Alexander Ghindin Concert

I just returned from a concert sponsored by Jamestown Concert Association held at the Jamestown High School. Alexander Ghindin played Schubert's Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 94 and two pieces by Chopin. The acoustics were great and he played wonderfully. My students were impressed and said the time went really fast. I hope it inspires them to practice this week.

Baseball Clef

During her lesson, I was quizing Rachel on what the names of the clefs were. She called the bass clef the "baseball" clef. I like that. I think I'll rename it.

APT Recital at Loyalton Thanks

I received this yummy thank you from two of my students after the recital. I wonder how my student know that I love chocolate?

YouTube

I decided not to use YouTube after talking with a parent about how much junk is on YouTube that is easy for students to accidentally see. I also don't want to cause my students any problems from people who might want to hurt them. So, I'm sticking with my website for performances.

Bagatelle

During lessons today, I was quizzing a student on her flashcards when we came to Bagatelle. She defined it as a short, uninvolved bag! It was supposed to be a short, uninvolved instrumental piece. It was a laugh-out-loud moment during the lesson. I love these kids!!

APT Recital at Loyalton

Twelve of my students played at Loyalton Assisted Living in Lakewood on Saturday, October 25th. They all played well. My video camera battery died right when I had to play with Morgan, so I missed her and part of Luke's pieces.

The students who played: Rachel, Kendall, Kendra, Sydney, Makala, Luke, Isac, Alice, Taylor, Mike and Olivia, and Morgan. For six of them it was their first time. I'm proud of all of them.

You can see their performances at http://www.cindyspianostudio.com/studentperformances.php if you have a user name and password from one of the students.

Georgia Guitar Quartet

Makala and I attended the Georgia Guitar Quartet concert last night sponsored by the Jamestown Concert Association. It was at 8 p.m. at St. Luke's Church in Jamestown. We sat towards the back with Makala on the aisle so she could see better. The program was great!

They played with awesome dynamics and fun sound affects. They were always looking at each other for direction so the group interaction was fun to watch. We liked Scarlatti's, The Cat's Fugue. He wrote it after his cat jumped on his harpsicord and walked on the keys. Scarlatti wrote down the keys he played and transposed, turned upside down, and stretched out the simple theme.

They played two pieces that they commissioned, both were unusual. Wheels was full of circular themes. Just about the time my eyes glazed over, the music changed. We thought it would be good music for a suspense movie. I even heard a fist fight and gun shots. They said that each of the four parts were like spokes in a wheel; if one part got off, the wheel becomes an oval. Makala's eyes lit up when they played the Suite for Four Guitars. Her feet were dancing. It was like something you've heard and yet like nothing you've heard.

Their rendition of Linus and Lucy was interesting. That's all I'll say about that. Two Repaired Movements had a lot of tribal sounds and was percussive. Fun to listen to and watch. The last piece, The Road to Lisdoonvarna, an Irish Traditional song, made me think of leprocans dancing on a road. After the program, we went downstairs for refreshments and Makala got her program signed by all four guitarists. It was a fun evening.

You can see their website at http://www.georgiaguitarquartet.com/