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Studio Update - 9/26

Monday, September 26, 2022 | Update

Happy Fall to all!

The sunshine is still a regular visitor during lessons but the turn toward cooler temps and our more familiar form of Seattle sunshine seem imminent. I may start welcoming students into back into the indoor studio shortly. As promised, I'm excited to announce the schedule for the first Group Week of the school year! We have a several in-person group options and a Zoom session that will review some of our songs from our Core Tunes list. Please look at your previous "Lesson Time" email to recall your student's group cohort.

As our Group Weeks are a bit fewer and further between I want to encourage families to do their best to have students participate in one or more of these session. Particularly if there are guest teaching artists joining. I'm also connecting with cellist, Tracy Hagen and her studio to invite them to jam with us. So these will be great events to gather and play along with new friends! No need to pre-register for any of these sessions. Save the dates!

Group Week Schedule

Core Tune Zoom - Monday, October 10, 5:30pm - 6:30pm

We'll go over as many tunes from the core tune list as we can during the hour. For all levels. I will host a Teaching Circle at the end for those looking for any feedback with their current tunes.  

Venue: Zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72023036851?pwd=amxkS3ZTZXZWYTVpS002a2thTUJjdz09

Early Risers Group Class - Tuesday, October 11  at 3:45-4:30pm

Venue: Lakewood Seward Park Comm Club,  4916 S Angeline St, Seattle, WA 98118, USA

Jump Starters and Jamsters  - Tuesday, October 11 at 4:30-6:00pm

Guest Teaching Artist: The Rhapsody Project

I am excited to be welcoming teaching artists from The Rhapsody Project for one of our group classes. With roots in teaching middle school string programs, this community explores and celebrates music and heritage through an anti-racist lens.  Artists Joe Seamons,  Jed Crisologo along with fellow Songsters join our Jamsters and Jump Starters to explore musical heritage of American music by sharing tunes and teaching about historical and cultural connections of songs and styles.  

Venue: Lakewood Seward Park Comm Club,  4916 S Angeline St, Seattle, WA 98118, USA

Open Jam - Wednesday, October 12 4:30-6:00

For those unable to make the Tuesday group classes or if you want to come back to play and learn tunes, I will be returning to LSP Clubhouse to host an open jam. We'll start by playing from our Core Jam Tunes. We'll also do a Teaching Circle for those who want to share their current tune they are working on for constructive feedback.

Venue: Lakewood Seward Park Clubhouse, 4916 S Angeline St, Seattle, WA 98118, USA


I am happy to announce the renewal of my Discovery Workshop Series for children. Many of my current students were introduced to the violin during these workshops. I would love to introduce the violin to more children and families and grow our studio. If you know of any families who may be interested, feel free to share the following. I will be sharing more on my social media channels over the coming weeks!

Violin Discovery Workshop Series

When: 3 Saturdays in November (11/5, 12 and 19)
Time: 11:00 am-12 noon
Venue: Lakewood Seward Park Community Club

Studio Update - 9/19

Monday, September 19, 2022 | Update

It was so great to see my students return to lessons last week. I'm hoping you are starting to get into the rhythm of the school year. Take a look at the following updates that I hope sets up your student up for a year a growth and fun! 

Practice Cards return!

For those who were with me pre-pandemic, each week I sent home practice cards to remind student what they should be practicing. I'm reinstating this and hoping this tangible reminder alleviates any struggles ;) I mentioned to a few students/parents who asked, but let me know if you need a recommendation about how frequent/long your child should be practicing. Time with their instrument in between lesson is valuable (and often noticeable). 

Core Jam Tunes

I have created a list of core tunes that I have attached to this email. These tunes will be a foundation for tunes to play during studio jams and community performances. I am encouraging students to review the tunes that they have previously learned. For any in the Early Riser or Jump Starters cohort, I will be teaching these simple harmonies over the next few weeks and will send home notation that they can practice. 

Group Week and Cohorts 

I am implementing Group Cohorts this year in order to build community and create more focused content during group classes. Classes during group weeks will typically be scheduled by groups.

The first Group Week of the year will be held during the week of October 10-14. I am finalizing venue and times for the classes and will announce by next week. As a reminder, there will be no individual lessons. I may however have time available for Zoom Open Office hours for drop-in style virtual lessons.  

That's all for this week. Stay tuned for further detail about Group Weeks and Community Performances (which I'm really excited about) next week. As always, feel free to pass along any questions or concerns.

Welcome to Lessons 2022-23

Sunday, September 11, 2022 | Update

Welcome to the first week of the 2022-23 Primary Session and the first week of lessons. By now you should have a confirmed lesson time and received an invoice for this month's lessons. If you are not enrolled in Auto-Pay, monthly payments are now due and should be paid before the 1st lesson of each month. Let me know if you need help enrolling in auto-pay. 

Lesson Protocol: This handout sets out my expectations for students and parents before during and after each lesson. This includes any health and safety protocols I have in place considering COVID or any health risks. Please look over and communicate any important information to your student. Let me know if you have any questions. No quiz for this one ;)

Communication: Because of the nature of the entering into the school year and the uptick of activities, I will be sharing studio updates on a weekly basis for the coming month. As the schedule settles down, my updates will be typically sent on a bi-weekly basis. I ask that you read each update thoroughly, particularly any "save the date" events.

Summer Listening Challenge

If any student was able to fill out their Summer Listening Challenge, please return to me during the first week of lessons. I will hand out small prizes for any student who has filled at least one line (up/down or across). There are one or two more valuable prizes for any student who has completely filled out their BINGO grid. You can still participate and retroactively fill out a sheet which I have attached to this message.

More to come in the Studio Update next week. Can't wait to get started again!!