Lion Sleeps tonight Ukulele Tabs

August 6th was the last post on my business blog?? School year started, I'm beginning my second trimester, and the holidays are just a hop skip and a jump away. I've been posting more on my family blog http://thewoodbillies.blogspot.com so if you don't have access to it, please leave a comment here with your e-mail address and I will add you as a reader!

Father Daughter Wedding Music

My most favorite musician to play with, my dad.
We played the wedding music for my cousins wedding in NY this summer. I found an amazing book called the "Classical Fake Book" by Hal Leonard (which I bought used on amazon for a quarter of the price!) It features the melody lines for thousands of famous classical pieces arranged with guitar chords. I also bought the Fake Book of Love Songs. My cousin preferred more jazzy blues love songs vs classical traditional pieces at her wedding so I'm happy I brought both books along.
Summer is dwindling down and the school year is upon us in just a few weeks. Here comes our back to school schedule!

My students grow up too fast!

Today was career day at camp for one of my students, so she arrived for her lesson dressed like a doctor!
Since I started teaching in Hawaii, I have watched my original 4th grade students graduate high school this past month and are now going off to college. I asked the parents "Did it fly by for you?" and they usually say "The days are long but the years are short!"

Thriller Ukulele Tabs

My student wanted Thriller on the ukulele, so I had to figure out the tabs! It was really fun to put it all together (strumming am7 and D7 chords). When the lesson ended, he said "That was fun!!" Always a good sign!

Recital Week

I turned 32 and disappeared!

**Before watching, please note that this is the second day I've practiced this piece. And this recording is at 9pm after a 12 hour teaching day. My eyes were starting to blur the notes together! 

It appears that I turned 32, and then disappeared from blogger!
This month wraps up the school year, so life has been busier than usual. Recital week is next week, which means I have to practice myself so I can demonstrate! It doesn't help that I decided to jump movements mid week. I originally wanted to play the first movement of Beethoven Sonata No 2 Opus 31 (The Tempest) but mid week decided the third movement would be more fun. Up next: Summer lessons followed by organizing 78 private students this upcoming fall!

I used to be 2-3....now I'm turning 3-2!

When I moved to Hawaii to teach music, I was 23. Now all of a sudden I'm turning 32. How did time go by so fast? 9 years teaching in Hawaii already? My students are serenading me with Happy Birthday today. I am feeling very well loved!

Medieval Melody

Yesterday I worked with my Quintet students at our once a month Quintet rehearsal. This time, the girls got to play a piece written and arranged by one of the Quintet members! (The tall violinist standing to my left!) She arranged her composition "Medieval Melody" for five parts. I was covered in goosebumps and I am so very proud!

And below, you can watch them playing Tchaikovsky's New Doll. I had to sub in for one of the players while she is out of town. And I quickly realized that every single one of my students in the Quintet are now taller than the teacher!

Ode to Joy

As played by my 4 year old student!

Irish Fiddling at the Market

I Irish Fiddled from 9:00-11:30am on Saturday at the Parker School Farmer's Market. I had students join me for several songs throughout the morning. The green rolling hills of Waimea really reminded me of Ireland. The only thing missing were the specks of white sheep dotting the green hillside!

School and Instrument Break Down

I get asked the same two questions all the time, and I really had no idea as to the answer. Question 1: How many students go to what school? and Question 2: How many students play what instrument?

So today I looked at my studio list and broke it down.

Out of 86 private students:

53 learn piano only

18 learn violin only

9 learn two instruments (guitar/piano; ukulele piano; violin piano)

2 learn guitar only

1 learns ukulele only

1 learns violin only

1 learns cello only

2 learn voice only

And out of 86 private students:

12 are in preschool

12 are homeschooled

12 go to public school

14 go to Parker.School

21 go to H.P.A.

5 go to Hualalai Academy

2 go to Waimea.Country.School

3 go to a charter or waldorf school

6 are adults

And that's the breakdown!

I have actual magical powers

I single handedly manned 22 students in this evenings hour long master class. They did such a wonderful job! The hour before, I had 14 students ages 3-5 perform in the Young Masters Class. It's been a busy week! Happy Leap Day!

Master Class Week

It's the end of winter quarter, which means it's master class week! A master class is different than a recital because it is for students only. I am able to critique them without an entire audience watching, just fellow students. This allows them to start over; to try a few times; and to become more comfortable performing in front of others.

Notes so far this week:

*Make sure to introduce your name and pieces in a loud, clear, slow voice.

*When you take a bow, look at your feet for at least 2 seconds. Think "left sock, right sock" and stand up.

*Never "tsk" or make noises when you make a mistake. Always keep going and make it work.

*Put your hands on your lap after each piece and take your foot off the pedal before you turn the page for your next song.

