"Some stories get repeated so often and by so many people, that it’s hard to pin down exactly what happened or what was said. One such legendary story finds world-renowned cellist Pablo Casals injuring his hand while rock climbing. He is reported to have taken one look at his mangled hand and then said to his companions, “Thank heavens, I’ll never have to play that cello again.”
To read the full article click here.
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Excerpt Below
In the first weeks and months after your child begins playing an instrument, you’re going to see tremendous progress in their playing. They will go from not really knowing which hand goes where to playing a simple tune or two in what seems like an astonishingly short period of time. Their progress will continue at that pace for several months. There will likely be a first concert or recital where your child will experience the thrill of audience applause and the further thrill of your pride in their accomplishment.
View full article here.
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This mini group class series is the perfect introduction to the piano and requires no prior experience in playing or reading music. This program will consist of 4 group classes on the piano (1 hour in length) that guide children from pre-staff notation to staff reading through activities that are fun, interactive, and enhance learning and heightened interest in music. Students will connect with their teacher online through ZOOM.
Program features:
Materials are not included in the cost of the program. Students are required to purchase the following digital resource or order the online copy to take part in this class!
Start Date: Thursday, May 28th 2020 1pm-2pm
End Date: Thursday, June 18th 2020 1pm-2pm
Number of Classes: 4
Cost: $210.00
After the piano playground, students will have the option to continue with group piano classes or join private lesson programming. The piano playground program is designed to give your student exposure to the instrument and give them an exciting introduction to the magical world of music!
Registration is NOW OPEN for Piano Playground!
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Watch this short clip on how to prepare for your upcoming RCM remote examination: How to Prepare for Your RCM Examination
These recent changes with the RCM bring great opportunity for our students! You no longer have to wait for an exam "session" to complete your exams. Once you are ready to complete your exam, you can choose a remote examination date within two weeks! Keep practicing and keep thriving!
To support these changes, OSMPA will be rolling out workshops, master classes, technique and ear training classes to help prepare our students for their examinations. Please stay tuned for new group class schedules and workshops coming next week!
Additional private classes and practice examinations can currently be booked online at the following link: OSMPA Exam Prep
Have a wonderful Victoria Day Long Weekend!
A reminder there are no classes scheduled on Victoria Day Long Weekend. No classes scheduled on Saturday, May 16th to Monday, May 18th.
We look forward to seeing you online!
Oakville School of Music and Performing Arts
OSMPA is committed to supporting and giving back to the community. Miss. Melissa is a graduate from St. Mildreds-Lightbourn School where she also sits on the Alumni committee.
Miss. Melissa teaches voice, piano, and music theory at the OSMPA and also connects with the community through the OSMPA Foundation.
Thank you for tuning into today’s teacher spotlight! Learn more about our teachers online: OSMPA Team
Miss. Krista is the vocal coach for both the Junior and Senior vocal classes.
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How it works:
1. Book one (30 minute) private lesson to connect with your teacher and decide if online lessons are for you.
2. Choose to continue classes in 30, 45, or 60 minute intervals on a weekly basis.
Students have the option to work towards the Royal Conservatory of Music examinations within their private lessons. The OSMPA strongly encourages students to take part in these examinations for a comprehensive musical experience, developing skills in ear training and sightreading while exploring a wide range of music eras including Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Impressionism.
Students will also have the opportunity to supplement their studies with popular music, musical theatre, jazz, and more working together with their teacher.
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"The patients really enjoyed the amazing up-lifting performance of all the students and teachers you arrived with here at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Saturday May 18, 2019. They put on a terrific show with so many different styles of music from such a great variety of student of all ages. The patients loved the show and the music and the beautiful cards. I see the cards all around the units on the window stills of our patients. It was so generous of you to arrange such a lovely performance for our patients. They are so grateful for the time and energy of all the young people involved and the parents who took time out of their very busy schedule to make it to the hospital on a warm spring afternoon. Thank you so much! It was awesome! The gift card also was very generous. I will use it to buy some promotional material for out music program here on 4 North. It is also very much appreciated... Thank you for remembering those in your community who are unable to be out and about at this time. You came to us and made them smile and that is what made all the difference... So very much appreciated....! " - OTMH Staff
]]>Amelia is working towards her grade 7 RCM piano and Intermediate music theory. Amelia also plays the trumpet in school. Amelia always comes to the OSMPA prepared and is always eager to learn more about music. Miss. Monika asked Amelia what her favourite piece is this year and Amelia said, "All of the songs are my favourite because they are beautiful in their own way." Amelia's goal this year is to receive a high placement in Grade 7 and to also have fun! She is part of Miss Monika's studio. Congratulations Amelia and keep up the good work!
Christian San Juan from Mr. Mark's studio is a November award recipient. Christian has been playing guitar for five years. Christian notes, "My favourite song to play on the guitar right now is Gerudo Valley from the Legend of Zelda." He hopes to better his guitar playing this year by, "learning how to finger pick better." Congratulations Christian!
Veronica Rogue, from Miss Krista's studio, has been singing for as long as she can remember, but has been taking lessons for two years. Her practice tip is: to always try your hardest, make good practicing habits at home and choose the days that you practice. Her favourite song is 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran. Versonica's musical goal for this year is to be involved in extra curricular musical activities outside of school like musicals.
