Yes! Piano lessons continue. I cannot express enough the importance of music in our lives; at any time; but especially now when we are isolated. Lessons are available and you don’t have to live in Spokane to study with me; you can be anywhere and we can connect via Skype, FaceTime or Zoom.

Concert artists Anderson and Roe having way too much fun on their pianos. Notice how expressive they are and how their whole bodies play the piano. Notice their stage presence and bows at the end of the performance.

Summer time is a great time to hone skills like sight-reading, composition, or tackling a challenging piece. Summer lessons are available and encouraged.

It’s also a time of camps and there are 2 camps in the same week. July 29-July 4th is WSU’s Summer Keyboard Explorations for high school pianists in Pullman. July 29-July 3rd is Holy Names Music Center Piano Day Camp for pianists 3rd grade through high school age. Flyers for that camp will be in the studio as soon as they are available.

Start making summer music plans now!

We had a great time with Dr. Karen Savage from Washington State University this week! The 13 students who participated were treated to imaginative and provocative new angles on their music. They were shown how to channel their nervousness into energy for their music, they learned about the “bump” on a piano key, and they learned new ways to think about their music. Dr. Savage was impressed with all the students’ stage presence, posture, hand position, good pedaling and expressive playing! She was especially impressed with 6 students:
KUDOS to the five Honorable Mentions for outstanding performances: Anna A., Andrew A., and Warren A., Charlotte C., and Christian S.
CONGRATULATIONS to Amelia S. who was chosen to play in the Honors Recital. About 400 piano students from the Spokane area participated in Adjudications and a small fraction of those students are hand-picked by adjudicators to play in the Honors Recital. Way to go, Amelia!!

The U.S. Air Force Band had some fun with holiday music at the National Air and Space Museum. See it here

Music played an important role in Mandela’s life.  He said,  “Where there enters music and dancing, that makes me at peace with the world.”

Music sustained Nelson Mandela and others while they were in a South African Prison.  Read the article here.

A highlight for me every December is the Whitworth Choir Concert.  Here’s a link to their website, about this year’s concert:   http://news.whitworth.edu/2013/11/whitworth-choirs-present-2013-christmas.html

And here’s an article about LAST year’s concert, written by someone I know.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/nov/30/harmony/