

Set daily practice with another daily activity
Many students are finding success in pairing daily practice with another daily activity such as breakfast or dinner, getting home from school or after homework. For older students or adults who have more work and less time for extra curriculars, remember that a few minutes of music is a healthy brain boost which can make your extended studies more successful.

New commitments to Review Charts
Many students are taking a new interest in developing review habits. Whether it is following a review chart or picking random pieces from a bowl, challenge yourself to play a handful of review pieces everyday.

Review Book Challenge
Set a timer and see how long it takes you to play through one whole Suzuki book from start to finish. Not only is this an excellent test of our how well we know our review pieces but also an endurance challenge. Reflect on the hard work and dedication it has taken to be able to play and know so many pieces!

Listening in the Car
This is a great use of time for listening. Many families are finding success in listening to their current and up coming repertoire on the way to and from music lessons and other extra curricular activities. The more we listen, the more we know.

Great work everyone! Keep challenging yourselves and one another to find fun and inspiring ways to enhance your musical studies!

Character First, Next Group Class & Last Call for Fiddle

The Character First Challenge is underway. I'll be watching and helping everyone over the next few weeks as they persevere through personal challenges, whether it be establishing daily practice, being a mentor in class, being diligent with using full bows in practice or stepping out of a comfort zone in group class. The more we challenge and push ourselves, the greater our abilities become. Good luck everyone!

Next group class is a musical show and tell. Please bring in another instrument that you play or share a piece of music that you love or a performer. Maybe you have a family member that plays another instrument that you could show or a favourite movie musical to tell us about (I will have my computer to look things up if needed). What else outside of the Suzuki method and the violin do you love? My family is currently enjoying the new Beauty & the Beast soundtrack!

Also, just a reminder that Fiddle Class starts this Saturday April 1st. If you would like to still sign up for fiddle class, please let me know ASAP.

Stay tuned for the repertoire list for the Year End Recital on May 14th! 

A HELLO from baby Margaret!

Congratulations Everyone!

Even though our theme has been Character First, Ability Second, the ability shown on Sunday's Recital was incredible. I saw big steps in ability from every single performer, whether it was listening for accurate intonation, watching their violins, remembering posture points or taking time with the tempo of the piece. Everyone had a challenge to work through and I saw everyone succeed.

As I sorted through the Candy Grams today it was so great to see the friendships and kindness that is present in this musical community. It is not an easy task to get up and perform in front of a room full of people. However, doing so in a friendly and supportive environment can make all the difference in the world and can teach us confidence so that we may find the courage to perform or speak up in other areas of our life.

Thank you to everyone who supported Amy's Violin School by purchasing Candy Grams and Raffle Tickets and congratulations to all the raffle winners!

Also, thank to this years parent volunteers and those who offered help. Your time and assistance is greatly appreciated.

Lastly, thank you to our accompanists Drew and Nancy for their time and work.

Reminders:

There is NO Group Class March 7th or March 21st.

The NEXT GROUP CLASS is March 28th

There are NO LESSONS during March Break.

Someone also turned 3 months old on Recital Day!