We're back to In-Person Lessons! Let's celebrate by making music!

 

"In summer, the song sings itself."  – William Carlos Williams June 25, 2021 Dear Students and Parents of Students, Welcome to Summer! I've seen some beautiful late nights around the solstice, and I can't say I really mind all the rain we're having right now since we need it so much! The summer schedule is finalized and I'm working on a new swap-list. However, keep in mind that over the summer, my schedule changes weekly, so it is best to confer with me before arranging a swap. Summer is also a great time to have the occasional extra lesson during the week. I have the flexibility, and you or your children have the goals! Let's make something of it! In this newsletter you will find information on returning to in person lessons, recital news, a cool survey opportunity to help research on music and language, and important dates. Additionally, I do have some families who have been impacted financially by the pandemic. While it feels like we're returning to "normal" out in the world, we are still very much feeling the impact. If you are interested in contributing, I am offering scholarship aid for dedicated students who are having difficulty continuing in lessons during this time. Contact me for more information if you're able to donate! - Aubrey   Back to In-Person Lessons! Because of the way things have been going in Illinois, CDC guidelines, and the number of families that have received the vaccination, we will be returning to in-person lessons June 29th!   One pianist and one parent may enter for in-person lessons. Parents will once again be in charge of note taking.   If you are feeling under the weather or are coughing or sneezing, please just stay comfy at home and we'll do a virtual lesson that week. We've all gotten the hang of it, and there is no need to spread germs of any kind!   Lessons will end promptly to allow for 5 minutes between students. This way nobody will be gathering in the hallway or congregating on the stoop! If you have anything you need to discuss with me, please bring it up at the beginning of lesson so we can make sure to address it and still respect the time of the next student. For those that do not feel comfortable with the above procedures, please let me know so I can do what I can to address your concerns! A friend of mine is running a very interesting study on music and language. I thought some of you with toddlers at home might be able to participate and contribute to educational and brain development science! IMPORTANT ITEMS OF NOTE Our Studio and Movie Music Recital is going to be held on Friday, July 16th at 6:30pm. This event will be on Facebook Live. The movies that students have prepared are a surprise, so please stay tuned for clues. Prizes to those who are able to guess them all correctly! And remember, the fun is in the comments, so please be sure to comment on Facebook during the recital or pass your thoughts on to me via text so I can share them with the audience. Speaking of recitals, please stay tuned for a couple of Book 1 recitals coming up! Vincent, Siri and Colin have been working hard and I can't wait for them to be able to show you! And Declan is graduated (congratulations!) and is heading off to Illinois Weslyan this fall. Please keep an eye out for the announcement of his Senior Recital! And lastly, do you have any items to donate? Adjustable benches, Suzuki Piano CDs, sheet music, parenting/pedagogical books, etc? Let me know and I'll get them passed on to someone (students and/or new teachers) who needs them!   Upcoming Dates (see website for regularly updated information)   Jun 29.         Return to In-Person Lessons Jul 10.          Twinklers Group Class 4-4:30pm Jul 16           Summer Studio and Movie Music Recital, 6:30pm Jul 17           Book 1 Group Class, 4-4:30pm Jul 24           No Lessons (National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy) Aug 15         Scheduling Requests for Fall Lessons Due Aug 21         Last Day of Summer Term Sept 7          Back to School!! Don't forget to be listening! If you have a favorite piece for piano or orchestra, send it my way. I'd love to create a playlist for all my students of their favorite piano/classical music to listen to. I'd like to have the playlist out to everyone for listening over the last two weeks before we return to lessons in the fall. Thanks for your enthusiasm and your support!

Winter Quarter, 2020/2021

 

