February Newsletter
Hello everyone!
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I hope the year has gotten off to a good start for you! It's been great to hear your student's continued progress. Thanks for bringing them to lessons and helping them practice!
Now that students are really starting to get the hang of improvising and playing with a drummer and bassist, I've scheduled some upcoming performance opportunities! These are required for all students unless you have something really pressing already scheduled for that day. These performance opportunities are such a fun way to showcase what they've been learning, and give them an opportunity to share what they've been working on!
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Below the performance information, I have an announcement about an exciting new summer program for jazz piano students! Scroll down to learn more about the Summer Jazz Combo Program.
Upcoming Performances
Friday, March 15, 4:15 PM - Performance @ Guardian Angel Nursing Home
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This will be a fun, low-key way to give the students to share their new jazz chops with an audience! Each student will perform in a trio - the student will be on piano, and they'll be joined by a bassist and drummer. We will have a chance to practice this during the jam classes.
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Saturday, May 11, 1:00 PM Piano Recital @ Richland Public Library
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This is my End-of-Year recital for my private students - I would love for some of the group jazz students to also participate in this so that my other students can hear what we do in the jazz piano classes!
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Wednesday, May 22, 6:00-8:00 PM - Performance@ Emerald of Siam
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For their last performance, students get to perform on stage at the Emerald of Siam! They will again each be joined by a bassist and a drummer. All my jazz students will get to play during the first hour, and then my Quintet will play during the second hour. This will be such a fun night!
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Live Music (Come See Your Teacher Play)
Feb. 23, 8-10 pm @ Wine Social (21+)
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March 1, 5-8pm @ Fiction (restaurant side of Bookwalter Winery)
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April 19, 7-10 pm @ At Micheles (all ages)
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May 3, 7-9 pm @ Northwest Church (all ages)
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May 22, 6-8 pm @ Emerald of Siam (jazz student performance + Stephanie Steele Quintet)
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New Summer Jazz Combo Program
I am very excited about this new program! A "jazz combo" is a small jazz group - usually with piano, bass, drums, and then an additional horn player or singer. Students who participate in the Summer Jazz Combo program will each get to play in their own small band!
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Students will meet for 8 rehearsals, held once a week over the summer and get ready to perform a concert in August. I have been teaching a weekly group jazz class during this school year, bringing in a bassist and drummer to jam with students once a month, and I’ve found it a very successful program in helping students learn jazz in a fun and interactive setting. The jazz combos program is the next step in teaching students to play music in their own small groups! You can find more info through the Summer Jazz Combos button below. All middle and high school students are welcome to participate, whether or not they've been part of the group jazz piano classes this year! Let me know if any of your students are interested, and we can start working on some of the foundational music theory knowledge to get them ready to participate.
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