Two of my students participated in a masterclass on August 9, 2018 with accomplished pianist and violinist, Jena Pang. It was hosted at the Steinway & Sons Gallery in southeast Calgary where Mr. Pang gave an informative talk for preparing students for performances and then gave a masterclass to five piano students. He talked about the importance of stretching, performance practice, and talked about how teachers are important in the development of their students and their pieces.
Welcome to the New Studio & New Teaching Year!
Welcome to the new studio and new teaching year! It is great to be back at lessons with many returning students and a bunch of new ones as well. We are a class of almost 40 this year and each week brings many new adventures: lessons include everything from getting the alphabet in the right order for very young students, all the way up to abstract concepts of tone matching and colour palettes for advanced students. It is also great to have a Music History class on Thursdays full of high school students! This is set up to be a great year full of really lovely students and their supportive parents.
It was a long road to get here and the summer involved quite a bit of work. We moved from Queensland to Cranston, which involved methodically packing the music library in alphabetical order, organizing rhythm instruments and teaching supplies, boxing registration forms and so on. Most importantly, the two grand pianos had to be squashed through a window in the former studio, secured in a truck for the drive down Deerfoot, unpacked on the other end, and then wrapped in plastic! My friends at RPM Piano Movers did an excellent job. Upon arriving, the studio had turned into a construction zone: we needed to remove a wall in order to fit the pianos side-by-side which also meant moving electrical, patching the ceiling, HVAC, filling in carpet, adding a door to the top of the stairs, and painting.
All the hard work is paying off as I launch my 13th teaching year. I am set to teach more than 1000 lessons this year and I am thrilled to do it from the new studio which is thoughtfully set up with new lighting, shelving, decor, and art. I hope you are all looking forward to this year as much as I am.
KG
