Winter-Going-On-Summer Updates! 2020

"Overnight successes are generally years in the making. And most progress is made in isolation, far from the public eye." –Andrew Yang

Dear Students and Parents of Students, I'm so proud of you for the work you've done in the past seven weeks of online lessons! I'm seeing some wonderful progress and I can't wait for you to all show it off in person! In this newsletter, I want to talk to you a bit about how we'll reintroduce in-person lessons and when that may happen. I also want to discuss options that make online learning a bit easier, some mental health ideas, and announce some exciting events! Please note that I'm currently considering opening my studio up for in-person lessons on May 26th (see below) as long as everyone feels safe. I will be teaching eleven weeks during the summer session (10 weeks for MIC students), which begins June 1st. Please let me know if you have any travel planned (assuming the world reopens sometime soon!). I hope everyone is doing well this week. Summer MUST be right around the corner! Right??? - Aubrey

Studio Opening Policies: Since live-school is canceled for the rest of the year, I'm going to be closely monitoring what the Mayor and Governor advise. However, I'm proposing going back to in-person lessons starting May 26th with the following conditions: Lessons will be drop-off only for all students that are capable of taking a lesson without a parent.  Only one child and one parent will be admitted at a time. Lessons will end a few minutes early to provide time for cleaning of: piano keys, doorknobs, faucets and handles, stair banisters, piano bench and observer chair. I might have to do my Saturday lessons at home until the Fine Arts Building is open again to the general public. I will provide hand sanitizer at the door and at the piano. I will provide paper towels instead of cloth towels in the bathroom. Masks must be worn and/or available for use for everyone's comfort. In order for everyone to feel comfortable, since many of us have high-risk family members we are trying to protect, this is only an option if the following conditions are met: Families have been observing the "stay at home" order. There has been no travel outside the state. Nobody is sick in the household. Nobody in the household has been in contact with the general public. Virtual lessons will remain an option for those that want them. And if anyone is showing any signs of sickness, please take advantage of this option! We have to work together to keep everyone safe and I welcome your input to the above ideas as we move forward to being able to work together in person again!

Quarantine Piano Highlights

Click the image to be taken to Facebook to see Declan's Suzuki Book 4 Graduation recital! We streamed it live on Monday, May 4th at 7pm!

Vincent had a challenge for school that he shares with us here! Way to go!

Here's a fun video of me and Dayton playing Minuet 2 together. He's just learned the theme, and the sound quality isn't great, but it was momentous and we captured it, so I thought I'd share!

Annie did the Spring Break Quarantine Challenge beautifully! She is playing Honeybee along with my recorded duet. Excellent job!

ITEMS OF NOTE All Zoom Mini-Recitals and Full-Length graduation recitals will be streamed live on Facebook. Please follow FaithSlaker Music on Facebook, or join our private studio page here. Has anyone received their magnetic staff board yet? 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! Anyone participating in the Royal Conservatory Assessments might want to try out their ear-training online! It is $5 for a month, which is really all you need as we approach the exams. I strongly recommend this! Stay tuned for Anthony's Book 1 Graduation Recital and Diego's Book 3 Graduation Recital! Next Mini-Recitals will be the week of May 18th. Let's choose recital pieces next week!

Musical Challenge Links:   For anyone who wants to participate in the quarantine challenge, the following are links to play along with. If you can listen on one device and play with me, you can record on another and send me the video! (That's why it's called a challenge!)   Black Note Improv: https://youtu.be/mFNFj2vdC2I White Note Improv:  https://youtu.be/a0l3trkHkGQ Honeybee Duet:  https://youtu.be/gg3clkkekdQ Go Tell Aunt Rhody Duet:  https://youtu.be/izzWses7zRs Little Playmates Duet: https://youtu.be/jtBIk5oyUgo Goodbye to Winter Duet:  https://youtu.be/a4z2oZRUbiU Clementi Op. 36, No. 1, Movement 3 Duet: https://youtu.be/EahbyDbjjRc