dawn's piano

It's Recital Day!  All our performers, from the preschool beginners up through late intermediate and advanced students have worked hard on making wonderful music this year, and they have prepared a great show for us today. Family & friends are invited   to tune in as well, so be sure to share viewing info with anyone who will want to cheer on your piano kids. For students who've been attending lessons in-person,  check your piano kid's binder  for a recital program like the one pictured here, as well as some compliment cards. The cards will be a great way to bring in a sense of studio community to our online show. And as an extra incentive, students can earn some final beads for their year-end lanyards by writing encouraging compliments to their fellow performers while watching the show. Just bring your filled out cards back to the studio at your lessons next week! For online students, or anyone else who would like a program, you can download one here ....

I've decided to go ahead and plan one more video recital for our year-end Spring performance this year, and am hoping to have a big in-person concert for our Fall 2021 performance! To tune in on the 24th, just head over to  www.facebook.com/dawnspianostudio  and look for the video premiere right at the top of the page. I will also post a youtube video for anyone who is not a facebook user, and will be sure to share that on this website. Invite friends and family using our Facebook Event , and all viewing instructions and links will also be posted in the event page as they are available.  Please share your encouragement in the comment sections or with the performers directly. The validation that these performance opportunities bring goes a long way to build confidence in sharing our music with others.  We'll record the student performance pieces showcasing what students have learned during our lessons in the week or two before the show, so all you have to do that day ...

Our studio recital was Saturday! If you missed it, you can still enjoy the video feed here . I want to give a huge thank you to studio parents, friends & family who supported these piano kids on their work in learning their recital pieces and preparing for the performance, especially as we transitioned to online lessons for the final 6 weeks of the session.  This week in lessons is going to be a fun week to wrap up the school year session! Here's a peek at what we'll be doing:  Debriefing the Recital -  We'll talk about everything from favorite pieces they saw their peers play (and any of those that we might be inspired to learn) to their thoughts about that type of online performance. We'll also discuss the successes and growth that we can recognize from their own performances, and students will have a chance to debrief areas that felt difficult that we can plan ahead on for the next recital. The goal of these conversations will be to help students establis...

This week's post is just a quick one to share an update about our Spring Recital moving online, as well as to share with all the Dawn's Piano followers that a couple weeks ago, I wrote an article I wrote for the Alfred blog on the topic of Online Recitals! Alfred's is one of the industry leading music publishing houses started in 1922, and they now maintain a blog with articles from music industry professionals on a wide range of topics. They approached me about sharing some ideas from my experience with online recitals to help out other music educators during this time.  If you would like to read that article 'Creative Solutions for Online Recitals' on the Alfred blog, Click Here . And, for those who may have missed the announcement on Facebook, our upcoming Studio Recital will officially be moving online as well. To learn more, or to RSVP, head over to the Spring Recital Facebook Event on the Dawn's Piano Facebook page. Studio parents are invited to s...

Welcome to our Fall 2019 Online Video Recital! Thank you for tuning in.  Over the past month or so, piano students have been working hard both at home and in the studio on their recital selections, and once a piece was prepared we would grab a video for this online performance. What you'll watch below is a compilation of all those collected videos. This online format for our first recital of the school year provides a lower stress performance opportunity, while still providing the essential practice in working a piece up to a performance level. It also provides a way for all of Dawn's Piano students, in McPherson and online around the country, to participate in a recital together. And I especially really like this format is because it's perfect to share with out of town friends and family who want to cheer on your piano kid but might not be able to attend a traditional recital setting.  Parents, friends and family, thank you for supporting your piano kids on t...

Last week I told you about our first performance of the year, and here I am already talking about the second! And that's because our first on-stage performance is just a little over a month after the Fall Video Recital. On Saturday, December 14th our studio will be a part of the Multi-Piano & Guitar Christmas Festival . This annual show is a long standing tradition in McPherson, and a terrific way to kick off the holiday season with some piano ensemble and guitar ensemble Christmas music for an incredibly supportive audience. How it works:  We prepare the songs in lessons leading up to the show, and on the 14th will run rehearsals during the day leading up to the performance. (This means if you give me the go-ahead to sign up your student for the show, know that there will be a commitment earlier in the day to rehearse with their ensemble.) These rehearsals are mandatory, because as you can imagine, coordinating up to 16 pianists for each number can take some doi...

