New Mozart School of Music Blog

New Mozart Singers Perform "Consider Yourself" from Oliver.

2012-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

We can't believe it's already been more than a month since New Mozart students performed at our winter concerts in December.

We're reviewing the professional photos and videos to upload. In the meanwhile, we want to share this candid video of New Mozart Student Singers performing "Consider Yourself". Enjoy! :)

The Importance of Singing (Feature Article)

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

By Vicki W., a New Mozart Staff Writer

"A child who plays before he sings may remain unmusicalfor a lifetime. That is why we encounter so many skillfulpianists who have no idea of the essence of music."Zoltan Kodály

The importance of singing in music education cannot be over-emphasized. In the first years of life, children tend to be exposed to a rich supply of singing; their mother or father sings lullabies and nursery rhymes to them on a daily basis. Without realising it, the parent is in fact providing exactly the type of music the child needs to develop both musicality and language skills, due to the simple melodies, repeated rhythmic patterns and long vowel sounds common to both.

It has been shown in numerous educational studies and will come as no surprise to learn that the quality of interaction and partnership between children and their primary care-givers is highly significant in determining success in learning and life in general. It seems obvious that acting as a positive role-model and giving children access to a stimulating and safe environment will develop self-esteem and a positive attitude in our youngsters. We are aware of the importance of reading stories to our children, demonstrating simple counting and addition skills, insisting upon good manners and encouraging kindness. Yet beyond the baby years, the vast majority of parents stop singing to their children.

While most of us are happy to sing to our babies in the privacy of our own home, we become less confident and more inhibited as they grow up. Children pick up on this negativity and learn to associate singing with something they don’t want to do. The only way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to sing with our children. Just as they need to hear adults talking, children need to hear adults singing in everyday life. They really don’t care how well you can sing or what you sound like. There is no need to present a polished performance. To them, your singing voice is perfect just the way it is!

Singing is one of the simplest and yet most powerful forms of music-making. It doesn’t cost anything, anyone can learn, and everyone possesses an instrument. All the basic elements of music – pitch, melody, harmony, timbre, rhythm, dynamics, expression and so on - can be learned through singing. In fact, because of the lack of an instrument, singing is the quickest and most direct way to learn and internalize music. Crucially, it is also vital for developing a ‘good ear’ – you cannot have one without the other.

Social and joyous, singing frees the soul and relieves the stresses of everyday life. Because the essence of singing is internal, it is felt more deeply than playing an instrument and therefore has a more profound and personal effect. It is an ideal way to bond with your child and gives them a positive and acceptable outlet for their emotions. If that wasn’t enough, singing has been shown to increase social harmony, boost the immune system, improve powers of concentration, and enhance classroom performance. And a love of singing lasts a lifetime. All good reasons to put aside your inhibitions and give it a go – you might even enjoy yourself!

Inspiring Q&A with Daniel Barenboim

2012-01-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favorite talks given by the legendary pianist/conductor, Daniel Barenboim. His ingenious answers on simple questions make you ponder about what it means to make music.

Music in the Schools Needs Your Help!

2012-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, New Mozart has been supporting Music in the Schools Foundation for many years.

If you're not already familiar with this amazing organization, check them out here: http://www.musicintheschools.org/. MIS was founded by a group of music teachers who wanted to make a difference in the lives of children in an under-served community right next to where we live.

Last year alone, they have expanded their programs and reach by implementing music programs at Oaks Academy and Willow Oaks School. At the request of the superintendent of the Ravenswood School District, Maria de la Vega, MIS hopes to reach another school in the district and implement after school music offerings.

The chair of Music in the Schools Foundation, Virginia Fruchterman has asked the New Mozart Community if we can help.

There are a couple of ways in which you can help:

Become a board member if you'd like to roll up your sleeves and make a real difference in the lives of children in an under-served community. More board members are needed to help raise additional funds to support their expanding programs!
Make a donation. To make a donation, go to MIS' website here: http://www.musicintheschools.org/donate.html.

If you can help, please contact us at the office and we will get you connected to Virginia Fruchterman, chair of the Music in the Schools Foundation, and Christine Shin, director of New Mozart School of Music.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to ensure that not only New Mozart Children but ALL children can make music.

Teacher Alexander brings years of serious experience, and a larger than life laugh to New Mozart.

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

His demeanor is marked by a furrowed brow and tender smile – his passion for his students and music is clear even in a simple hello. “I’ve been teaching my whole life,” he says proudly. He teaches a wide age range from young kids to adults at New Mozart (piano) and the College of Marin (in Russian music history).

Teacher Alexander started playing the piano at the age of six, encouraged by his mother who was studying classical opera. He went on to study at the prestigious Leningrad National Conservatory where he received bachelor, master, & doctoral degrees. Aspiring to be a composer, Teacher Alexander wrote and performed his works extensively, while gaining experience playing and conducting in Russia. He moved to the US in 1991 and in the following year, founded the Russian Chamber Orchestra. Currently, the organization is based in Marin and performs for the music lovers of the Bay Area. He loves playing solo and with an orchestra, both for different reasons. “When you’re playing alone, you have more freedom and flexibility and when you play a big composition with an orchestra, you have to listen. Communicate!” he explains.

And connecting is what Teacher Alexander does well with his students. “Usually, I have good compact with students,” he added. Another perk of working with him is his prolific advice. “From beginning to end, I give advice,” he exclaims jokingly. His teaching is deep and extensive. He advises to practice as slowly as possible to not miss anything. The pianist with unbelievable speed, Rachmaninoff could practice one measure for 20 seconds, he tells. “Do it great today. So good that you do it once forever.”

Amélie Songs Inspire Madison

2012-01-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

For eight year old Madison Nguyen, her motivation for learning a new song is to perfect the song so that she can perform it for her family. Her latest goal is to master the songs from the French film Amélie, which her teacher Lea helps her achieve. “She's a great, self-motivated piano student,” Teacher Lea compliments. When asked about her weekly lessons, Madison brightly chimes quickly but thoughtfully. “I think it’s fun, and well, she helps me with all my songs, and figures all of them out when I have mistakes.”

She is part of a musical family – her dad plays the guitar and her mom, brother, and sister play the piano. Madison asked to be signed up for piano lessons after seeing her sister start them. Her mom then signed her up with her first and current teacher, Lea. “I can play the songs right and get better with Lea,” Madison says. Her uncle, who also plays the guitar and piano, is helping Madison learn the rest of the songs from the Amélie soundtrack. “Sometimes, I play all day and usually practice 15 to 30 minutes everyday,” Madison explains. Despite Madison’s busy schedule and holidays, she does her best to practice regularly. Her discipline is coupled with her love for the Amélie songs – Comptine D'un Autre Été: L'après Midi is her favorite. “It’s a really pretty song,” she explains. Madison has not performed in a recital yet and recently expressed her nervousness getting up and playing in front of a crowd. We hope Madison takes the stage and charms the audience as she would her family.

A Harmony Road Student Composition: The Curious Horse and a Butterfly

2011-12-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

We hope you're enjoying the holiday season! :) As we prepare for the new Harmony Road semester, we wanted to share this beautiful composition written by our Harmony Road II student Abigail R. (age 6) in 2008.

We're always impressed with how creative children can be when they're given the tools to express themselves.

Compositions written by our Fall 2011 Harmony Road students are being compiled and should be available on our website soon so stay tuned.

Happy Holidays! New Mozart Winter Break (12/22-1/1)

2011-12-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Dear New Mozart Families & Friends:

We want to wish you and your family Happy Holidays! :)

New Mozart is on Winter Break from 12/22-1/1. There will be no lessons or classes during this time. Our office hours during the break are from 1 pm - 7 pm everyday, and we are closed on 12/24 & 12/31.

If your lesson day is Wednesday, don't forget that lessons are held today!

Watch this short clip of New Mozart Cellists performing the "Dreidel Song" at the New Mozart Winter Student Concert on Dec. 11th. :)

Have a wonderful time with your family & friends, and we'll see you back on January 2nd, 2012!