*Always be a quiet, supportive audience. Silence any noisy audience members. Never distract the performer.

Everyone is sounding wonderful. My students are supporting and observing all ages, levels, and instruments this week!

Free Pop Sheet Music

I discovered yet another amazing free pop sheet music website. At first, an advertisement will pop up, but just wait one second and then click "Skip this ad" to browse the site longer. Click HERE to check out sheet music!

Our town's newest Quintet

It has been a great goal of mine to get my students playing with fellow students. My high school rock band Dress Code Violation was a great first attempt and experience. But I also wanted my string students to experience the joys of playing in an ensemble. Unlike my musical upbringing in Washington, students in Hawaii don't have the same kind of access to school bands and orchestras. And a majority of my students here are home schooled. One of my students approached me and said she longed to play in an ensemble. It then dawned on me that I have 5 string/piano students all about the same age and level who would be GREAT together in a Quintet. They are also such amazing and sweet girls! I will work with them individually during private lessons and then have Quintet rehearsal the first Friday of each month. I almost cried at yesterdays very first rehearsal. The sound quality of my iphone simply cannot accurately capture what they sounded like in my music room.

The future album cover (I told them to pose like serious musicians)
The Fabulous Five. I told the girls their first assignment was to come up with a Quintet name, so next rehearsal we should have an official Quintet Ensemble name!

If I were a cartoon.....

This is what I would look like.

I wish I had opened the Christmas present my student gave me in front of her so she could have seen my response. Alex was there to see it. Best present ever! A framed cartoon picture she drew of me from the October Recital. I love how Moki is drawn in with his bandana. He is so much a part of my teaching day. He runs into the room after pushing the door open to announce that a new student is here; he jumps up when the lesson is over and leads them to the door; he greets the next student while leading them to the bench. If I'm doing dishes and a student arrives early, he runs up to me with big wide eyes and whines to let me know someone is early. He has been with me since I started teaching lessons full time in 2002. The year I was able to afford making payments for my first car and the year I was able to afford adopting a new puppy, all in the same week actually! Ruby on the other hand is terrified of students and spends most of the day hiding from or dodging them!

Happy 256th Birthday Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart January 27 1756-December 5 1791. Click HERE to read more about his short but prolific life.

Fun facts:

WHAT A LONG NAME! Mozart's full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophillus Amadeus Gottlieb Sigismundus Mozart.

Mozart could write music notes before he could write words. (Interestingly enough, my 2-5 year olds can READ music before they can read books too!)

Mozart was a knight.

He composed 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concert arias, 26 string quartets, 103 minuets (I love it when I teach a student a new minuet and they say "I've already played the minuet". I always say "Kid, there are hundreds!" ), 15 masses, and 21 operas.

Free Classical Music Sheet Music

This one is for you mom! Click HERE to explore a wonderful website full of free classical music.

When I was in Winter Park for Alex's family reunion I brought my violin (a nice and portable instrument) but didn't think to bring any piano music (after all, why would there be a piano up at 9000 foot elevation?) But I did have my ipad with me. I went to this website and found some Beethoven sonata's I'd been working on and voilee! I had music. I left my left hand linger a few extra beats on a chord while I slyly scrolled the screen down to view more music. Some people walking by noticed and I said "This is exactly how Beethoven meant it to be played!"

Kamuela Philharmonic Symphony Concert

On Sunday, January 15, 2012, at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra will continue its 2011-2012 concert season with a program featuring performances by the winners of the orchestra’s 1^stAnnual Concerto Competition. The three soloists will play works by Joseph Haydn, J. B. Accolay and Dmitri Shostakovich, with orchestral accompaniment. Also included on the program will be Johannes Brahms’ masterwork, Symphony No. 1 in C Minor. The concert will begin at 4:00 pm, and admission is free. Space is limited, so audience members are advised to arrive by 3:15 pm.

Ten-year-old violinist Minseon Kim will be performing the first movement of Haydn’s Concerto No. 2 in G major. Kim, whose father is a Korean Air Force commander and fighter pilot on a two-year assignment in Hawaii as a military liaison, attends school at Hickam Elementary. Although she has only been studying the violin for three years, Kim placed well in a Korean national competition before her family’s move to Hawaii a year ago, and has ambitions of becoming a professional violinist. To help her gain the experience she needs to accomplish that goal, Kim’s current teacher, Sheryl Shohet of Honolulu, helped her refine the piece she’d learned for her previous competition, and encouraged her to enter the Kamuela Philharmonic’s contest in November. With Kim’s nearly flawless performance of Haydn’s popular work, by no means the easiest piece written by the “father of the symphony,” there was no question she deserved the prize for her age group (12 years and under) awarded by the contest judges.

