The holiday Soirée is fast approaching! All students should be considering the piece they would like to perform at the Soirée. The ukulele and guitar players know their plans so I would like the pianists and singers to talk to me about their selections. I would love to have any original compositions but I do want these to be on manuscript paper although you can certainly play from memory.
For new students, the Soirée is my name for my twice yearly student recitals. But I want to emphasize that these are very relaxed occasions and I always sit at the piano with the younger students. It is more like playing for friends. Some of my adults take the opportunity to work on their repertoire but performing is not mandatory, just encouraged. The Soirées are held at Croasdaile Village community in the Auditorium, Sunday December 2 from 3-5 pm. Even if you are not performing please come and support the students who are. Many members of the community enjoy coming to the soirees and it is so good to see the generations together.
I would like to have the Soirée program all set before thanksgiving.
The Playathon: I have some students willing to come and perform Saturday October 19 at Northgate Mall from 2-2:30 pm. There is certainly room for more performers and I will be asking students this week if they are willing to come and support the Durham Music Teachers Association, who are raising money to fund scholarships for students who cannot otherwise afford music lessons.
Congratulations to two students who sang with the Durham Children’s Choir at the St Francis day Blessing of the Animals at Duke Chapel. You can just see Mia Pieraccini in the back row and Lucas Bartosic in the front. Singing in a choir is one of the best ways to safely exercise a young voice.
In addition to the twice yearly Soirées, I also host adult work-in-progress nights at my house. I had hoped to have one in October but all kinds of things intervened and now I hope to have one before thankgiving and the suggested date is Friday November 16 (thanksgiving is awfully early this year!). Can adult students check their diaries please? These are very relaxed occasions with adult beverages and nibbles. The emphasis is on the in-progress art.
I have had several people ask if I take credit card or paypal for the fees. I really prefer checks but I know paying by check is something which is going out of style. I can accept paypal payments but only if they come from a debit account, otherwise I am charged fees and I try to keep my students fees as low as I can. I am not able to accept credit cards for two reasons: the fees credit card companies charge and the time it takes from lesson time to process the payments. So I am sorry but I hope everyone can continue to pay me by check! You can also pay by cash and if you do, please put it in an envelope with your student’s name. Fees are due at the beginning of the month and most people are really good about that and I thank you. You can always see what you owe at the bottom of your weekly student email.
Thanks always for learning music with Flourishing Muse Studio.