Warmest wishes,

The New Mozart Office Team

42 New Mozart Violinists Perform the Twinkle Variations

2011-12-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

See 42 of our talented young violinists from Teacher Jennifer's studio performing the Twinkle Variations at the Dec. 11th concert.

We were really impressed with their solo performances too! Our videographer is hard at work editing the videos of our 9 December concerts so stay tuned for more video clips.

Video by Wei-Thang Tzeng, Teacher Jennifer's dad :)

New Mozart Holiday Staff Party at Nola

2011-12-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

2011 New Mozart Holiday Staff Party was held at Nola in downtown Palo Alto..., in NEW ORLEANS STYLE! :)


Holiday decorations at Nola

To break the ice, we started the evening by sharing with everyone what we LOVE to do when we're not practicing, performing or teaching.

The evening continued with endless yummy food & drinks.

And great conversations...

Doesn't Teacher Osvaldo look too happy with his margarita? :)

After the main course, everyone received a special gift.

Then the BEST PART! We had yummy desserts that included beignet, ice cream, & pumkin pie.

Next everyone engaged in the Rock, Paper, Scissor Battle for the grand prize.

Teacher Lea & Teacher Cristina duked it out at the final battle, and the Winner is...

Teacher Lea! She won $100 gift card to Guitar Center! This year, we did things a bit differently so that all New Mozart Staff who came to the party could go home with a special gift. So..., we gifted each New Mozart Staff a pair of 14k pearl earrings, except Teacher Osvaldo. We weren't sure he could use the earrings so he got a Nordstrom gift card instead. :)

We also treated every Non-New Mozart guest to a gift set from Philosophy.

Funky interior at Nola

Funky interior at Nola

We had too much fun and didn't want the evening to end.

************************

Many thanks again to our amazing teachers and office team members who make New Mozart a very special place!

Happy Holidays!!! :)

NINE New Mozart Winter Concerts Raised $4885 Bringing 2011 Total Raised to $12175!

2011-12-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

Dear New Mozart Students, Parents, and Friends:

Thank you so much for coming out on December 10th & 11th to hear New Mozart students. Nearly 250 students performed!

We want to congratulate our very talented students on their successful performances. They did beautifully and it was wonderful to witness the growth of some amazing talents we have at New Mozart.

We also feel extremely blessed to be working with such dedicated music educators as well as parents who believe in music education and its impact on children's lives.

We'd like to give special thanks to our parent volunteers who helped us run the recitals. We really couldn't make it happen without your help!

We're also very excited to announce that we raised $4885 this past weekend. This brings our 2011 total raised from all of our concerts to $12175!

We're deeply touched by your generosity and the opportunity that you've given our New Mozart students to share their musical gift with the local and global community. Most of the funds raised will be going to 3 very special charities: Escuela Caracol (Guatemala), Common Hope (Guatemala), and Music in the Schools Foundation (East Palo Alto) while $825 from the March Honors Recital was donated to the Red Cross to help the victims of the Japanese Tsunami & Earthquake.

We want to express our heartfelt thanks to you for giving the gift of music to your child(ren) and making us a part of your family's life.

Warmest regards,

Christine, and the New Mozart Teaching & Office Team

www.NewMozartSchool.com

-------------------------------

Videos & Pictures from the Dec. 10th & 11th Concerts

Professional videos & photos coming soon!

New Mozart Singers perform Consider Yourself from Oliver

Shai M. performs Sister Sadie by Horace Silver

Nicolas W. performs Concerto for Two Violins, d minor, by J.S. Bach

New Mozart Cellists perform the Dreidel Song
....................................................................

We're giving away $100 Apple Store gift card

2011-12-09T13:58:00.001-08:00

Dear New Mozartians,

We're really excited about the concerts coming up this weekend and can't wait to see the New Mozart Stars perform on stage.

As we're winding down with our last minute prep work for the concerts, we thought about how much fun we had with our last facebook photo contest. (We gave away $100 Target gift card and $50 Sony gift card)

So..., we're doing it again!

We're giving away one $100 Apple store gift card to the winner of New Mozart Recital Photo Contest.

Enter between Dec. 10th & Dec. 15th.

To enter:

Simply upload a photo on our facebook fan page of you or your child playing/singing/sitting in the audience at one of the Dec. 10th/Dec. 11th's New Mozart Winter Student Concerts.

Be sure to follow the steps here and good luck! :)

First go to New Mozart School of Music's facebook fan page.
Then "LIKE" us.
Then upload a photo of you/your child performing or hanging out :) at one of the New Mozart Winter Concerts (12/10 & 12/12).
We'll leave it up to our fans to decide the winner. $100 gift card will be awarded to the person who receives the most number of comments & 'likes'.
Open to all New Mozartians & New Mozart Enthusiasts.

Now get your camera ready for the concert, and be sure to tell your friends and family to vote for you on our facebook fan page.

Voting ends on Dec. 21st, and the winner will be announced on Dec. 22nd.

December 2011 Greetings from the Office

2011-12-07T15:30:00.001-08:00

Dear New Mozart Parents & Students:

It’s December, which means recital season has officially arrived! Do you have your calendars ready? You won’t want to miss the fun events coming up!

Our long-awaited New Mozart Winter Student Concerts will be held this weekend on Dec. 10th and 11th. Students, teachers and parents have been preparing long and hard to put on the performances. Over 250 of our private students are performing in 9 concerts! We’re so excited to see New Mozart Stars shine this weekend and hope you are too!

Bring your family, friends & musicians alike, because it’s going to be a blast! Tickets are sold at the door and 100% of the ticket sales will be donated to Escuela Caracol, Common Hope, & Music in the Schools Foundation.

Many of you have been asking when the registration for our popular Harmony Road classes begin. Harmony Road Spring Schedule will go live on our website on Dec. 15th so mark your calendar and look out for an email from us. Many of our Harmony Road classes fill quickly so register early!

We also want to remind our private lessons students that there is no need to re-register as your enrollment is for the entire school year.

Don’t forget to note the following dates… We’re closed for the Winter Break from Thursday 12/22 through Sunday 1/1. No lessons or classes will be held on these dates.

If you have any questions, please always feel free to contact the office, as we are more than happy to assist you.

Have a wonderful holiday season & joyous New Year celebrations!

Musically yours,

The New Mozart School Office Team

Harmony Road Spring Schedule Goes Live on Dec. 15th

2011-12-07T15:18:00.001-08:00

Come & Experience a Group Piano Program

Like No Other!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS & VISIT OUR WEBSITE on December 15th!

Available Classes:

Toddler Tunes (Ages 2-3)
Music in Me & More Music in Me (Ages 3-4)
Harmony Road I (K - 2nd)
Harmony Road II-IV

Visit the Harmony Road page of our webiste here.

“Julia performed the two songs she wrote at the Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center Talent Show... The audience was blown away, not only that she could play a song with two hands and with chords in the left hand, but that she wrote the songs herself! This is truly a remarkable program... “ -Joyce D., Julia's mom

“I am a professional, classically trained singer who has performed regularly at the New York Metropolitan Opera for the past 10 years. I have spent a lot of time in music classes for my young daughters, and The New Mozart School of Music is absolutely unique in it's approach to teaching music to young children.” -Malin Fritz Walrod, professional opera singer & Julianna & Erika's mom

“Christine is an extraordinary teacher working with an amazing program. She has the keen ability to make the class fun yet challenging..she consistently sets a high standard for their behaviour in class and in their practicing on their own outside of class. It is fascinating to watch this process unfold in my daughter....she wants to keep learning, looks forward to the class each week despite the long car ride to Palo Alto…” - Jean C. Nia's mom

NEW MOZART FACULTY RECITAL RAISED $625

2011-12-07T13:47:00.001-08:00

for Escuela Caracol, Common Hope & MIS

Photos by Jason Tsai

The New Mozart Faculty Concert 2011 was simply amazing! If you missed it, look out for the video clips coming to this blog and on our facebook

We want to thank our talented faculty performers again for sharing their talent with us and donating their time to raise money for 3 very special charities: Escuela Caracol, Common Hope and MIS.

