Happy New Year, Folks! Winter Term begins Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

As per the announcement I emailed to all of you in November, my new rates are now in effect. Please check the “Classes” page on my website for the new rates. You may need to click your browser’s “refresh” button to see the changes.

Furthermore, please note the following important dates and holidays for Winter Term:

• January 16: MLK Jr. holiday. No piano lessons.
• Feb. 3-5: OMTA Baroque Festival for participating students.
• Feb. 20: Presidents’ Day holiday: No piano lessons.
• March 2-4: Lower Division (Levels 1-6) Syllabus for participating students.
• March 26-30: Spring Break. No piano lessons.

Welcome back, Students & Parents! I’m looking forward to seeing all of you back in piano lessons when Fall Term begins on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The regular lesson schedule will resume at that time, i.e. you will retain the lesson day/time you had from Spring Term 2011, unless you have made other arrangements with me. Please note the following important dates for Fall Term 2011:

• Tuesday, Sept. 6: Fall Term begins. The regular lessons schedule resumes.
• Friday, Nov. 11: Veterans’ Day. No piano lessons.
• Friday – Sunday, Nov. 11-13: Fall Syllabus Evaluations for participating students.
• Saturday, Nov. 19: Rehearsal for Winter Recital. Attendance mandatory for all performers.
• Thursday & Friday, Nov. 24-25: Thanksgiving. No piano lessons.
• Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 3 & 4: Winter Recital. Playing times to be assigned. Location TBA.
• Dec. 19, 2011 – Jan. 2, 2012: Winter Break. No piano lessons.
• Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012: Winter Term begins. The regular lesson schedule resumes.

There are NO PIANO LESSONS on the following dates for Winter Term, 2011:

Monday, Jan. 17: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, Feb. 21: Presidents’ Day
March 19-27: Spring Break

The December 5 Holiday Recital will be taking place at Treehouse Hall, which is located at a private residence in the Northern Hillsboro countryside. Please do not use a mapping service to find the venue or you will get lost; use the map that you were emailed instead. Also, check your email to find out which recital time your child has been assigned to — either 2:30 p.m. or 4 p.m.

Give yourself plenty of time to find the venue, and plan on arriving about 10 minutes early. Performers should dress nicely … i.e. a button-up shirt or a nice sweater, nice shoes, and slacks for boys; perhaps a nice dress or skirt and top with dress shoes for girls. No tennis shoes or jeans, please. Flash photography is not allowed during the students’ performances. If you’d like a photo of your child at the piano, you may pose him/her there after the recital is over.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all there!

Summer Session has already started so if you want to take lessons in August, please contact me to book your time. From August 5 – September 2, lessons are available Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. I highly encourage all students who are planning to take the Fall Syllabus exam to take Summer Session lessons.

Fall Term begins on Tuesday, September 8 (after Labor Day). The regular lesson schedule will resume at that time. If you need to change your regular lesson time, please contact me ASAP because my schedule is filling up very quickly! I’m looking forward to welcoming all of you back!

The Spring Recital will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Treehouse Hall in the Northern Hillsboro countryside. Please reference the map (on page 2 of the linked .pdf) for directions to the recital. Do not use Mapquest or any similar online mapping service, or you will get lost. If you are unfamiliar with this venue, you may wish to plan on leaving extra early to allow ample time to find the venue.

Please plan on arriving at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the performance. Students must dress nicely for their performance. Flash photography is not allowed during the students’ performances, but video is OK. If you would like a photo of your child at the piano, you may pose him/her there after the recital is over.

Happy New Year, Students & Parents! Winter Term begins (and the regular lesson schedule resumes) on Monday,
January 5. Please note the following holidays and events for Winter Term, 2009:

Monday, Jan. 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No lessons.

Monday, Feb. 16: Presidents’ Day. No lessons.

March 6-9: Lower Division (Levels 1-6) Syllabus for participating students.

March 23-27: Spring Break. No lessons.

March 30: Spring Term begins. Regular lesson schedule resumes again.

Due to inclement weather, piano lessons for Thursday, December 18, are CANCELLED. You will receive a credit on your invoice toward January’s lessons. The weather man says that the temperature will continue to drop as the day goes on, and I fear that the roads will be icy by the time lessons roll around this afternoon and evening.

The regular lesson schedule will resume with the start of Winter Term on January 5, 2009. Enjoy your time off and
Happy Holidays!

The following students have the goal of taking their Syllabus exam March 6-9, 2009:

A. Birkeland
C. Castaneda
Y. Harrison
R. Howerton
A. Llamas
D. Llamas
J. Logan
K. Lyman
A. Parra
L. Schoening
S. Shuler

The following students have a goal of taking their Syllabus exam (Upper Division) on April 24-27:

C. Hamilton
M. Logan

If your child’s name is on either of these lists, I strongly encourage you to take piano lessons in December. There is plenty of material to cover for the Syllabus exam, which is comprehensive and quite challenging. Extra lesson time would be advantageous to your child. Note that taking lessons in December does not guarantee that you will be ready to take the test by March, but it is helpful. Please see the post below for info about taking lessons in December.

Fall Term ends November 28. Optional piano lessons will continue to be available through December 19. All students performing in the December 6 recital must attend their lesson during the first week of December. If you wish to continue taking piano lessons through December 19, please notify me as soon as possible. There will be NO piano lessons during the holiday break: December 20, 2008 - January 2, 2009. Winter Term begins (and the regular lesson schedule resumes) on January 5, 2009.