February 22, 2020 Piano Recital

Posted on by Mrs. Thepsi
I’m so proud to be their piano teacher! On top of all the effort and time spent learning piano, they keep busy with school and sports, etc. The adults who performed also dedicate a lot of energy towards piano in addition to work and family responsibilities.
German Dance by Beethoven played by Kelsey! She and her sister earn the award for practice minutes – 45 minutes every weekday. They also keep busy achieving in school and sports.
Snow Fort duet played by Genavee and Samara. They didn’t get to rehearse together but their solid timing allowed for a smooth performance!
Sunburst Waltz played by Genavee!
Purple mist Pagoda played by Genavee! She is able to play many songs well because she always prepares each assignment fully before lessons.
Toy maker’s dance played by Adrian. He is talented in piano, a quick learner, and also excels in baseball and basketball.
Here’s MJ playing Fur Elise by Beethoven. He is visually impaired and has worked extra hard with note-reading. His dad enlarges sheet music for him, yet the challenge is like looking through layers of Swiss cheese slices—very impairing. MJ has excellent musical intelligence, which helps a lot!
Faber’s Petite Minuet played by Saliyah! She’s humble, kind and thoughtful and always has her big sister’s back!
Faber’s Classic Dance played by Kinsey. She and her sister get the cake for most practice minutes. She is a fairly new student and she practices smart—with a metronome.
Rockin’ Pony Ride From Music for Little Mozarts. Belle is indeed a little Mozart, and also brave and sociable.
Sleeping Beauty Waltz Played by Samara. By the way, she also has a beautiful voice, and she is a gifted artist.
Medals were awarded to the top practicer/performers! Kinsey and Kelsey, congrats! Trophy was awarded to Kelsey for piano achievements!
Kinsey and Kelsey with their medals!
Genavee won the consistency, preparedness and progress trophy award!
MJ won a trophy for working hard on an intermediate level piece and playing so well at the recital!

10 things to do BEFORE your child begins piano lessons

Posted on by Mrs. Thepsi

“Working your way through this checklist will speed up your child’s learning curve, possibly by months (maybe more!), and once you’ve covered every item below you will be a superbly equipped parent entering into the role of nurturing the growth of a new little (or not so little) pianist.”

I really like and agree with this article!

10 things to do BEFORE your child begins piano lessons

Christmas Music and Community Outreach Recital through MTAC

Posted on by Mrs. Thepsi

Today, two of my students entertained residents of a senior home in La Verne. They did great performances, and the old lady next to me kept marveling between songs and applause how great the students played. The hours of preparation that the kids put in sure paid off. I felt rewarded as a teacher for telling them things I would’ve been tempted to let slide during practice. I felt privileged to be part of the village of support for each of these two young students of mine.

This first video shows my student Kelsey playing “Primavera” by Ludivico Einaudi. She worked very hard. When I said goodbye to the MTAC secretary/piano teacher/Recital organizer after the recital, she had to mention about Kelsey’s performance — that she did such a solid job and memorized such a long difficult piece for her age. She told me I was doing a great job with this student! It was nice feeling that as a compliment to my teaching. Having that family and parental support probably makes the biggest impact, as children seem to learn self-discipline from their parents. The best part is that she really enjoys playing piano, and practices 45min-1 hour, 7 days a week….So I can’t take much credit.

This next video above shows my student Justus and his mother Jennifer playing “Tres Villancicos”, Spanish Christmas Carols. They make a great mom/son pair! Our lessons have been so packed, productive, filled with epiphanies and laughter. He and his mom are at a level that pushes me to grow as a pianist and teacher. I smiled from ear to ear watching them play this one for the seniors. My only critique from their performance is that they need to make sure everything is set up correctly with the correct pages in place–to avoid flying, lost sheet music. Otherwise, it was great, because they handled the situation gracefully and continued playing like nothing ever happened.

Senior homes are such wonderful venues for student recitals–when kids give a labor of love to people who appreciate it, every wins! Today’s experience at the MTAC Community Outreach Recital makes that case!