"The true beauty of music is that it connects people."  – Roy Ayers November 23, 2020 Dear Students and Parents of Students, Can you believe it is Thanksgiving week?!  It is definitely going to be a different season this year, but there is so much that we can still accomplish and so much music that we can still enjoy! If you are interested in contributing, I am offering scholarship aid for dedicated students who are having difficulty continuing in lessons due to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Contact me for more information if you're able to donate! - Aubrey   Winter Lesson Procedures: Since the Coronavirus developments in Chicago are constantly changing, I'm going to be closely monitoring what the Mayor and Governor advise and following their guidelines.  For now, all lessons are ONLINE. I use Skype, Facetime or Zoom for lessons. Each family has a different preference and let's use what works best! Please make sure you're near your router, there is no other streaming happening at the same time, and if possible, that you're plugged into the ethernet! (This is not possible with Facetime.) Please make sure you have all necessary materials ready, that your ipad or computer is placed far enough away from the piano that there is no feedback, that your surrounding environment is as quiet as possible, and that I can see both the student and the parent (if applicable) on screen! Group Classes will continue on Marco Polo weekly, with an online check-in once a month. Don't miss those--they're fun! If you plan on leaving Chicago during this time with a keyboard, please remember your accessories so that lessons can continue easily! RECENT PICTURES Congratulations to Amy and Viviene on graduating from Suzuki Piano Book 1! Also, Halloween was a blast this year--here are some amazing characters playing the piano! (Click through for performances from Amy, Viviene, and Anthony!) IMPORTANT ITEMS OF NOTE Our Annual Winter Studio Recital is December 11th at 6:30pm. Videos are due by the 1st of December. Details about streaming or our Zoom meeting are forthcoming. Please make this a special occasion by having a tasty snack of some sort while watching! I think my tasty treat is going to be a margarita. ;) I will be subscribing to the acapella app through the winter quarter, so if you're interested in doing some distance-ensemble work, let me know so we can make it happen! We're planning a movie-music recital for early March. Music from the movies should be a fun winter project! You will get a separate email with the group class schedule for the winter quarter. The Twinklers have been working on beat, rhythm and melody! The Book 1 kids are learning how to read music! And the Book 2 kids are mastering the Baroque period! Stay tuned for a couple of Book 1 recitals coming up! And lastly, do you have any items to donate? Adjustable benches, Suzuki Piano CDs, parenting/pedagogical books, etc? Let me know and I'll get them passed on to someone who needs them!   Upcoming Dates (see website for regularly updated information) Nov 24        Lessons By Appointment Only Nov 25        Thanksgiving Break (Lessons Resume December 1) Dec 1          Recital Videos Due Dec 11        Winter Studio Recital, 6:30pm, Online! Dec 15        Sonata/Sonatina Fest Registration Dec 21/22    Lessons by Appointment Only Dec 23        Winter Break (Lessons Resume January 5) Jan 15/16    No Lessons. I’m teaching a Workshop that weekend. Feb 9          Royal Conservatory Registration Deadline Feb 14        Gold Medal Recital for Sonatina Festival Feb 16-20    No Lessons! FaithSlaker Music, since 2008 FaithSlakerMusic@gmail.com 847/800-3502 Hours: M-Sat 9am - 9pm

Back to School, 2020!

 COVID update: Lessons are in-person on alternating weeks!

Fall Procedures.

The Summer Studio Recital can still be seen on Facebook!

LATEST VIDEOS

Eli, Dayton, Anthony and Orson play Allegro together!

Can you guess what this piece is???

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LATEST PICTURES

Amy, playing for her Royal Conservatory Assessment

Sep 11, 2020

Felix, learning Happy Birthday for his grandmother!

Sep 11, 2020

Orson, working on transposing pentascales!

Sep 11, 2020

Annie, trying to keep track of her ready position!

Sep 11, 2020

Fall Lessons Begin Online! 2020

 

