What's New? June 2005
Piano Studio of Lola McIntyre
Ah, the perfect practice room!
Ah, the perfect practice room!
Woo-hoo! School is almost out the summer! This is an ideal time for exploring improvisation fun with pop repertoire or explore more digital technology. Your choice! Some students will be attending summer music camps. Have fun!
One really great way to enhance your musicianship and expand your personal horizons, go to; Listening With New Ears!, on this page.
If anyone is a member of Angie's List and you really value piano lessons at our studio, I would really appreciate your reference. Listing is only possible by member referrals. Contact Angie's List and tell them all about us! Contact Info: Angie's List, INDIANAPOLIS, 1030 E. WASHINGTON ST., INDIANAPOLIS,IN 46202, Phone (317) 297-5478
I have received nearly all registration fees. Thank you so much.
If you plan to take lessons in the fall during an after school time slot, and would like to reserve a weekly lesson time, $50 registration fee will be collected throughout June. Adult and pre-school lessons who schedule lessons during the school hours and by appointment are exempt.
Lessons will resume the third week of August (the first week of school - Carmel-Clay Schools).
Specific lesson times are worked out after the first week of August.
Recently I stumbled upon a wonderful piece on NPR's Diane Rehm Show, which gave me the ability to 'listen with new ears'. The piece was with David Rothenberg on "Why Birds Sing". Dr. Rothenberg is a philosopher, composer, and jazz clarinetist. He asks why human beings commune with birds. Different people listen to bird song for different reasons. Scholars have discovered that birds do not just sing to call for their mate or defend their territories, but they sing just because they can and WANT to sing. "Why should a mockingbird sing and experiment with different songs? Why do they spend much more time singing when they do not need to? Because they CAN! Why is it so much like music, with a beginning, middle, and end? They sing because they enjoy it! We enjoy their song because we enjoy it. Their songs are closer to music than to language. Birds have a natural aesthetic sense. Bird calls are different than songs - the message is in the playing and in the singing...".
Listen long enough, and you'll hear a wonderful account of a musical encounter with birds by a violinist (at about 22 minutes).
Scientists' research have discovered that birds grow more brain cells when new songs are learned. IMAGINE all that is possible when WE learn new music!
To listen to the Diane Rehm Show segment, "Why Birds Sing" on your computer, go to: <http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/05/05/11.php>. What a delight.
I highly recommend visiting the web site, Why Birds Sing at: <http://www.whybirdssing.com/>
We have several new students who have joined our studio. Some are adults 'by appointment', some are trying lessons for the summer, and some are younger who meet during school hours. Welcome to Aleah, Aya, Croix, Emi, Katie, Kenji, Sean, Skyler, and adults Suzane, Maeven, & Tim. Summer lessons - Michele and Sean. Have I forgotten anyone?
We are so exciting for our graduating seniors: Brittany, Hollie, and Will. We are so proud of you! Keep in touch - our whole studio would love to hear from you. Hugs!
I'll be teaching a graduate course for teachers this summer. I'll do my best to share the fun and skills with you, when applicable. If you would like to take a few 'technology only' lessons this summer, let me know! Here's the web site I've created and uploaded for the course: <http://www.pianostudio.cc/musictechsite/mustech1.html>
Here is a message from one of my colleagues at U of Indianapolis, Professor Richard Ratliff (an incredible pianist!)...
You may have heard that the Van
Cliburn International Piano Competitionhas been taking place in Fort Worth
for the past ten days. The final round begins tomorrow evening. This is
an event that comes once every four years, so
it's the 12th competition since it started in 1962. Whatever the disadvantages
of music competitions (and there are certainly many), this has become a
grand
event, with lots of money and concerts for the winners. Each of the 30-some
pianists chosen for the competition this time out (out of the 274 who applied!)
seems already an accomplished professional. For the first time, the majority
of the participants are women! The country most represented: China.
So, the six finalists: two from Italy, one from Russia, one from Korea,
two
from China. Three men, three women. Each of the finalists will play three
times over the next few days: a solo recital and two concertos. You can
see
the schedule by going to the website: cliburn.org. You can also WATCH and
LISTEN to live streaming audio!! They'll send you a link after you register
(it's free). You may need a high-speed connection for good quality. The
posted times are Texas times, which are the same as ours this time of year.
It
should be exciting! --RR
Our piano studio web site web hosting service gathers very valuable data regarding number of hits, countries accessing content information, sites linking our site, and more. You may find the following May statistics interesting (all stats listed below from 05/01/05 through 05/31/05):
I'll e-mail you with a link once I get them organized, formatted, and uploaded onto our studio web site.