Violinist Elizabeth Sekona is a 15-year-old student at the Honoka’a High School, and a member of the school’s prize-winning jazz ensemble. She will be playing Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Jean-Baptiste Accolay, who was a Belgian composer, violinist, violin teacher, and conductor. This concerto, which has only one movement, was written in 1868, and is the romantic era composer’s best known work. Sekona has been studying violin and piano with Ursula Vietze of Kona for eight years, and currently plays in the second violin section of the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra. She decided to enter the competition as a way of motivating herself to improve her skills as a violinist, and is looking forward to the new experience of performing as a soloist with the orchestra. According to Sekona, the expressiveness of the Accolay piece, which she much prefers to the Bach violin concerto she first considered playing, helped make the process of working up her performance to a competitive level in only a few months very enjoyable. Her obvious love of the piece and beautiful tone are several factors that made her a stand out in her age group (13-15 years) at the contest, despite some stiff competition.

Daniel Lucas will perform the Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major, composed in 1959. Shostakovich, widely considered the most important Russian composer of the 20^thcentury and the last great symphonist, wrote the concerto for his friend, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Lucas, who is a 17-year-old student at Iolani School, first heard this concerto when attending a music competition in Honolulu to hear a friend perform. He was so taken with the piece, which is considered among the more difficult works for cello, that he sought out the music and persuaded his teacher, Nancy Masaki of Honolulu, who he has been studying with for six years, to help him learn it. Once Lucas had memorized and perfected the first movement, he began to search for an opportunity to perform it, and was excited to learn about the Kamuela Philharmonic concerto competition. His great technique and energetic performance impressed the judges, allowing him to prevail in his age group (16-18 years). Lucas is even more excited that his win will now allow him the opportunity to perform his solo with an orchestra.

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra is also looking forward to this concert, both as a chance to share the talents of these amazing young performers with the local community, and to perform Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. As a young piano virtuoso, Brahms was a protégé of Franz Liszt and Robert and Clara Schumann in the 1850’s, and only achieved musical recognition in the late 1860’s after a move to Vienna. He took at least fourteen years to write this symphony, which was premiered in 1876. Brahms greatly admired Beethoven, and certain thematic similarities led to his first symphony sometimes being referred to as “Beethoven’s Tenth.” Often called the last of the great Classicists, Brahms was ridiculed by some of his contemporaries as a conservative clinging to the musical past, but modern audiences consider his stylish music an essential part of the concert repertoire.

The mission of the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society is to present live, high-quality orchestral music to Big Island audiences, and to further the musical education of young people. As a charitable organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, donations to help accomplish that mission may be tax deductible. Any contributions placed in our calabash during concerts, mailed to us at P.O. Box 5550, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745, or done via our website at kamuelaphil.com are greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing you at our concerts.

I'll love you forever Grandpa John

I know I'm keeping this blog address for business and http://TheWoodbillies.blogspot.com for personal, but this is the blog site my Grandpa John devotedly read. He and my dad would tie as my biggest readers. So I wanted to post a loving memory here to my beloved Grandpa John, who passed away on Saturday. John has been in our lives so long it's hard to remember my Grandma Ellie's life before him. It must have been 1989 or 1990 when they started dating. I remember my cousins were just babies and my parents had just recently adopted Kimi. When Grandma Ellie died in 1999, Grandpa John continued to be a constant figure in our lives. While e-mail and digital cameras weren't used back then like they are today (if around at all), I discovered today that I've saved every e-mail John wrote me dating back to 2005 and I compiled a document of our dialogue which I sent to his son Jeff. Being a pack rat, even in cyber space, has its advantages.

I was gardening on Saturday, and when I was pulling weeds out of the pond's waterfall, I suddenly thought of Grandpa John so strongly that I whispered his name out loud. I took it as a sign that I should e-mail him. Little did I know he passed away that day. Maybe it was him, paying me a quick visit in Hawaii. That day (last weekend) I had just learned that our spunky, funny, and loving neighbor Phylis (who was in her late 80's) had died. We talked about going over to see her and Wayne the whole month of December; how we had to bring a X-mas gift; how we had to make sure we stopped by before leaving for Seattle; and then when we got back from Seattle and had the gift all wrapped and ready to go because we didn't find the time before, we found out she died. Also on Saturday, New Years Eve.

While I sincerely hope 2012 isn't mass exodus, these losses are continual reminders of how precious life is. The greatest hope and wish for anyone is that they have a life full of love and happiness. As her husband Wayne told us yesterday "Phylis lived the exact life she wanted to live with as little interference from me!" And Grandpa John taught us the true meaning of family. It doesn't matter if they are related through blood, or adoption, through marriage, or family once removed....family is what you build around you.

And what a beautiful family it is.