Welcome Back!
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 by Hannah Violette | Fall
Hello, Harmonics Families!
After nearly two months off, with two of those weeks being spent totally off-grid, I can honestly say I've had an amazing and refreshing summer and am ready to hit the ground running! I hope your summers have been equally rewarding.
Lessons begin promptly the first week of school. I do have one significant change to announce - fortunately, this change will NOT affect your wallets! While off-grid, my husband and I decided that, in order to have more time, money, and mobility to direct towards our own children and grandchildren, we will be selling our house and downsizing pretty dramatically. The house is on the market and, with that in mind, I will be teaching out of the BHS choir room instead of our own home (which, I hope, will not be our own for much longer).
I will be limiting my private teaching time to only Monday and Tuesday evenings and will be contacting you individually to set up your lesson day/time. Please respond to the text you receive as quickly as possible; when I have the schedule in place, I will send out September invoices.
Because of our incredibly busy summer, I have not had time to edit the spring video performances. I will continue to work on those and get them to you as soon as possible. By the end of September I will have a performance schedule for you. With only 4-5 students in my studio (by design), I will be encouraging each student to choose one or more district festivals (held in LaGrande) in which to participate, rather than hosting my own recitals. Adding the Syllabus evaluation to that will give students ample opportunities for performance.
I look forward to seeing each one of your kids and can't wait to get started!
Musically yours,
Hannah Violette
SUMMER!
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 by Hannah Violette | Uncategorized
It's been a long year. Students have worked so hard, passed their Syllabus exams, and are still learning a ton of musicianship skills and pieces. Instead of an in-person recital, we will be video recording the kids and posting a virtual recital on YouTube. You can watch it in the privacy of your own home, wearing the comfiest of pajamas and eating ice cream straight from the carton! No dressing up or being sociable required...
...because face it: WE ARE ALL EXHAUSTED.
Summer can't get here fast enough.
Normally at this time, I would be soliciting from you your travel schedules so I could set up a summer-long teaching calendar. This year, however, I'm keeping it simple.
I will be teaching through the end of June. This will give us plenty of time to prepare and record student performances and get the video edited, uploaded, and distributed. My summer grad school classes in music theory and other blah-blah will come to a welcome end. On July 2, I will be packing up and leaving for six weeks. Six blissful weeks living in my camper with only my husband, pets, and a delightful lack of network connection. I hope to sleep late every day, read lots of books, find Bigfoot, and write a book about my adventures.
The studio will reopen with the new school year; hopefully, everyone will be well rested and ready to start. There will be no major changes to the studio policies or the tuition structure; you will be receiving the annual enrollment fee of $50 on your June invoice.
With all that said, please come out and be entertained at the high school Cabaret concert on Friday, May 24 at 7 pm or Saturday, May 25 at 3 pm; tickets will be $10 at the door. The middle school final concert (this one's a freebie) will be Tuesday, May 28 at 7 pm. Graduation festivities will then ensue and another year will have flown by.
I hope you've got some fantastic summer plans! See you in September.
March news
Sunday, March 3, 2019 by Hannah Violette | Uncategorized
Happy March, Harmonics students and families - spring cannot come any quicker!
I love the poetry of the ancient Persian, Hafiz. It transcends religion and culture, touching each of us at the deepest point of our emotions and experiences. Just as even the hint of a song I love fills me with joy, so does the thought of crocuses peeking their heads through the thrice-frozen ground (because we've had three rounds of winter this year!), the trill of those birds that live in the marshes along the north end of the Leo Adler riverwalk, and the feel of the spring sun on my face. It is almost spring!
SYLLABUS SCHEDULE
It is also almost Syllabus time, as well. If you haven't checked the calendar already, here is a schedule for Friday, March 8:
9:00 - Kegan Bott
9:25 - Gabe Bott
9:50 - Sydney Penning
10:20 - Cadence Penning
11:05 - Johnny Zhang
11:25 - Russell Anderson
Exams will be held at the BHS choir room. Please enter through the east door, directly into the music wing. Pass through the double doors into the carpeted hallway where there will be a waiting area set up. When it is your turn, you will enter through the double doors near the waiting area; following your exam, you will exit through the far door near the outside exit. It should work very smoothly.
HONORS RECITAL
All students participating in Syllabus are entitled to play a piece of their choice in the Syllabus Honors Recital, to be held in La Grande on Sunday, March 10, at 3:00 pm. This performance is worth points toward their OMTA trophy. Please notify me immediately if you would like your student to perform.
STUDIO CALENDAR
Please be advised of the following changes to the studio calendar for the month of March:
Due to a choir festival being held on Wednesday, March 6, those lessons will be held on Thursday, March 7. Although I haven't changed it yet, this may happen again on Wednesday, March 20; please be aware that those lessons may also be held on March 21 instead.
There will be no lessons scheduled during Spring Break.
Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege of teaching music! It is a joy to watch the wink of a song bring so many students joy!
