NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES:

October 26 , 2009
           

Hello fiddlers and parents. Lessons have been going great and everyone is sounding really good. The Dancing Bears dance was a lot of fun and we got a lot of compliments on the music. I will try to arrange another one in the spring. I don’t have any performances scheduled for November, but keep in mind that out recital will be coming up quick on December 12th.
            I want to go over a couple house keeping things that are very important. Number one: PLEASE keep an eye on your other children during the lessons. The last couple of months I have noticed siblings of students wandering around the house unattended for. I keep a bookshelf and some coloring supplies up in the studio to keep the other kids busy during lessons, but there needs to be a parent present to keep an eye on them. I cannot be a teacher and a baby sitter at the same time. Number two: please make sure the bookshelf and all the papers and markers are cleaned up before you leave. It’s been getting a little difficult to keep up with.
            I also want to talk about the new practice sheets. Students over the age of 8 need to fill out a practice sheet every week that shows me what they have been working on over the week. On one side it has all the notes that I take during the lesson, and on the other side is a calendar where they can write down what they’ve practice. What I hear a lot of is “I practiced this week, I just didn’t write it down.” My new rule is going to be that if your practice sheet isn’t filled out, I will make you practice in front of me during your lesson. Parents of students that are under the age of 8 will need to be responsible for making sure their child is practicing what is on the practice sheets.
            Our winter recital is coming up on December 12th at 4pm at the First Congregational Church (by Wendler Middle School). I am super excited to have all the kids play in such a big space. The church was unavailable the night before, so our rehearsal for the recital will be on Thursday, December 10th at 7pm. Keep in mind if you are in levels 3 or higher, your last group lesson before the recital will be in November. If you cannot make the rehearsal, PLEASE make sure you come to your group lesson, and if you can’t make your group lesson PLEASE make sure you come to the rehearsal.
I will be putting some videos of some of the songs we will be playing onto my website for you to practice along with.
            If anyone in levels 3 and higher is interested and able to come to the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau, AK (April 5th-12th) Please let me know as soon as possible. I will be performing with another group, and would love to put a set together with some of my students. It’s a great festival with lots of great music workshops and plenty of jamming. The sooner I get a group of students together for this, the easier it will be to put all the logistics together.
            Finally, please look over the calendar for any errors. There have been a lot of schedule changes in just the last two weeks. (The schedule may even change again before you see this.) There will be no lessons on Thanksgiving or the day after. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Happy fiddling!

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