December 2011 & January 2012 Dates to Remember

2011-12-07T12:50:00.001-08:00

12/5-12/10: Performance Classes (Check schedule)

12/3: Suzuki Group Violin Class, 4:15-5:15 pm FREE
(N. California campus, Sibelius room)

12/10: Suzuki Twinkle Orchestra Rehearsal, 4:15-5:15 pm (N. California campus, Sibelius room)

12/2, 12/9, 12/16: Cello Group Classes, 3:30-5;30 pm FREE (N. California campus, Coltrane room)

12/10 & 12/11: New Mozart Winter Student Concerts (Check directions here)

12/15: Harmony Road Spring Registration Begins (Priority Registration ONLY)

12/22-12/31: Winter Break (no lessons or classes)

1/1: New Year’s Day

1/14, 1/28: Suzuki Group Violin Classes, 4:15-5:15 pm FREE (N. California campus, Sibelius room)

12/2, 12/9, 12/16: Cello Group Classes, 3:30-5;30 pm FREE (N. California campus, Coltrane room)

1/16: Martin Luther King’s Jr. Day (NO SCHOOL)

1/23: First Day of Harmony Road Spring Semester

1/31: Staff Development Day (NO SCHOOL)

Starting this month, our group class schedule will no longer appear in the print version of the New Mozart News. You will still find the up to date schedule on our blog and

on the New Mozart Calendar page here.

Performance Practice: The Young Performer

2011-12-07T11:51:00.001-08:00

This article was previously published in New Mozart News in 2009. In light of the upcoming New Mozart Winter Student Concerts, we thought you might find this article helpful.

By Christine E. Shin

The claim that public speaking tops death as the greatest human fear led Jerry Seinfeld to say, “So if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than giving the eulogy.”

Now consider how much more terrifying the public performance of music must be—hundreds of eyes and ears trained on a single person as he or she makes a complex instrument speak in what amounts to a foreign language. Sounds like enough to make anyone prefer the casket!

But then there are those musicians—we’ve all known them—for whom performing is a joy, whose “butterflies” flutter out of excitement rather than a desire to migrate far, far away from the stage. Performance is the fulfillment of the central purpose of music—the emotional communication between people—and so is an essential part of being a complete musician.

So how can we give our children the gift of that joyous performance experience rather than the fearful and painful one that is all too common?

Some tips:

1. Perform early, perform often. Children whose first public performance is in the late elementary or middle school years (or, heaven forfend, even later) are much more likely to struggle with performance anxiety issues than those who performed frequently at an early age, before the developing mind has had a chance to build its wall of objections too high. It’s like learning a language early: the child never has a chance to realize it’s hard.

2. Start small. Carnegie can wait. Playing for gathered brother and sisters or cousins or neighbors is an excellent bridge experience to the recital stage. The child can have greater confidence that the audience wishes her well when she knows every one of them personally.

3. Know that the audience is on your side. It’s true, you know—audiences do not wish performers ill, especially student performers. They want the performers to have a good experience. Ninety percent of all errors will go unnoticed; the rest will be forgiven. Reminding young people that audiences are rooting for them, not against them, can be very helpful. Parents can also ask children to be aware of their own judgments when they are in the audience. When children realize that they themselves are supportive listeners, they will be more likely to assume the same from their own audiences.

4. Perfection is for robots. The demand for perfection is the kiss of death for any hope of enjoyment in performance. Concert careers have been destroyed by the insane pressure to produce 100% unblemished musical performances time and time again. Let kids know that beauty does not require flawlessness, and that it is silly to consider a performance with a few wrong notes to be a failure.

5. Apply the 5-to-1 principle. When commenting on a child’s practicing, try to meet or exceed a 5-to-1 ratio of positive comments to corrections. Insist that the child do the same for herself—especially after a performance. Who among us hasn’t stomped off stage after a lovely performance grousing about this or that mistake we made? Stop the child in her tracks with, “Hold it! First I want to hear five things that went beautifully. Then you can talk about the mistake.”

6. Breathing. The recitalist stands in the wings, looking at the bright stage and open piano—and it begins. A squirt of adrenaline gets the heart pumping faster and he begins to breathe fast and shallow. Not the best way to enter the flow state! He can’t directly control his heart rate or adrenal function, but he can control his breathing, which in turn can moderate the rest of the response. Teach the child to take in deep, slow, measured breaths. The rush of oxygen calms the alarm response and allows the body to settle into a more relaxed, focused mode.

7. Think positively! Easier said than done, perhaps, but the power of positive thinking is a well-established boon for performers of all types. If you expect to fail, you are more likely to do so. Help children to develop positive “self-talk” prior to performing.

8. Visualization. Closely tied to positive thinking is visualization. Encourage children to visualize the entire performance situation from beginning to end, in real time. This allows them to anticipate the sights and sounds of the event, and—even more importantly—to picture things going well.

9. Encourage “flow.” Performers should make a conscious effort to enter what psychologist Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has called a “flow state” during practice and performance. In a flow state, external worries drop away—including obsessions over making errors— allowing the performer to become at one with the music. The more a performer can enter the flow of the music itself, the less aware or concerned he or she will be about the audience. Some performers are so good at this that they startle slightly at the sound of applause after the final chord!

10. Preparation. Nothing beats the jitters and ensures good performance like adequate preparation. Help your child to recognize and treasure the “second nature” feeling of performing something that he or she knows well. The feeling of mastery will also facilitate the “flow state”—making the young performer at one with the music and increasing the odds of joyful performance.

Performance is the culmination of musical experience, the joining of the hearts of composer and listener through the skill and soul of the performer. It’s a profound kind of communication, but it should be fun as well. There’s a reason they call it “playing,” after all.

© Christine E. Shin. All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR PUBLICATION OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Music educator Christine E. Shin has extensive training in classical music and early music education theories. She is current chair of the Palo Alto branch of the National Guild of Piano Teachers and director of the New Mozart School of Music in Palo Alto, California (www.NewMozartSchool.com)

Meet Our Violin Teacher Turi

2011-12-07T11:29:00.001-08:00

New Mozart welcomes our newest faculty member – Teacher Turi. She is not only an engaging teacher but also an accomplished musician who has traveled to 48 states while on tour with an Irish rock band Blaggards and the San Franciscan grass ensemble Montana Slim String Band.

Teacher Turi started playing the violin at age three when her mom, who is also a Suzuki violin teacher, introduced her to the instrument. “She has been a huge inspiration to me,” she says. Since then, she’s gone on to pursue music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her bachelors and received her masters from Rice University in Texas.

For students wishing to improve their musicianship, Teacher Turi recommends working up slowly to the correct tempo – “always use your metronome!” she says enthusiastically.

Her musical hero is Mark O’Connor, an award winning “ world class musician and master of all styles,” she describes. Like O’Connor, Teacher Turi is likewise a diverse musician who teaches everything from “classical, bluegrass, Celtic and even rock improvisation,” she says. For younger students (ages six and under), Teacher Turi employs the Suzuki method and “encourages strong parent improvement.” Parent involvement is heavy and recommended so that they can also learn the violin along with the child. Older students can expect the more traditional teaching philosophies of Ivan Galamian and Carl Flesch to guide their lessons.

She brings over ten years of teaching experience and still has a few slots in her schedule for new students. When she’s not teaching, you can find Teacher Turi playing with bands The Muddy Roses, Montana Slim String band, Kate Gaffney, Kiyoshi Foster and SF Giants third base coach, Tim Flannery.