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude." –Colin Powell August 7, 2020 Dear Students and Parents of Students, I'm so glad to have you as a part of my studio and I'm proud of you for the work you've done during these odd and difficult times! I'm seeing some wonderful progress and I hope you're feeling and enjoying that progress at home! In this newsletter is information on fall scheduling, COVID procedures and important upcoming dates. Please note: Fall Schedule requests and deposits are due August 15! For details, see below. Also, I am working on opening up scholarship aid for dedicated students who are having difficulty continuing in lessons due to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Contact me for more information if you're able to donate! - Aubrey   Congratulations Everyone!!!! Fall Schedule Information: Since the Coronavirus developments in Chicago are constantly changing, I'm going to be closely monitoring what the Mayor and Governor advise and following their guidelines. See below for policies and procedures. I am currently offering Fall Lessons Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to start. I do not know what my college teaching load will look like yet, but once I do I might be adding Fridays as well. Please register here: Fall Registration and Scheduling Form (MIC students indicate your scheduling preferences here instead.) We will all need to have a bit of flexibility going forward with lessons. I think it is going to be some time before we're ALL back in person. Depending on the schedule and interest, we may do in-person lessons alternating weeks, so that families are not coming into close contact with each other in my home. For now, there are no lessons at the Fine Arts Building. All lessons are in my home studio. Lesson/holiday/event dates are all updated on my website! I appreciate how we've all been working together to make sure to reduce any possibilities of exposure as we navigate through this pandemic. Let's please continue to be upfront about the contact we have for the safety of everyone in the studio! REVIEW OF STUDIO PROCEDURES DURING PANDEMIC ITEMS OF NOTE Zoom Mini Recitals will continue! Dates to follow on the website. Please follow FaithSlaker Music on Facebook, or join our private studio page here to see performances. Graduation Recitals will continue at PianoForte with a limited audience and online streaming. Group Classes will begin in September (see website) and will be held via Marco Polo. These classes will cover all reading/theory/history/musicianship aspects of music study. Has everyone received their magnetic staff board? Anybody in Suzuki Book 1A, 1B or 2 Group classes should purchase one (the red one) so we can do some great note reading activities with them! Let me know if you have any questions! Stay tuned for Viviene's Book 1 Graduation Recital!   Upcoming Dates (see website for more) Sept 8.      Fall Lessons Begin! Oct 13.      Royal Conservatory Assessment Registration Deadline Nov 25.      Thanksgiving Holiday (Lessons Resume Dec 1) Nov/Dec.   Royal Conservatory Assessments Dec 15.     Sonatina Fest Registration Deadline Dec ??       Studio Recital TBD Feb 7.        Sonatina Festival - Video recorded performances

Reopening Procedures!

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My piano is lonely and misses everyone playing beautiful music on it! Dear Pianists, While I'm continually monitoring the virus situation in Chicago, I think it should be safe, based on best practices being recommended by scientific experts, to consider coming back to in-person lessons in a limited way. I'm announcing a tentative opening of Tuesday, May 26th to those who are interested. Please read the following policy announcement carefully regarding keeping safe distances, enhanced sanitizing protocols, lesson procedures, and online options! Let's stay in touch, respect everyone's concern for safety, and work together to keep music nourishing us! Please respond to me with how you'd like to proceed for next week! - Aubrey

ENSURING SAFE DISTANCES One student will be permitted in the studio at a time.  At this time, I will refrain from hands-on adjustments and will rely on verbal instruction to address technique and coordination. Plan to arrive on time and wait outside. I will accompany each student in so there is no needless touching of lockboxes, doorknobs, etc. Lessons will end five minutes early to allow for thorough cleaning between students as well as social distancing in the hallway. Masks must be worn in the hallway and upon entering the studio. If we are able to keep proper distancing during lessons, masks may be removed. ENHANCED SANITIZING PROTOCOLS High-touch surfaces of studio, bathroom, and hallway will be thoroughly disinfected between each student. Hand sanitizing stations will be available outside the studio and near the piano. Masks will be worn while students enter and leave the studio. Masks will be worn or on hand during lessons. An air purifier will be running and windows will be open during lessons. Students will wash hands before each lesson, using paper towels (not cloth towels). LESSON PROCEDURES Please arrive on time and wait outside. I will come get your child at his/her lesson time. The front door will be locked, and the lockbox will not be available for use. This is to protect everyone taking lessons and maintain safe distances. Parents, siblings, and other observers will not be permitted during lessons. Older students will take their own notes, and I will e-mail you the notes for younger students. If you're available, we can set up FaceTime or Skype during the lesson so you may observe. Students will bring their materials, notebook, and a pencil and eraser. We will not be sharing objects. All families will need to sign a new waiver. I will send a separate email with the new waiver, which you must return before lesson. ONLINE LEARNING CONTINUES! I understand and respect that not everyone feels comfortable coming to lessons yet. Additionally, I appreciate those that haven't been able to maintain quarantine, have traveled outside the state, or have been exposed staying home to keep the rest of us safe. The good news is that I will continue offering distance learning to those who prefer to continue that way for the time being. This is flexible and we will go with everyone's comfort level for lessons. Group classes will continue to operate over Marco Polo through June.  FaithSlaker Music, Chicago, Illinois www.faithslakermusic.com Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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