As we head into the Fall season, it's time to start thinking about our first performance opportunity of the school year - our Fall Video Recital!  This performance is a little different, because in it we bring together students  in McPherson & online from all over the country. Each student will record or submit a video of their prepared piece during lessons. Those videos will be compiled together, and on Saturday, November 2nd at 10:00am CST , that compilation will be posted on the Fall Video Recital facebook event as well as here on the blog.  Some of the things I love about a video recital:  Students are reminded that they are part of a national studio community, and get to cheer on their peers all over the country in the video comments. Family & friends who live out of the area and would love to support your piano kids can tune in from wherever they are. Having our first performance of the year be a recorded video helps build confidence for new ...

This past Saturday (April 27th) students of Dawn's Piano gave their Spring Recital, and if I do say so myself, I thought we had a terrific show! Being a studio that relocated just this year means that we had lots of beginning students participating in their first ever recital with a few seasoned intermediate students sprinkled in. I enjoyed seeing the confidence on stage, and the personality & musical expression of each student as they performed. It was fun to have them cheer each other on, and share compliments after the show during our Ice Cream Reception (which was earned when each student completed the 20 Piece Challenge!). Online students from the Pasadena area also had a live Recital on Saturday, where they performed in the joint studio recital of my former associate teachers Aki Saito & Mallory Byers . Dawn's Piano was represented by 5 students there, and I'm so proud of each of their progress in adapting to an online lesson format and continuing to grow i...

Save the date for our Spring Recital!  When: Saturday, April 27th at 1:30 pm  Where: The recital will be hosted at the Free Methodist Church at 1010 S Maple St, McPherson. To tune in online, head over to our Facebook Event for details. This Spring Recital will also mark the end of our 2018/2019 School Year in the studio, and so we will be showcasing & celebrating what students have learned and achieved since the session began in August. This is also the end of our 20 piece challenge that launched last August. This means if every student has completed their 20 pieces by the recital date, we will have an ice cream party for the reception!  FAQ's What about online students?  You will participate by recording video of your performance to be played during the recital. And my hope is that you'll be able to tune in and watch the recital from home with a zoom.us conference call or a youtube livestream. More details will be coming your way in the coming ...

Most everybody experiences some level of stage fright when preparing to perform for an audience, audition, or examiner. And it's completely understandable, we are showcasing something that we've put a lot of preparation into, and we want our performance to reflect our hard work, to show what we're capable of, and to bring our audience enjoyment. But what can we do when the nerves start to take over? Today I'm sharing some tips from fellow music blogger, Jenny Leigh Hodgins' site all about turning those nerves into a positive performance energy. Hodgins shares 4 big tips for nervous performers (plus a couple bonus ones at the end) and I hope you'll find them as useful as I did. With the KMTA Progressions & our studio Spring Recital just around the corner, I think these will definitely come in handy in the coming months! 1. " get as many performing opportunities as possible and frequently !" This is absolutely the number one way to become ...

This Saturday, the studio hosted it's first ever Broadcast Recital ( learn more about why we chose this recital format here) , and if you missed it, that's ok, because here is where you can watch the video replay!  (the first 3 minutes are just a still shot so people could join the live broadcast before it began, if you want to skip that the show starts at 3:00) Order of Performers:  Sam W ..... Jolly Pumpkin Sloan S ..... Jolly Old St. Nicholas Brooklynn I ..... I Love Coffee, arr. by Bernard & Carolyn Shaak Elsie W ..... Climbing the Music Ladder Enzo S ..... Charlie Chipmunk, Julie Knerr Gentri C ..... Spring Song, Vivaldi, arr. by Eklund Kingston S ..... Outer Space, Julie Knerr Emory W ..... Largo, Dvorak   Joshua L ..... Pop Boss, Andrea Dow Ivan M ..... Fort Knight, Andrea Dow Logan H ..... Secret Mission, Melody Bober Elliot S ..... Million Dreams, Benj Pasek, arr. by Dawn Ivers  Luke A ..... Professor King's Celebra...