Meet Our Talented Graduate, James Wenzel

2011-12-07T09:08:00.001-08:00

James Wenzel counts Bon Iver, Panic at theDisco and Patrick Stump regulars on his music playlist. Wenzel, now a freshmanmajoring in music at Tulane University, is exploring a lot of different genres aswell. “I do appreciate jazz and will check out an open mic tomorrow,” herecently said in an interview.

Wenzelstarted learning the bass at New Mozart at 12 years old and moved onto theacoustic guitar a year later. “It was great, extremely professional yet laidback,” Wenzel says of his music experience. “Everything I learned about music, starting from the basics, was at New Mozart,” Wenzel added. Teachers Justin & Vincent werehis guitar teachers and were “really helpful with technique and profoundly supportive of my songwriting and playing. They were never imposing but helpedyou do what you wanted to do.”

Atalented musician in his own right, he records andproduces his own music. He has his hands in a few bands – The Alexander,Ratherbright and Hundred Grand Brand. In his spare time, you can also find himlistening to Frank Sinatra, David Vertefi and Childish Bambino.

Performance Class Schedule 12/5-12/10

2011-11-28T16:40:00.001-08:00

Dear New Mozart Student Performers:

New Mozart Winter Student Recital is only two weeks away, so now that you've signed up, attend a performance class to better prepare for the upcoming concert.

Performance classes are available for the following instruments: Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, & Voice.

This is a wonderful opportunity to try out your pieces in front of other students and teachers. You'll receive helpful tips on how to deal with anxiety, tension, musicality, and how to present yourself on stage.

There is no need to sign up, and there is no limit on the number of classes that you can take.

This season's performance classes are instrument specific so check the class list and attend your instrumental class.

If you're performing with an accompanist, you must attend a class where an accompanist is provided.

*Please check the latest schedule here before attending. Class location and/or time may change.

Performance Class Schedule

* All classes are held at Sibelius Room, California Campus

If you are performing with our accompanist, it is vital that you come to the appropriate performance class to rehearse prior to the performance. Our experiences have shown that most young performers, especially if they're not used to practicing with piano accompaniment, will be very lost at the concert without a proper rehearsal. Please make this a priority so that you/your child can have a positive experience at the concert.

Monday, 12/5 *Accompanist available

4:20 - 5:20 pm Violin Performance Class (led by Teacher Jennifer)
5:20 - 6:20 pm Violin Performance Class (led by Teacher Jennifer)
6:20 - 7:20 pm Violin Performance Class (led by Teacher Michele)
7:20 - 8:20 pm Violin Performance Class (led by Teacher Olga)

Tuesday, 12/6 *Accompanist available

5:00-7:00 pm Individual student rehearsal time with the accompanist.

10 min individual rehearsal time will be available. As we only have 12 spots for this, it's first come first serve. Separate sign up sheet will be sent via email.

7:05-8:30 pm Voice Performance Class (led by Teacher Diane)

Wednesday, 12/7

7:05-8:05 pm Piano Performance Class (led by Teacher Lea)
8:05-9:05 pm Piano & Violin Performance Class (led by Teacher Olga)

Thursday, 12/8

7:05-8:05 pm Piano Performance Class (led by Teacher Alexander)
8:05-9:05 pm Piano Performance Class (led by Teacher Larisa)

Friday, 12/9

3:30-5:30 pm Cello Performance Class (led by Teacher Jenn)
7:10-8:10 pm Piano Performance Class (led by Teacher Herman)
8:10-9:10 pm Piano & Voice Performance Class (led by Teacher Anita)

Saturday, 12/10 *Accompanist available

4:15-5:15 pm Suzuki Twinkle Orchestra (led by Teacher Jennifer)
5:30-7:00 pm Voice Performance Class (led by Teacher Diane)

Feel free to let us know if you have any questions, as we are always more than happy to assist you. Have a great week!

The New Mozart Office Team
650 324 2373
www.NewMozartSchool.com

Thanksgiving Break 11/22-11/28 (Tuesday-Saturday)

2011-11-21T18:10:00.001-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Dear New Mozart Parents & Students:

We want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

We'd also like to remind you that we're closed from 11/22-11/26 (Tuesday - Saturday) for New Mozart Thanksgiving Break. There will be no lessons or classes.

To check all New Mozart holidays, visit the Calendar page of our website here.

Enjoy the break and see you back on Monday the 28th of November!

Warmly,

The New Mozart Office Team

New Mozart Faculty Recital, 11/13!

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You already know that our teachers are pretty amazing at teaching. But did you know that our teachers are some of the most highly respected musicians as well? Come! Enjoy the afternoon & get inspired!

What: New Mozart Faculty Recital 2011

Where: Appreciation Hall (building 1500 on the map), Foothill College

When: Sunday, 2 pm, November 13th

Who: New Mozart Faculty Members

FREE. No one will be turned away! We are, however,
suggesting $10 donation per person. New Mozart pays for everything, teachers are donating their time & 100% of the proceeds go to Escuela Caracol, Common Hope, & Music In the Schools.

Check out this clip from 2009 New Mozart Faculty Recital!

See more video clips & audios on the Faculty page of our website.

See you at Foothill on November 13th!

Directions:
Foothill College (Appreciation Hall) 12345 El Monte Rd., Lost Altos Hills, CA 94022

From I-280, take El Monte Road west; immediately bear right to enter the Foothill College campus, then turn right once again on the one-way loop road around the campus.
The first parking lot (Lot 1) on your right will be the shortest walk. There are steep stairs up the hill to the theater. For a longer but nearly level walk, continue driving around the loop road to Lot 6.
Appreciation Hall (building 1500 on the campus map) is located across the Smithwick Theater.
Parking rules are enforced at all times; please bring $2 for the parking-permit vending machines located in each lot.

November 2011 - Greetings from the Office

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Dear New Mozart Parents & Students:

First off, we want to thank everyone who participated in our Free Trial Lesson Promotion!

If you missed it, don’t despair because you can still take advantage of FREE trial interviews. Just let us know and you can meet with one of our expert New Mozart Instructors (15 minutes) at absolutely no cost to you ($22.50 Value).

We’re already entering the recital season and the first up is the New Mozart Faculty Concert 2011. You already know how amazing our teachers are at teaching, but wait till you see them on stage! We’re all heading over to Foothill on Sunday, 11/13. We can’t wait to see the New Mozart Faculty Jazz Band playing some dynamic Latin Jazz. Well, that’s just the start…, we have so much more planned for you so don’t miss out on the fun!

As we get close to the holidays, you know we’re moving closer to our

Winter Student Recital! It will be here before you know it so get your instrument ready and start practicing! And don’t forget that sign up is due on Friday, 11/11.

We would also like to remind you that there are no lessons or classes

from 11/22—11/26 (Thanksgiving Break).

Please don’t hesitate to shoot us an email or give us a ring with any questions. We’re always here to help!

And…, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Musically yours ♬ ♪,

The New Mozart Office Team

Not Your Typical Teenager, Richard Wilson

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Richard Wilson isn’t just another teenager to pick up the guitar. Ever since taking lessons at New Mozart, he has gone on to accomplish quite a lot. Wilson, who heads Bay Island Productions and plays in the band Relax, You Can Do This, said that he’s “always been driven to do more with music.” Teacher Vincent guided Wilson’s passion for music – “he convinced me to play shows. He’s awesome.” Wilson characterizes the band’s music as “alternative-indie” and the band of four has also played in front of 20,000 people at the Israel in the Gardens Music festival. Wilson attributes much of his current success and musical passion to the years he spent at New Mozart. New Mozart recitals served as “an outlet to play something I wrote.” We’re extremely proud of him and glad that he’s pursuing music. Next up in his agenda for this young musician is playing on the stage with Vincent, his mentor and now good friend.

