Friday, January 8, 2016

Meet one of my newest students! Jakob Thorson

Jakob is 6 years old.  He is the 4th child out of soon-to-be 6 children in his family.  He has a very quiet, sweet personality.  He is always trying to help others out.  Jakob loves to play with friends, read, ride his bike, and anything else that involves swords.  Jakob absolutely loves piano.  He will often be found at the piano practicing his new songs because he wants to pass them off weekly. (from Cammie, his mother)

Congratulations "Outstanding Performers!"

Andrew and Annika Pitcher were selected as "Outstanding Performers" in the Encore Ensemble Festival held November 4-5, 2015. They were in Division IIB (5th and 6th graders.) They were able to perform their memorized duets in the Honors Recital and received $35 cash and a purple ribbon award. Faith Nixon and Makayla Harris were also selected as "Outstanding Performers." They were in Division III (7th-9th grade.) Way to go!

Ensemble Recital, October 30th, 2015

     The studio had our annual "Ensemble Recital" on October 30th, 2015. It was filled with duets, trios, and even a piano quartet at the end. As tradition, my sister Jessica and I finished off the recital with a crowd-pleaser, "Freezing Hot!" by Catherine McMichael. The oldest students, Ava Baker, Mary Simons, Carolyn Allen, and Parker Thorson, had the opportunity of playing in a piano quartet. They performed Military March by Schubert and Champagne Toccata by Gillock. Brady Mark played his first duet with partner, Xana Thorson. Of course the twins Brock and Clark Baker performed together as well as siblings Andrew and Annika Pitcher. My daughter Faith played with Makayla Harris and best friends Sophi Deucher and Sadi Kelley performed. The other sibling group was my three children, Dallas, Faith and Angel. Six hands at the same time on one piano was quite a feat, but it sure was a joy to see them perform so flawlessly. To see my students working together and making friendships is one of my favorite things. By performing these ensembles, they learn to give and follow cues, listen more carefully, work together and they always have a blast! I can't wait until next year!

Fall Piano Recital, September 14th, 2015

This post is a bit late, but should be mentioned that our Recital in the Fall was FANTASTIC! We heard pieces by Clementi, Bach, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Chopin, Spindler, Clementi and many more. Students who performed: Sophi Deucher, Brady Mark, Xana Thorson, Clark Baker, Annika Pitcher, Parker Thorson, Brock Baker, Sadi Kelley, Makayla Harris, Lauren Crawford, Andrew Pitcher, Mary Simons.

Parker Thorson Completes Solo Recital

     Parker Thorson performed a beautiful Solo Recital at Summerhay's Music in Orem at the beginning of December 2015. He performed 10 memorized pieces, including Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, English Suite by Bach, Sibelius' Romance and Chopin's "Minute Waltz." I also accompanied him as he played Concerto in F by Haydn, 3rd movement. Parker has only studied the piano for 3.5 years total! He has taken lessons with me for two years. The progress Parker has made is incredible for the considerably late start he got with piano. He is the oldest of (soon-to-be) 6 children. I also teach his younger siblings Xana and Jakob.

Makayla Harris Completes Solo Recital

     Makayla Harris performed her first Solo Recital at her beautiful home in Highland on November 20th, 2015. She played 12 memorized pieces, including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Mozart Sonata, K. 545, and a Moszkowski Etude. Her finale were the two duets that she performed this year in the Encore Ensemble Festival with Faith Nixon. They were selected as Outstanding Performers in their division (7th-9th grades)! Makayla has studied with me for about two years and is currently in 8th grade. She gets all of her practicing done each morning before school and has her lesson in the morning as well. She is an accomplished dancer, straight-A student, and the oldest of five children.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Welcome Mary Simons!


Meet my newest student: 

Mary Simons is 16 years old and has taken piano since she was 8. She loved piano from the very beginning and hopes to attend college, majoring in piano performance. She attends Juab High School and often helps to accompany the school's concert choir in addition to being a member of the choir. She is on track to graduate from JHS in 2017 with an Associate of Arts degree from Snow College. She currently has 2 piano students, but will have 8 when school starts. Along with piano and music, Mary loves school, photography, hiking, British television, going on adventures with her friends, a good political debate, and spending time with her family.