Each year the McPherson Area Piano Teachers' League puts together a Multi-Piano & Guitar Christmas Festival. Now, I know it's not Halloween yet, but these kinds of events take planning, and it's actually only 8 lessons away! The way it works is that area music students learn duets in their lessons, and on December 15th, we line up several pianos on-stage at the Wesley Black Fine Arts Auditorium and area piano students will take the stage to perform these duets all together, with guitar performances spread throughout the show as well. All to create a massive Christmas Concert for the community. Students who are beginning staff readers through advanced are invited to participate, and I've already begun having conversations with eligible students in our studio about which pieces they can start practicing. (So no pre-readers yet, but it would be a great idea to attend and get a preview at what you could be doing next year!).   As you can imagine, multiple pianis...

Hey everyone! This year's Fall recital is going to be a little different from anything I've done in the past, and that is largely because I've recently moved cross country and am now actively teaching students in both California & Kansas. In thinking about all of you, half of whom are adjusting beautifully to the online lesson format & the other half who are doing an amazing job with their first lessons in the new studio, I wanted to create a performance opportunity for this time of transition & growth in the studio that would be both low-stress & high quality where students in both states can see each other's performances, cheer each other on and be motivated to try new music in their own lessons. And I'm very excited to share with what I've come up with.  Save the date for Saturday, November 3rd at 11:00 am Central Time/9:00 am Pacific Time, because that is when you will want to tune in for our Fall Recital Broadcast where I will welcome y...

Save the date for our next Recital!  When: Sunday, April 22nd between 1:00-5:00 pm. Showtimes available at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 & 4:00. Please confirm your preferred showtime with your teacher. Where: The recital will be held at the Pasadena Central Library at 285 E Walnut in the Donald R Wright Auditorium.  Performance opportunities are such an important part of a young musician's growth, to learn more about why we love recitals so much click here .  The library asks that we leave the library lot available for their patrons. There is free parking on weekends at he Phoenix University lot adjacent to the library lot, as well as metered street parking.   This recital will be particularly special, and bittersweet, as it will be my last teaching from Southern California. Hopefully you have all heard by now that Kevin and I have purchased a home in Kansas and will be moving there at the end of April. This doesn’t mean that lesson...

On Friday, December 22nd at 3:00 pm, our students are invited to participate in our first ever Coffeehouse Holiday Concert! This is a wonderful opportunity for a casual public performance - aka one of your first gigs!  Rosebud Coffee , located at 2302 E Colorado Blvd in Pasadena is hosting this event. This is a non-profit business with a mission to help train & employ transitional aged youth in Pasadena who are at risk of homelessness. I am very excited to be able to partner with them for this concert, and help in their cause by providing some lovely holiday music for their patrons & employees and giving back to the local community. Performers can stop by and add your name to the list to perform a holiday piece or two, grab a warm drink & stay as long as you like. There is no pressure to show up right when it starts, or stay until the end (although you are definitely welcome to!) Come when you are able, and leave when you like. This is a very casual, low time co...

It's almost time for our annual Masquerade Piano Recital, and we can't wait! The show will be on Saturday, November 4th .

I recently came across a post about all the benefits of piano recitals on a music teacher blog I follow. I decided to copy them down here, because Piano Recitals really are terrific moments for building character, confidence, and pride in hard work and a job well done. But we might not always think about all the potential benefits, even if they are worth considering when you're figuring out how to fit a recital into your family's busy schedule. You can see where I got the list on Teach Piano Today , or just keep scrolling to see it all here. 

One of my personal favorite pieces that I've performed was this piano & cello duet with Mallory. This was the finale for our 2014 Masquerade Piano Recital, which explains why I am wearing Totoro ears. We host these musical masquerades each fall, and encourage our students to dress up, be glamorous or mysterious or whoever they want to be, and put on a great show.

Thank you everyone for a great Recital! I was very proud of everyone's performances, and grateful for all the help I received in coordinating it. This month's post will be inspired by my song choice from the recital. As my piano teacher from high school will attest, I always hated to play Bach. His music is very intellectual, but it is not as overtly passionate as other periods and composers. I told myself it was unninovative and not interesting enough to play. However, in the years since then, I began to hear the brilliance in Bach’s music.