Meet Our Guitar Teacher Zac

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Teacher Zac, our newest guitar teacher, brings talent, passion and individualized teaching to the New Mozart community. He’s also an active performer in bands such as Tango Nero and the Judson-Tyler Duo. Teacher Zac started playing the piano and violin at the age of four and picked up his older brother’s guitar. “When my older brother who had been taking classical guitar lessons left for college, I started playing. I was twelve.” It got more serious and he started playing the electric guitar in high school. He went to study at the St. Tomas University

and got his masters from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Teacher Zac relies on a mixture of different genres to engage his students. “I tailor each lesson to the individualized student, depending on their goals.” As for reaching your goals, “the key to reaching them is consistency.” The old adage that practice makes perfect rings true for Teacher Zach and he encourages all students to “always listen to music, explore, and be excited about it.” His newest project is arranging the Nutcracker ballet to the guitar. What a symphony of strings it will be!

Interesting Musical Facts

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The earliest known example of musical notation was dated to around 1,800 B.C, found on a clay tablet in Mesopotamia.

Franz Liszt had so many requests for locks of his hair that he bought a dog and snipped off the dog’s hair to send to admirers.

Excerpt from www.storycompositions.com/2008/06/interesting-musical-facts.html

November 2011 (Dates to Remember)

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11/12 & 11/19: Suzuki Group Violin Classes, 4:15-5:15 pm, (N. California campus, Sibelius room ) FREE

11/4, 11/11, 11/18: Cello Group Classes, 3:30-5:30 pm, (California campus, Coltrane room) FREE

11/11: Winter Student Recital SIGN UP DUE

11/13: 2 pm, Sunday, Faculty Recital (Appreciation Hall, Foothill)

11/22-11/26: Thanksgiving Break (no lessons or classes)

Claude Debussy (Composer of the Month)

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Dates: Born August 22, 1862 in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France
Died March 25, 1918 in Paris, France

Nationality: French

Style/Period: Modern 1920-Present

Famous Works: Pelléas et Mélisande, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), La Mer

Bio:
Claude Debussy's parents had many talents and many jobs. When Debussy was born, his father was running a china shop and working as a traveling salesman and a printer's assistant. His mother also helped out in the china shop and worked as a seamstress.

When he was ten years old, Debussy's musical talents were discovered by his piano teacher and he was sent to the Conservatory in Paris. At the Conservatory, Debussy studied piano without much success. He failed two piano tests and decided to study composition. Debussy won second prize in the Prix de Rome in 1883 and then in 1884, he won first prize with his composition L'enfant prodigue.

Debussy continued to compose and in 1894, he completed one of his most famous worksPrélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun). Six years later he met and married Rosalie Texier and he began working as a music critic. Sadly, the marriage to Rosalie Texier did not last. Debussy fell in love with singer Emma Bardac and later married her.

In 1918, Debussy died of cancer.

Excerpt from www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=44

See Teacher Lea Perform!

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Come out & see teacher Lea at Stanford!

Monday, 11/21, 8pm & Saturday, 12/3, 8pm

with Anita Stryker
Stanford University CoHo Series
459 Lagunita, No. 1, Tresidder Union
Stanford, CA
Free!

Developing a Musical Language for Young Children

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By Dr. Paul U Lee

At the very moment that a child is born, parents are often at awe with the suddenpresence of a new creation, so perfect and full of potential. Their instinctive feeling fortheir child’s vast potential is mirrored by an amazing transformation that the child will gothrough during the first few years of his/her life to begin fulfilling that potential.Although a newborn is “pre-wired” to learn life’s many basic but complicated skills, suchas language acquisition and motor skills, how well they master these skills will depend ontheir environment and the types of stimuli that they are exposed to during those earlyyears. Research findings in developmental psychology have established the existence ofdevelopmentally “sensitive” periods, during which a child must learn certain aspects oflanguage or risk never being able to learn them at all. Fortunately, language is soprevalent in our lives that most children are not at risk of missing the sensitive periods oflanguage acquisition. However, we are not so fortunate when it comes to musicacquisition. It has analogous developmentally sensitive periods, during which a childmust obtain basic musical competence or risk never acquiring them. In language, certainsyntactic and tonal structures of a language will forever be lost to a child if s/he is notexposed to them during the first couple years of his/her life. Similarly, basic musicalcomponents, such as tonality and rhythm, also need to be acquired during these earlydevelopmental years to be learned effectively.

In the Bay Area, we have an interesting demographic of well-informed and concernedparents who are often aware of the desirability of early music education. However, theirdesires to expose their children to music during the early years result in inquiries aboutgetting formal music lessons at ages of 3 and 4. This is highly problematic since formalmusic education requires many skills – such as fine motor skills, long attention span, theability to read musical notes, etc. - which may be beyond reach for our children at anearly age, especially if they have yet to achieve basic musical competence. Trying toteach formal music in these situations may put our children at risk of becoming frustratedwith music and losing interest in it forever. Children have innate understanding of realachievements, and they become motivated when they are put into an environment inwhich they could succeed. Therefore we owe them to expose them to musical experienceat an early age that is positive and teaches them to achieve musical competence that isage-appropriate at each developmental stage.

There are a number of early music programs in the Bay Area that aims to improve basicmusical competence of young children, regardless of their musical abilities. This is anoteworthy goal since more competent they are musically, better they will be able toappreciate music in their surroundings. However, these programs leave a large gap in theoverall music education for the parents who want their children to acquire advancedmusical skills needed to learn various instruments such as piano, violin, etc. A set ofprograms is needed that can effectively leverage the basic musical competence that thechildren have gained in the early music education programs and use them to introducebasic components of formal music education so that the children will not find thetransition to formal music lessons so jarring.

In order to bridge that gap, the New Mozart School of Music has introduced a set ofmusic courses that are designed to be fun but instructive. The aim of these courses is toteach the children to achieve both basic musical competence and gain foundation forformal musical training. The transition from basic musical competence to formal musicaltraining has been designed into the curriculum. The courses start from early toddler ages(2 to 3 years old) where heavy emphasis is put on exposure to a rich set of musicaltones and rhythms to develop their basic musical competence. During these classes,parents are often surprised by how much the children enjoy these exercises and howquickly they pick them up, as they seem to generally underestimate innate musicalabilities of young children. The courses for older children (3 to 5 and 5 to 7 years old)mix exercises that reinforce basic music competence (or introduce them to children whohave not been expose to them during toddler ages) with exercises that gradually introducevarious formal musical techniques, such as solfege singing and basic keyboarding. All ofthe lessons are introduced in settings that are fun and positive, so that children learneasily and without undue effort. For children who take these courses from toddler to age7 will have been exposed to a rich musical experience and gained innate understanding ofbasic “musical language”. In addition, they will have solid foundation to lead into formalmusic lessons (e.g. piano, violin, etc.) and are well-positioned to maximize their successin that arena if they choose to do so.

Dr. Paul Lee holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Stanford University. This articlestems from his interest in cognitive and neurological foundations of musical competenceduring child’s cognitive development and his interactions with Christine Shin, who hasextensive training in classical music and early childhood music education theories.

No Part of this article maybe distributed, or copied without the consent of its author

October 2011 - Greetings from the Office

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Dear New Mozart Parents & Students:

Can you believe it’s already October? We hope you’re having a lot of fun making music with us so far!

Every year, October is an exceptionally busy month for us and this year is turning out to be no exception. Take some time to read through this newsletter, and you’ll find out.

First up in October is a rare opportunity for you to take a trial lesson for FREE! We normally charge $45 for this, and the last time we offered something like this was over 2 years ago so don’t miss out!

In November, we’re putting on our annual, New Mozart Faculty Concert! Our teachers are pretty amazing at teaching but wait till you see what they can do on stage! We’re all heading to Foothill on November 13^th and hope you’ll join us too. We promise it’ll be an incredible experience, and your child(ren) will leave the hall inspired to PRACTICE!

The long awaited 2011-2012 event dates have been finalized! Look inside this newsletter, and mark your calendars! As the winter student

recital will be here before you know it, plan ahead and start getting ready for your big day in December! Sign up begins on October 20^th.

This month’s feature article is “How to Support your Child’s Music-Making at Home.” We hope you’ll find it useful in helping your child succeed in music lessons.