Zaina Ramadan from Miss. Jessica's studio is our first December recipient.
What instrument do you play?
Piano
How Long have you been playing for?
4 years
What is your favourite practice tip?
Always read the notes instead of guessing
What's your favourite song?
Lovely by Billie Eilish
What's your favourite piano song?
Turkish Bazaar
What are your musical goals for the year?
Strengthen sight reading skills.
Delia is working toward her Grade 3 RCM voice and Grade 3 RCM piano. She is also working on music theory. All those subjects adds up to six different books! 📚📚Outside of RCM she works on film piano solos such as “Arrival to Earth” from Transformers and popular song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Delia is part of Miss. Melissa’s studio. On behalf of OSMPA, Congratulations Delia and keep up all the good work!
What instrument do you play?
“I play piano and I sing.”
How long have you been playing for?
“I have been studying music for two years.”
What is your favourite song?
“For voice I like Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and for piano I like Fur Elise.”
What are your musical goals for this year?
“For piano I want to learn as many songs as I can so that I can read and understand music better. For voice I want to learn more Broadway and musical theatre pieces.”
Aaryan was nominated by Ms. Leslie based on his hard work and consistent preparation leading up to his Level 2 RCM Exam. He achieved great results on the exam which demonstrates that practicing regularly and thoroughly pays off! ⭐️⭐️ CONGRATULATIONS!! ⭐️⭐️
What instrument do you play?
Piano!
How long have you been playing for?
4.5 years!
What is your favourite practice tip?
Practice, practice, practice!
What’s your favourite song?
Imperial March from Star Wars
What are your musical goals this year?
To do well on my Level 3 RCM Exam!
Advice for someone taking an RCM exam?
Don’t be nervous! If you practice a lot and you know all of your pieces and technical requirements, you don’t have to worry it will be fine!
GRACE LORENZ! 👩🎓 📚 Ms. Amanda is consistently noticing Grace’s passion and enthusiasm for music and the piano. Grace always comes to lessons eager and excited to learn, and practices hard in order to improve each week. She even performed at the hospital this week, and was incredibly poised and lovely to listen to. ⭐️⭐️ CONGRATULATIONS GRACE! ⭐️⭐️
“I usually practice 25 minutes, five days a week.”
“My piano tip is, if you don’t want to do your school homework, you can just do your piano homework."
]]>The event featured students from age four to 18 sharing Mother’s Day poems and performing on piano, violin and ukulele as well as voice.
The school’s director and teacher, Melissa Stolarz, organized the event for students at the school.
“Our students learned the importance of giving back, of sharing their talents with others. It goes beyond what can be taught in the classroom. This is why it was so important for me to create the Mother’s Day performance,” says Stolarz. “Our students work hard throughout the year and the payoff sometimes isn’t about the grades, but the experiences that are created.”
Patients also had the opportunity to take part in the event, singing familiar tunes together as a group.
“We really created something special for all the patients that attended the performance. They took away a little more energy and inspiration than they had before, and that’s incredibly valuable,” says Stolarz.
The Mother’s Day performance was a highlight to the end of the term for students who are enrolled throughout the year in academic programming. The students performance showcased musical theatre pieces, classical piano songs, popular duets and pieces from movies.
Some summer piano camp members may have the opportunity to perform this summer.
Volunteers from the school put together more than 50 cards and gift bags for hospital patients. Students, teachers and friends of the school took time to write a special message on each card or poem and create colourful origami flowers.
The OSMPA encourages students at the school to participate in community events such as the Oakville Half Marathon, Glen Abbey golf tournaments and tree lighting ceremonies in Oakville and Bronte. Singers have also opened games for the Oakville Blades and other local sports teams.
Link to full article here: Inside Halton
Location:
Bronte Athletic Park
2197 Lakeshore Rd W, Oakville, ON L6L 1H1
Time: 6pm Kickoff
Tickets: Can be purchased at the event $10 entrance - see you there!
Link to full article here.
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Miss. Leslie Ashworth has performed with numerous orchestras across Canada and in celebrated venues such as Carnegie Hall, Koerner Hall, Vancouver Convention Centre, and Rolston Hall in the Banff Centre. She is also the winner of the Grand Prize in the Canadian Music Competitions and gold medalist of the “Passion of Music” International Competition in New York City. Leslie holds an ARCT in both piano and violin with the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Leslie has participated in summer music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and School, Strings Masterclass Program at the Banff Centre, and the Summit Music Festival in New York and has performed in masterclasses of renowned artists including Donald Weilerstien, Glenn Dicterow, James Ehnes, and Leon Fleisher. In addition to performing, Leslie also enjoys composing and has created over 30 original compositions.
Producing two CDs with a portion of the proceeds going to Free the Children, Leslie is also the founder and director of the Suite Melody Care program which encourages talented, young musicians across the country to give back to their community by performing in their local hospital, long-term care, and retirement homes. Recently, Leslie was honoured with the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Service Youth Award for her dedication to giving back to the community and inspiring youth through Suite Melody Care performances.
Leslie plays on the 1696 Albani violin generously on loan from a private benefactor.
Link to full article here.
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