Kaitlyn Tholen

Waltz in B Minor Op. 69, No. 2 - Chopin

Prelude No. 4 - Scriabin

Rhapsody Brillante - Bober

Kaitlyn is a Freshman at Dominican High School in New Orleans.  She is 14 years old and participates in the Drama Club at Dominican.  In addition, she has attended District Rally for Latin both last year and this year.  Kaitlyn has been taking piano lessons for 7 years, and she enjoys piano because it helps her relax.

Kaitlyn competed in the Romantic and Contemporary Auditions at Loyola University on Saturday, November 12th.  She was selected as a Superior Medalist after receiving a “Superior Recitalist” rating (the highest possible rating) from one of her judges and a “Superior” rating from the other judge.  Kaitlyn has participated in numerous competitions over the years, and she is an exceptionally consistent student.  Congratulations on your hard work, Kaitlyn!

Kyle Chung

Walkin’ Boogie - Tingley

Kyle is 9 years old and attends St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as a 4th grade student.  Kyle was recently a recipient of the Gold Honor Roll, which is awarded to those students who achieve straight A’s.  He also won a medal in soccer this year.  In his spare time, Kyle enjoys playing video games and reading.  He likes piano because it sounds nice and is fun to play.

Kyle competed in the Romantic and Contemporary Auditions at Loyola University on Saturday, November 12th.  He was selected as a recitalist after receiving a “Superior Recitalist” rating (the highest possible rating) from both of his judges and performed in a recital following the competition.  Kyle has only had 4 months of lessons, and he has achieved a great deal in a very short amount of time.  Congratulations, Kyle!

Due to some obstacles in my own life, I have spent the past several years developing practice techniques that enable me to accomplish a great deal in a fraction of the time.  I would love to share some of those ideas with you, and I hope that this helps.

First and foremost, practicing is a mindset, not an activity.  It is imperative that the students focuses on what needs to be done in a practice session rather than just sitting down and setting a timer.  An hour of practice with no focused goal is the equivalent of not practicing at all.  In some cases, it may be worse.  The student should go into each practice session with a clear goal in mind and be sure that goal is something that can be accomplished in the available amount of time.  Whether you have 5 minutes or 50 minutes, something concrete needs to be accomplished by the end of the practice session.  This may mean you memorize a page or simply 2 measures.  Make your time count.

This brings me to the next problem…time management.  Lack of time, of course, is the biggest obstacle most students have to overcome.  It is not something that gets easier, but it is something that is manageable.  There are many different ways to accomplish a goal, and this may include breaking up practice time throughout the day.  Personally, I like splitting my practice sessions up throughout the day.  I find that I gain perspective from walking away for a few hours and coming back to a piece later in the day.  Many of my students have found this helpful, as well.  It does not matter to me how students get the work done, it only matters that it is done.  If the student can get the work done in half the time, then more power to them.  The time is really not an issue…how it is spent is ultimately most important.

With time management also comes responsibility.  If a student is working with limited time, it becomes twice as important that they use that time well.  Students should start by working on the weekly assignments in their notebooks.  I always tell my students to spend time on the things that need time and not to waste time on the things that don’t. It is essential to each student’s progress that they work on weekly assignments at home so we can spend time focusing on details in the lesson.  Without weekly practice, lessons simply become weekly sight-reading, and we don’t get a chance to focus on the things that really make piano fun.

Lastly, a note for the parents:

Parents, I hope you do not take this the wrong way, but please don’t make excuses for your children.  I appreciate you all keeping me informed of what is going on in your children’s lives as it does help me develop a individual plan for each child, but excuses for lack of practice will only continue the problem.  I do not expect my students to dedicate all of their free time to piano and certainly understand and appreciate that they have other interests.  I do; however, expect that the same amount of time is devoted to piano as to other extra-curricular activities.  Making excuses for a child hinders their ability to grow, and it sends them mixed messages.  ”We want you to do well in piano, but we understand that you don’t have time to practice.”  It can be very confusing for a child to work out these conflicting ideas in their head.  As a result, children often become resentful of the parents when parents start asking them to practice regularly .  It is a situation that should be avoided.  I am constantly amazed by how much kids can accomplish with just a little encouragement and a push in the right direction.  All they need is motivation, and they will impress you every time.  Please help me help them.

Samantha Siliezar

Stomping Dance - Goldston

Samantha is 12 years old and is in the 7th grade at St. Clement of Rome School.  She plays oboe in the school band, and is also a member of the chorale.  When Samantha is not playing music, she enjoys participating in international dancing.   She enjoys music because she is drawn to the rhythm.

Samantha has been playing piano for about a year and a half and will be participating in the Romantic/Contemporary Auditions in November.  Congratulations on your hard work, Samantha!

Priscilla Moradel

Whoop-de-do – K. Williams

Open Seas – Goldston 

Priscilla is in the 3rd grade and attends J.C. Ellis Elementary.  She takes music classes at school and also enjoys swimming and soccer.  Priscilla likes piano because you get to learn a lot and it gets easier the more you do it.  Priscilla has been taking lessons for about 2 and a half years and is receiving special recognition this month for having finished and memorized 2 pieces this week!  She is also planning to participate in the Romantic and Contemporary Auditions this fall.

Anthony Zou

Anthony is 8 years old and is entering the 3rd grade this year.  He is a level one brown belt in karate and enjoys playing computer games in his spare time.  Anthony likes his piano lessons because he has really enjoyed learning how to play Jingle Bells in the G Position!  Anthony has only had about 2 and a half months of lessons, but he is doing a great job and is about to graduate into a new level of books already!

Leo Gutierrez

Minuet in G Minor - J.S. Bach

Majestic Mountain - Springer

Gypsy Dance - Karp

Tarentella Viva! - Bober

Leo is 13 years old, and will be entering the 8th grade this year at John Quincy Adams Middle School.  During the school year, Leo plays on the drum line with the Adams Middle School Band, where he also received the percussion award for the 2010-2011 school year.  Leo has been taking piano lessons for about 3 years and enjoys piano because it is fun and is something you can always improve in.

I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I will be out of town on vacation from Friday, July 29th through Tuesday, August 2nd.  All lessons that fall on those days will be cancelled, and I will be using this as some of my paid vacation.  Thanks!

For those of you who signed up for the master class program, the first class will be taking place at Hall Piano Company on Saturday, July 16th at 2:00pm.  You can expect for it to last about half an hour this month, as we have a small class right now.  All future master classes will also take place on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 2:00.  We will have a few more students joining us during the school year, so they may run a little longer once school starts up again.  Please prepare your pieces for next week….I can’t wait to see y’all there!

Alex Thomas

Mars Landing - Goldston

Ogg (The Caveman) - McLean

Alex is going into the 6th grade at St. Christpher this year, and he’s turning 11 in just a few days!  He is an alter server at school, enjoys English class, and likes to draw in his spare time.  Alex likes piano because it’s really fun and gives him something to do all day.  He also thinks he has a really nice teacher (Thanks, Alex!).  Alex has been taking piano lessons for 3 years and recently received his first Gold Cup trophy from the Louisiana Federation of Music Clubs in recognition of his three Superior Ratings at the annual L.F.MC. Festival.