Thanks for reading! Give us a ring or shoot us an email with any questions. We’re always happy to help!

Have an amazing October and a magical, musical Halloween! :)

Musically yours ♬ ♪,
Joann, Elaine, & Rawan

The New Mozart Office Team

Teacher Diane & Her Students Gave a Memorable Performance at the Center for Performing Arts in San Jose.

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In remembrance of September 11^th, our teacher Diane Squires and her students were invited to perform with Voices of Harmony, at the Center for Performing Arts in San Jose. When Diane was invited to be a soloist, she brought her students to share the stage. “I had a wonderful time… it was a really special experience to share with my students.”

Their collaboration was in the song “O America.” Both students and Diane had a wonderful experience – “all my students have said that it was really exciting and fun to be part of such a big event and to sing for such a large audience,” she added.

The change of environment for the students offered a new perspective as well. “When you're performing in a large, prestigious venue, you're expected to be a complete professional no matter what your age is so it was a chance to show some of my students what it's like to be a professional performer,” Diane described. We hope the students had fun and look forward to more collaborations!

How to Support Your Child’s Music-Making at Home (Feature Article)

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By Vicki W., a New Mozart Staff Writer

There are many ways in which you can support your child’s instrumental work at home to enhance and extend their musical experience. Here are a few ideas:

Listening to live music

There is nothing quite like hearing music performed live. As well as the obvious benefits of listening to the music itself, children are fascinated by the visual impact of a live performance – they may see instruments they have never seen before and can get first-hand experience of what real-life music-making is all about. Experiences of this type stay with a child for a long time, encouraging and inspiring their own creative endeavours.

Festivals and other outdoor events are often brimming with music of all kinds, ideal for younger children, who can listen for a shorter time without the need to sit still. Many theatre companies and orchestras now put on performances specifically catering for children, sometimes including workshops where there is a chance for direct contact with the performers and hands-on activities.

You may have friends or relatives who play instruments and who would sometimes let your child sit in on a practice session. If your child is having difficulty in their lessons, perhaps mastering a particularly challenging piece, going to see a live performance on their instrument can make all the difference between despondency and motivation.

For formal concerts and recitals, making the event as special as possible (dressing up in smart clothes, for example) will really enhance the whole experience.

Other listening

Of course, listening to music in general is beneficial for your child, both for developing a good ‘ear’, for increased musical knowledge and simply for fun. It is important that your child listens actively to a wide range of music in terms of history, style, culture, nationality and instrumentation. Try not to be judgemental about types of music you may not like yourself. As well as your own music collection, make use of your local library, your friends’ collections, radio and TV. Listen together and talk about what you’re hearing. This will increase your child’s musical vocabulary and increase their confidence.

Get involved

Being involved in your child’s musical life is essential to their success and confidence. Spending time together to make, listen to or talk about music will foster creativity, develop skills and self-esteem as well as building a strong parent-child bond. Some ways you could get involved:

· Listen to your child practice.

· Have a mini-concert with siblings or friends.

· Sing, dance and play together.

· Make recordings of your child’s favourite pieces over time. Now and again, listen back together to celebrate progress.

Ensemble work

Encouraging your child to join a local band or choir is a crucial step to making music a real part of their life. It not only develops important ensemble skills but promotes social skills and provides musical role models to aspire to. Of course, playing with other people who share the same passion is immensely enjoyable and rewarding in its own right. Making music as part of a group is a mood-enhancing, powerful, fulfilling and uplifting experience which your child will relish.

Be Positive

Making music is great fun but it can be hard work too. Your child will need support and encouragement when things get tough but praise for dedication, commitment and achievement. He or she needs to know that you are proud of them and that their hard work is paying off. Always try to make it fun, not a chore. Enthuse, rather than enforce – remember, learning an instrument is an exciting adventure; full of thrills and spills but above all, best shared.

Famous Quotes (October 2011)

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“Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts.” -Jim Morrison

“You've got to be able to hold a lot of contradictory ideas in your mind without going nuts. I feel like to do my job right, when I walk out on stage I've got to feel like it's the most important thing in the world. I've also got to feel like, well, it's only rock and roll. Somehow you've got to believe both of those things.” - Bruce Springsteen

October 2011 (Dates to Remember)

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10/8 & 10/22: Suzuki Group Violin Classes, 4:15-5:15 pm, (N. California campus, Sibelius room )

10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28: Cello Group Classes, 3:30-5:30 pm, (California Campus, Coltrane Room)*Please note the location has been moved to the California campus.

10/20: Last Day to Sign Up for Free Trial

10/20: Winter Student Recital Sign Up Begins

Edvard Grieg

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Dates: Born in Bergen, Norway, 1843
Died in Bergen, Norway, 1907

Nationality: Norwegian

Style/Period: Romantic 1820-1910

Famous Works: In the Hall of the Mountain King, Peer Gynt Suite

Bio:
During almost all of Grieg's lifetime, his native country, Norway, was struggling to become an independent nation. Until 1814, Norway was subject to Denmark; from 1814 until 1905, it was forced into a union with Sweden. Because Grieg's music played an important part in giving the Norwegian people their own identity, he is regarded as a hero in Norway. Many of his compositions are based on the sound of Norwegian folk songs. They paint a musical picture of the mountains, forests, fjords, and streams of this beautiful country.

Grieg's first music lessons were from his mother, and he began composing when he was nine years old. A famous Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, encouraged him to go to the Leipzig Conservatory when he was fifteen. When he graduated four years later, he was an accomplished pianist and composer.

Although he lived a number of years in Copenhagen, Denmark, and he and his wife, a singer, toured Europe performing his music, his last years were spent in his beloved Norway. In 1885, Mr. and Mrs. Grieg moved to a villa called Troldhaugen, which means "Hill of the Mountain Men". He built a little cabin, overlooking the mountains and a fjord, with a piano and a writing desk. Here some of his most famous compositions were written.

Excerpt from http://www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=21

Upcoming Faculty Performances in October

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Teacher Patricia Featured in Piano and Chamber Music Concert (Hosted by Arts Action 21 and Contemporary Asian Theater Scene) – Featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms

Date: Sunday, Oct. 16
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Second Stage; 500 Castro St. in Mountain View

Admission: $10 suggested donation

Teacher Lea Performs in Songwriter Sundays Unplugged (Feat. Margrit Eichler and Martine Donovan)

Date: Sunday, Oct. 9
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Yoshi’s Lounge, 1330 Fillmore St. in San Francisco

Admission: $7

Introducing Our New Teachers

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We'reso excited to tell you about our wonderful new teachers!

Our new teachers range from a former professor of one of the most renowned conservatories in the world to teachers with extensive experience with children.

All are amazing music educators that have gone through our rigorous screening process.

Give us a call to find out more or to schedule lessons.

Teacher Turi (Available Mon., Tue.), Violin, Great with students 4 & up. Suzuki Certified Teacher

Turi began playing the violin at the age of three. She has over ten years of teaching experience and enjoys teaching students of all ages and abilities. She is certified in the Suzuki Violin Method and employs this method along with a more traditional approach, depending on the student and level. Turi also enjoys teaching many styles of music including classical, bluegrass and even rock improvisation. Involved in many different musical genres. Turi was a founding member of Blaggards, an Irish Rock band and currently performs with The Muddy Roses & more. Turi has also served as section violin for the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and her Masters in Music from Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Teacher Osvaldo (Available Wed., Sat.), Piano, Great with students 5 & up

Osvaldo began to studying the piano from an early age and has performed nationally as a soloist, chamber musician and an accompanist with great success. His interests include opera, having performed with several renowned opera singers, as well as producing and directing opera. Currently, he is completing his master’s degree in piano performance at San Francisco State University. Osvaldo has been teaching for 10 years and works wonderfully well with students age 5 and up. His teaching style relies on discipline, patience and a good dose of humor. He strongly believes that bringing a sense of fun to the lessons enhances the learning experience.

