November 2023 Newsletter

Greetings,

We are looking forward to our studio recitals for students in hour-long groups lessons and our recitals at the Lawrence Arts Center for students in private lessons this December.

Group Lesson Recitals

All students enrolled in hour-long Group lessons will have a recital in December at Lawrence Piano Studio. The recitals will be held between Dec. 11th and Dec. 14th. Exact recital dates and times will be written on each student’s assignment sheet beginning Nov. 19th.

All studio recitals are held during the regularly scheduled lesson times and begin 15 minutes after the start of the normal class time. We will use the first 15 minutes of the hour to warm up as a class. Students should arrive at their regular lesson time the day of the recital.

We will be offering a Zoom connection for any relatives, siblings, grandparents and friends that would like to watch the recital remotely. We will be sending Zoom invitations by email the week before the recital. This invitation will be sent to parents of each student. Parents may then forward the invitation to anyone they would like to attend remotely.

There will be a brief reception following these recitals.

Private Lesson Recitals

Students enrolled in private lessons will have a recital at the Lawrence Arts Center.

We will be using the “My Music Staff” website for students to sign up for both practice recitals as well as the Winter Recital. I will send an email by November 10th that will have a list of the 1st and 2nd practice recitals and Winter Recital times for your teacher. Parents can then log-in to the “My Music Staff” site and register for both practice recitals and the Winter Recital. The email will include instructions on how to register for recitals.

We will send an email Zoom invitation, so anyone who is not able to attend the recital may view it remotely. This invitation will be sent to the parents of each student. Parents may then forward the invitation to anyone they would like to invite to attend remotely.

We will be having a reception following the Winter Recital. The reception will be in the lower lobby of the Lawrence Arts Center, immediately following the recital.

• 1st Practice recitals are at the Lawrence Piano Studio, November 29th – December 2nd.
• 2nd Practice recitals are at the Lawrence Arts Center, December 11th – December 13th.
• Winter recitals are at the Lawrence Arts Center, December 18th – December 20th.

We will send an email with your exact recital dates and times for your teacher along with instructions on how to sign up for the recitals by logging in to My Music Staff.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the recitals.

Thanksgiving Reminder

There will be no regularly scheduled lessons Tuesday, Nov. 21st through Sunday, Nov. 26th. There will be lessons on Monday, Nov. 20th to make up for lessons missed on Labor Day.

Holiday Break

Group lessons: There will be no regularly scheduled GROUP lessons from Saturday, Dec. 16th through Sunday, Jan. 7th. Lessons will resume on Monday, Jan. 8th.

Private lessons: Dec. 18th is the Recital Week at the Lawrence Arts Center for students in private lessons. There will be no regularly scheduled PRIVATE lessons from Sunday, Dec. 17th through Sunday, Jan. 7th. Private lessons will resume on Monday, Jan. 8th.

All spring lesson times will remain the same as the fall semester unless you contact us about a change.

You can always log-in to the My Music Staff website and check the calendar to see when your next lesson or recital is scheduled. Please let me know if you would like me to send you log-in information for My Music Staff.

Practice Tips

Try to play your Recital Pieces 4 times each day. Play your piece the first 2 times at half speed. Then play the piece one time up to tempo. Play any measures where you made a mistake 3 times. Then play the piece one more time.

Memorization Tip: When first playing your piece from memory leave the music on the music rack. Play the piece watching your hands. The music will be right there for easy reference without moving your hands.

Recital Tip: The more you perform a piece the easier it is the next time. Try to play for friends or family members at least once a week. For each new piece I learn, I also have to figure out what to think about while I play the piece from memory.

Practice and perform often,

— Eric