May Playathon:
In the February 11-12 Playathon at Brightleaf Square, $842 was raised for DMTA’s scholarship program, helping deserving students who otherwise would not be able to afford music lessons. Six studios participated. Performing were 40-45 piano students, at least 1 teacher, and for over half the time, 4 adult accordionists.
The 2023 DMTA Spring Playathon will be held in south Durham at Sutton Station—5832 Fayetteville Rd on Saturday, May 6 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and on Sunday, May 7 from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The location will be in the Breezeway next to Regional Pediatrics near the Piano Academy of North Carolina (PANC).
Pianists will be performing on a Yamaha N2 AvantGrand. A Yamaha Clavinova CLP-635 will also be available for duos and piano ensembles. PANC will also provide a PA system.
Parking will be available in front of Regional Pediatrics or around the back of Sutton Station.
I have nominated Saturday 5/6/ from 2-3 pm for my students to perform.
Please consider playing at the event and especially playing a duet with me or others? I have many duet books! Pieces in your lesson books often have a teacher duet part.
Let’s celebrate!
Lucas Bartosic performed at a piano competition Sunday February 18 at St Joseph’s AMR Church. Each year, Beta Phi, Durham’s graduate chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. sponsors a Talent Hunt Competition. The competition is open to area High School students (grades 9th -12th) in the categories of Classical and Semi-Classical (Show tunes) Piano, Instrumental and Vocal music. Lucas was the youngest performer and although he did not win he played very well as he usually does!
Emily El-Tanany performed at the Mowton Throwdown at her School, Hillandale Elementary on Friday February 24. Emily is in grade 1 and has not been learning piano very long but she got up on the stage and played “Beauty and the Beast” perfectly to much acclaim from the audience! Very well done Emily.
Ruggero Piano
Each month Ruggero Piano hosts wonderful concerts usually on Friday evening. You can check these out on their website and in addition the concerts are streamed live on their YouTube channel: www.ruggeropiano.com.
The Flourishing Muse May Soirée 2023
The first Soirée of 2023 will be held at ERUUF on May 12 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm. Students should be considering what they might play at the Soirée, and the prior playathon could be a good time to try out your piece(s).
Spring Break and March fees
I know there are various Spring break and trips abroad happening in March so please let me know the lessons you are not going to be coming to music. I thought about taking a Spring Break myself but abandoned that idea because schools and colleges and workplaces are all taking break at different times! I wish they could get coordinated. So let me know when you might not be coming and make adjustments to your fees appropriately.
Online lessons:
With colds and covid still around I am able to teach online either on FaceTime or Zoom. Had some unfortunate Zoom experiences last week because I did not realize that the default setting on Zoom cuts out background noise ie piano, in favor of voices. I know know the setting that will work for piano lessons!
Thanks Always for learning music with Flourishing Muse Studio!
PS
I have not tried this myself but there are families that might be interested:
Classical Music Listening Group on Zoom
In our February 11th Listening session, we learned about Joseph Bologne (1745 – 1799), who was known in his time as “the Black Mozart”. His various adventures as a champion fencer, violin virtuoso, composer, conductor and member of the French nobility were fascinating. We learned of his connections with Hadyn, Marie Antoinette, Mozart, and the Prince of Wales. We listened to the first movement of his Second Symphony in D major three times – once as a sound file, once as a video where we watched a performance by the Du Bois Orchestra of Cambridge, and once with a full score. We found this music to be very different from the Bartok violin concerto we heard in January. Bologne’s music was light and cheerful and felt celebratory. We were also amazed that a complete movement of a symphony could be less than four minutes long!
Our next Listening session will be Saturday, March 11th at 5 pm ET. In this session we will hear music by a wonderful woman composer. Join us to find out who the mystery composer will be! These sessions are perfect for students of any age or level, who play any instrument. The group sessions are also ideal for teachers and for families and friends. Even people who don’t know anything about classical music enjoy learning in this fun, community-based environment. The session will be presented via Zoom and will last one hour.
Learn more about our monthly listening program, and fill out the RSVP form at the bottom of the following page:
https://voice.club/piano/33912/app-listening
On the day of the event, we will send a Zoom link to each person who would like to attend.
If you’re new to our Listening program, you might want to read this article before our next session. You’ll get to know me a little, and learn why I’m so passionate about this direction of musicianship.
https://voice.club/piano/22700/informed-listening-an-essential-skill
Hope to see you online on March 11th!
Julie Harris,Composition and Piano Teacher, Listener