Teacher Cristina (Available Fri., Sat.), Piano, Great with students 5 & up

Cristina has been working with beginning through college level piano students for many years. Sharing the gift of music, helping students excel in their musical endeavors, is one of Cristina’s greatest passions. Her current students range in ages from 5 to adults. Cristina received BM from the renowned L. Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence, Italy with honors and has performed extensively in solo concerts.

Teacher Alexander (Available Mon., Thu.), Piano, Great with students 6 & up

Piano teacher for over 30 years, Alexander brings his extensive experience and enthusiasm to the students at New Mozart. He knows what makes students excited about music & learning and has worked with beginning level students to professional pianists.

Alexander received a doctoral degree, MM & BM from St. Petersburg Conservatory. He served as a professor at the renowned St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music and currently teaches at the College of Marin, and at New Mozart School of Music

Teacher Zachary (Available Fri., Sat.), Guitar (all styles), Great with students 6 & up

Zachary is fluent & experienced in teaching all styles of guitar ranging from classical, jazz, tango, bossa, gypsy jazz, rock, folk, bluegreass, and fingerstyle. He has over 5 years of teaching experience. Zachary also brings his broad experience as recording and performing artist to his approach to teaching. He has toured with bands based in Minneapolis & the San Francisco Bay Area. Zachary received MM from San Francisco Conservatory of Music & BA University of St. Thomas. Principal teachers include Marc Teicholz, Christopher Kachian and Joan Griffith. Studied guitar pedagogy, composition, and transcription/arrangement. Zachary was chosen to perform at GFA festival in San Francisco 2008.

Teacher Elizabeth (Available on Mon.), Violin, Great with students 5 & up

Elizabeth has extensive teaching experience and enjoys working students of all ages & levels. She was on faculty at Olivet Nazarene University, Cappelli Institute of Music, and Hall School of Music. She has also worked as a chamber coach at Wheeling High School and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, guest chamber coach for Midwest Young Artist’s summer program. Elizabeth received MM from San Francisco Conservatory of Music & BM from DePaul University.

2011-2012 NEW MOZART EVENT DATE

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Mark Your Calendar & Save the Dates!

Dates colored in black are held at Foothill College

Dates colored in green are held at First Baptist (our current campus location)

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

· Each concert lasts 1—1.5 hours.

· You’ll receive sign up information 1.5—2 months prior to the event date. Look out for the announcement on facebook, twitter, and in your email.

· You’ll be assigned to your teacher’s session. As we’re expecting hundreds of students to perform, we’re unable to accept session requests.

Faculty Recital:

November 13th, Sunday 3 pm, Appreciation Hall, Foothill College

Winter Student Recital

December 10th, Saturday, Fellowship Hall (FBC), 10 am - 2 pm (2 concerts, GUITAR ONLY)

December 10th, Saturday Sanctuary (FBC), 3:00 pm - 7 pm (1-2 concerts)

December 11th, Sunday ALL DAY (5 concerts, 10 am - 8:30 pm) (All other instruments)

Honors Student Recital

March 25th, Sunday, 3 pm, Appreciation Hall, Foothill College

Year End Student Recital

June 9th, Saturday, Fellowship Hall, 10 am - 2 pm (2 concerts, GUITAR ONLY)

June 10th, Sunday, Sanctuary, 2 pm - 8:30 pm (2-3 concerts, All other instruments & Harmony Road)

June 17th, Sunday, ALL DAY (5 concerts, 10 am - 8:30 pm) (All other instruments)

Congratulations Angelina Wahler, the Star of The Secret Garden!

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Congratulations to Angelina Wahler for being selected toplay Mary Lennox in the Broadway-adapted musical of The Secret Garden. Theatreworks, anestablished Bay Area arts organization, is putting on the show.

Gifted with a beautiful and strong voice, Angelina wascast after rounds of callbacks. Angelina and her teacher Diane Squires “worked on making sure she was singing all the notesbeautifully as well as putting feeling into everything.” As Angelina will besinging classical Broadway music, she is currently working hard to sing and bringout both the singer and actress in her, Diane said.

Angelina began vocal lessons with Diane aftergraduating from New Mozart's Harmony Road program. She moved onto privatelessons with Diane shortly after. Already an accomplished actress and singer, she has appeared in the mysterycomedy series Monk on USA Network, and voices forDeema on the Nickelodeon show BubbleGuppies.

Date:11/30 - 12/31

Time:Matinee & evening

Location:Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd. #1 in Palo Alto

Tickets:$29 - $49

For more information, go to theatreworks.org or call the box office at 650-463-1960.

A Rare Opportunity! Take a FREE Trial Lesson in October! Sign up by 10/20.

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Have you been thinking about taking lessons?

Then we have GREAT NEWS! In the month of October, you can take a trial lesson for FREE! You would normally pay $45 dollars for a trial lesson but it will cost you nothing as long as you sign up by October 20th!

The last time we offered something like this was over 2 years ago so don't forget to sign up.

And spread the news so that your friends and family can experience the New Mozart Difference too!

WHAT: Free Trial Lesson

WHEN: Sign up by 10/20 & take lesson by 10/31!

INSTRUMENTS: Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Guitar

HOW DO I SIGN UP?: Fill out the simple online form that we emailed you on 10/3. It only takes a minute to fill out. Didn't receive it because you're not on our email list? No worries. Just send us an email & we will send you the form. Email or phone registration is not accepted.

*Based on teacher availability.

We look forward to seeing you at New Mozart soon! :)

Greetings from the Office - August/September 2011

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Dear New Mozart Parents & Students:

We hope everyone had a wonderful, fun summer under the blazing sun! :) What were some of your best memories? While we’ve had our share of summer bliss, the office has been busy with making sure things are running smoothly and we are so glad to be kicking off the new school year!

We want to welcome students both old and new to the family this fall! For those who haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late! Although many of our popular teachers schedules are almost full, we still have some popular time slots left. We also added fantastic new teachers this year as well so give us a call or shoot us an email to get set up for this school year.

Speaking of teachers, we’re so excited to introduce our new teachers to you! Piano teachers Alexander, Cristina, Osvaldo, and guitar teacher Zach bring tremendous contribution to the community at New Mozart.

We’ll have the weekend of Labor Day off (9/2-9/5) so mark your calendars! There will be no private lessons or group classes on these dates.

Hope you’re enjoying warm weather and we sincerely look forward to seeing you in a few days!

Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions and we’ll gladly help.

Musically yours ♬ ♪,

Joann, Rawan, Elaine
The New Mozart Office Team

Agust/September 2011 (DATES TO REMEMBER)

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8/26: First Day for Friday Students

8/27: First Day for Saturday Students

8/29: First Day for Monday Students

9/1: First Day for Thursday Students

9/2-9/5: LABOR DAY WEEKEND (No lessons/classes)

9/6: First Day for Tuesday Students

9/7: First Day for Wednesday Students

9/10 & 9/17: Suzuki Group Violin, 4-5 pm, (N. California campus, Sibelius room )

New Mozart Year End Concerts Raised $5820 for Common Hope, Escuela Caracol, & MIS

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New Mozart Cello Students Performing on June 12th

Over 250 of New Mozart’s dedicated students performed at the Year End Concerts in June. Thank you and congratulations to all of our wonderful students, teachers and parents for help making the recitals a huge success!

Best of all, we raised $5820 for Escuela Caracol, Common Hope & MIS! We were truly touched by your generosity and want to express our heart felt thanks to you. These three organizations do amazing work with disadvantaged children in Guatemala (Escuela Caracol & Common Hope) and right here in the Peninsula (MIS). We’re so glad that the New Mozart community can continue to be a part of making a difference.

Now start practicing for the winter concert because it will be here before you know it. See you at our next concert!

...............New Mozart Violin Students Performing on June 12th...............

....Harmony Road students having fun before the recital on June 5th....


New Mozart Guitar Student Keerti warming up before her performance

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SUMMER PIANO FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS!

2011-08-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

New Mozart Piano Students did it again this summer!

Trophy Winners:

Ben Yun (highest distinction),
Nicholas Nhien ,

Sasha Lazareva

Gold Medalists:

Ahna Kim,

Annika Vishwesh ,

Anita Mukherjee,

Artis Lay ,

Jessica Liu,

Sophie Liu

Silver Medalists:

Brian Blair,

Chitra Mukhergee

11 New Mozart Pianists received distinguishing awards at the Summer Piano Festival held by the Bay Area Music Association.

Thank you Teacher Irina for your exceptional work!

Antonin Dvorak (Featured Composer)

2011-08-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

Dates: Born September 8, 1841 in Muhlhausen, Bohemia
Died May 1, 1904 in Prague, Czechoslovakia

Nationality: Bohemian

Style/Period: Romantic 1820-1910

Famous Works: Carnival Overture, Humoresque in E flat minor, Slavonic Dance in E minor, Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"

Bio:
Dvorák was a country boy, one of seven children of a butcher/innkeeper in a small village in Bohemia. Bohemia was full of music and young Antonin took violin lessons and fiddled with his father in the village band. But there was no question about his future; he was to go into the inn keeping business. Since many German travelers came to Bohemia, his father sent him to live with an uncle in a nearby town and learn German.

There he met a friend of his uncle's who was a musician. The friend taught Dvorák viola (which became his favorite instrument), piano, and organ, and when he was sixteen Dvorák went to study music in Prague. He played violin and viola in Prague's National Opera Orchestra until, at thirty-one, he won a prize for composition. He soon became famous as a composer, and was able to make a living composing and teaching composition at the Prague Conservatory.

In 1892, Dvorák came to America to be the head of the National Conservatory of Music. While he was in the United States, he wrote the famous "New World Symphony" and other pieces which suggest American folk tunes. He even slipped a little of "Yankee Doodle" into one of his pieces!

After music, Dvorák's strongest interest was trains, and he was often seen at the railway station in Prague observing, studying railway schedules, and visiting with railway engineers.

Excerpt from http://www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=19

What to Do When the Excitement Wears Off

2011-08-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

By Richard B., New Mozart Staff Writer

Do you remember their first lesson? Your child was like a dry sponge, primed and pumped to soak up every little bit of knowledge given to them at their first lessons. Every lesson was exciting and motivating them to practice was easy because it took no motivating, no bribing, and no deal making. Your child was excited and you could see the progress being made.

That was then and now we’re talking about now. Now, lessons have become routine. It’s hard to blame a child because we do it too. We can all think of something in our lives that once was exciting but now it’s routine. That doesn’t mean we don’t like it but a degree of comfort has set in.

Is there anything that you can do to find that excitement? Luckily, there is.

Make Practicing Fun (Or at least not boring)

Anybody who is a musician knows that practicing is a necessity. No musician ever became great without a lot of practice and for many young musicians, they don’t practice enough because it’s not enjoyable. The problem with practicing is that it can be lonely, tedious, and frustrating. Because true progress happens slowly, it’s difficult for the young musician to see results after practicing.

There are numerous ways to make practicing fun. Practice doesn’t have to take place in a quiet room without any distraction for one hour every day. Of course a proper learning environment is important but some kids don’t respond well to a traditional practice routine. For the brass player, buzzing a mouthpiece while sitting on the couch can build facial muscle strength.

Wind players can practice fingering exercises, sometimes without the instrument in their hand. Percussionists can practice on pillows and vocalists can sing anywhere at any time. Finally, practicing music reading can be done with flash cards anywhere.

Think of practicing like working out. While a 60 minute gym workout is best, any physical activity is helpful. Practicing is the same way. Anything for any amount of time is better than nothing at all.

Play Music They Enjoy

Professional musicians know that playing music they don’t like is a fact of life. Students know that playing music they don’t like is sometimes necessary to being a great player. As a supplement to their lesson music, consider purchasing a book that has songs that are appropriate to their age. For younger kids, Disney song books are available. A student’s lesson experience shouldn’t be 100% based on this type of music but it can work well as a motivator and as a way to show them how much they have learned.

The best thing to do if you notice that your child is becoming unmotivated is to talk to their teacher. Music teachers have a lot of experience with motivational techniques.

IMPORTANT: Check Your Start Date for the New School Year!

2011-08-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dear New Mozart Students & Parents,

Mark your calendar! New Mozart's new school year begins on August 26th!

Starting dates may seem a bit confusing because we've had to tweak it a bit to ensure that every day of the week equals 36 weeks in the 2011-2012 school year.

STARTING DATES 2011-2012:

Monday Students Start on 8/29 (before Labor Day)
Tuesday Students Start on 9/6 (after Labor Day)
Wednesday Students Start on 9/7 (after Labor Day)
Thursday Students Start on 9/1 (before Labor Day)
Friday Students Start on 8/26 (before Labor Day)
Saturday Students Start on 8/27 (before Labor Day)

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a ring. Have a wonderful day!

Warmly,

The New Mozart Office Team

Excuse the Dust.

2011-08-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

Dear New Mozartians,

We're getting a fresh coat of paint on the exterior at the California campus. It's on schedule to finish at the end of next week.

We are open as usual so feel free to drop by or call if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you all back for lessons soon!

Warmly,

The New Mozart Office Team

Come & Make Music With Us! It's Not Too Late to Register!

2011-08-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Can you believe how summer just flew by? But we are super excited that, come this Friday, we'll be seeing many of you back for lessons. We can't wait to see the hallway filled with our budding musicians & teachers and hear the sounds of music seeping out from every classroom!

Speaking of which..., have you had a chance to register for the fall yet?

If you haven't, we understand. You were probably busy getting your (your child's) fall schedule in order and haven't even had the time to think about music lessons till now. But better late than never. Especially when it comes to learning music. :)

So..., we wanted to let you know that many of our teachers for private lessons still have a few spaces left in their schedule. Our super fun & highly acclaimed group classes like Toddler Tunes (ages 2-3), Music In Me (ages 3-4), and Harmony Road (K-2nd) still have some room left as well.

Give us a call & we can get you all set up to start making music.

Why should you enroll your child in music lessons?

New Mozart Violin Students June 10

1. It's FUN!

Have you heard anyone say that he really hates music? Everyone loves music!

And just imagine how much more special it would feel to be able to play or sing. There is no better gift to give your child, for that matter yourself, than music lessons. The musical skills they will learn at New Mozart will last a life time.

2. Did you know that researches have shown that children who take music lessons do much better academically? So it's not only fun but it brings this amazing added benefit as well.

Why Is New Mozart the Best Choice?

1. Over 500 students think so! Our reputation for providing the highest quality music lessons & classes have allowed us to become the largest music studio in Palo Alto. And some of our families come from as far away as Berkeley, Fremont & Los Gatos!

2. Highly qualified teachers who know how to make learning fun. We get a ton of resumes throughout the year from many excellent music teachers who want to work at New Mozart. We carefully screen our teachers and only select a few experienced teachers that have shown excellent musicianship skills AND the ability to make learning fun.

3. Ability to schedule two or more children at the same time. This will save you a lot of hours in driving!

We've Made Registering Really Easy Too!

You have 3 convenient options.

1. Call us & register by PHONE (650 324 2373)
2. Fill out the online registration form.
3. Stop by the office & register on-site.

We hope that we peaked your interest. Please check out our programs listed below & register today or... for those of you who have more questions, give us a call.

NEW MOZART PROGRAMS:

1. Private Lessons - All Instruments (Ages 4-99)

piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, & voice

2. Harmony Road - internationally acclaimed group piano program - (Ages 2 - 7)

Toddler Tunes (Ages 2-3)
Music In Me (Ages 3-4)
Harmony Road (K-2nd)

We look forward to making music with you soon!

Musically yours,

The New Mozart Office Team

650 324 2373