Sept. 24 -- Omega Psi Phi talent contest for older students.

Oct. 2-6 -- Fall Break, no lessons.

Oct. 9 -- Lessons Resume.

July 28 - August 7 -- Studio closed.

August 8 -- Fall Schedule begins.

My Studio Calendar will be posted by September 1.

May 31 - June 3 -- I attended the annual AMTA State Conference at Jacksonville State University. Three students from this studio performed for the conference in Jacksonville, AL. We had a guest clinician, Dr. Gail Berenson, who spoke to us about ways to solve various pedagogical issues that we hear in our teaching. She recently retired from Ohio University in Athens, OH, and was the past president of MTNA. The guest concert artist was Dr. William John Newbrough, from Houghton University in New York and he is a Steinway Artist. He attended the Division III Winners Recital and chose the ASRA (Alabama State Recognition Award) Winner and 2 Honorable Mention Winners from these students. Erik, from this studio, was chosen as one of the 2 Honorable Mention Winners! Congratulations to all who performed at the conference.

July 4 -- Independence Day -- No Lessons.

July 28 -- End of Summer Lessons.

August 7 -- Fall Scheduled Lessons begin.

May 13 -- The State Piano AMTA Audition was held at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa campus, with over 425 students participating. Sixteen students entered and the audition results for my studio are as follows:

May 1 - 4 -- Summer and Fall Schedule registration is due before May 15, please.

May 7 -- Katelyn and Sophia will perform for the Huntsville Music Study Club's May Program. They were awarded the HMSC Scholarships for this year's 2023 Audition, held April 29th. Congratulations to all who entered, because all deserved recognition!

May 13 -- The State AMTA Piano Solo Audition will be held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. It is held in the Moody Music Building beginning at 8:30 - 4:00 with out-of-state judges.

May 1 - 19 -- Teaching Days for the month of May.

June 1-2-3 -- The AMTA Annual Conference will be held at Jacksonville State University. The Winners from the MTNA and AMTA State auditions (in all instruments) will perform in recital for the teachers and parents.

June 5 -- Summer lessons begin.

April 1 -- District AMTA was successful with 11 out-of-town judges coming for the audition. Seventeen students from this studio entered and all made the top grade of Outstanding and can progress to the next level which is the STATE AMTA audition on May 13th.

April 15 -- Studio Spring Piano Recitals -- The Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church Street, Huntsville, 35801. It is held in the Great Hall. Grades 9-12 perform at 11:30 with the rehearsal beginning at 11:00. Grades K - 8 will perform at 1:30 with the rehearsal beginning at 1:00.

April 22 -- Two students audition in Boaz at Snead State Community College because of conflicts on April 1st.

April 23 -- HMTA (Huntsville Music Teachers Association) Student Honors Recital, held at UAH, Roberts Recital Hall. All teachers may enter 1 student in the first recital beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Graduating Seniors will play at 3:30 p.m. John is performing in the first recital and Timothy, a graduating senior, will perform in the second recital.

April 26 -- I must register the students for the State Audition which is in person this year. There can be no changes of repertoire and there is no theory requirement. The judges are out-of-town college judges.

April 29th -- HMSC Scholarship Auditions at UAH. I have already registered the students who are entering this event.

April 1 -- AMTA District Piano Audition (3 pieces plus required theory) beginning at 9:00 - 1:30. Take your music and arrive 20 min. early. First Baptist Church, 600 Governor's Drive, Huntsville, 35801.

April 12 -- My deadline for registering for the HSMC Audition for grades 9 - 12. There is an entry fee.

April 15 -- My Piano Recitals for all students. Grades 9 - 12 at 11:30 and Grades K - 8 at 1:30. The warm up time is 30 min. before the recital time. You may invite guests to attend and there is no charge for this.

April 28 -- My deadline for registering for the State AMTA Audition held at the University of AL in Tuscaloosa, AL, Moody Music Building. There is an entry fee.

April 29 -- HMSC Audition at UAH, Robert's Hall beginning at 9:00 - 12:00. Take your music and arrive 20 min. early.

May 13 -- State AMTA Audition -- Take your music and NO THEORY is required. Arrive 30 min. before your audition time.

October 3-6 -- Fall Break, no lessons.

October 10 -- Lessons resume.

October 1 -- Omega Psi Phi District Audition Results: Congratulations to Erik, Sophia and Katelyn for winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd places! They will compete later this month for the state competition.

Looking ahead: The State AMTA Piano Audition date and location has been set. It is May 13 and it is an in-person event at the Univ. of AL in Tuscaloosa. The Annual AMTA State Conference date is scheduled June 1, 2, 3 at Jacksonville State University. The AMTA and MTNA winners perform in recitals at the conference.

Sept. 18 -- Omega Psi Phi virtual auditions deadline for video submissions.

July 28 -- End of Summer Teaching Schedule.

August 1-4 -- No lessons.

August 8 -- Lessons resume.

September 5 -- Labor Day, No lessons.

September 6 -- Lessons resume.

May 11 -- The AMTA State Audition results were sent to the students who participated. Four students were chosen as Winners, one student was awarded the grade of Honorable Mention, nine students received the top grade of Outstanding and one student received an Excellent rating.

May 23 - June 3 -- The Studio is closed.

June 3-4 -- The AMTA State Conference will be held at UAB and four students will perform in the Winner Recitals for their Division. These recitals feature students from the entire state who were selected in audition by out-of-state college piano teachers.

June 6 -- Summer lessons begin.

May 2 -- Videos due to be uploaded to the State AMTA chairperson. All students who made Outstanding in both theory and performance are eligible to send in a video of their 3 pieces to be judged by out-of-state college judges. Sixteen students entered the audition and fifteen are eligible to enter the state AMTA audition. Students will be notified by email as soon as I receive the results of the audition.

May 4 -- Sophia and Katerina will perform for the HMSC Meeting. $400 prizes are awarded to the winners.

June 2-3-4 -- The State AMTA Conference will be held at UAB for all AMTA Teachers. The AMTA and MTNA student winners will perform for the conference. Visit almta.org to see what events are scheduled for this conference.

May 1 - 20 -- Lessons are scheduled.

May 21 - 31 - No lessons

June lessons will be scheduled and students will be notified by email.

March 26 -- Huntsville Music Study Club Audition was held Saturday at UAH, Roberts Recital Hall.

Winners:

March 14 - 18 -- Spring Break (I will be teaching).

March 26 -- Huntsville Music Study Club Audition.

April 9 -- AMTA District Piano Audition at First Baptist Church.

April 16 -- Spring Piano Recitals at The Huntsville Museum of Art.

May 2 -- State Piano Audition -- Virtual.

March 19 -- My deadline for AMTA District Audition registration.

April 9 -- AMTA District Piano Audition held at First Baptist Church, Governor's Drive.

April 16 -- My Studio Recitals held at the Huntsville Museum of Art, Church Street.

December 12 --- Katerina and Timothy will perform several piano pieces at the Winterlude Concert at Whitesburg Baptist Church at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There are many musicians performing and 4 grand pianos on the stage with a trombone soloist. It may be live streamed for viewing at home.

December 20 - 31 --- No lessons, Christmas Break.

January 3, 2022 --- Lessons resume.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sept. 12 -- Congratulations to Sophia and Timothy for entering the Omega Psi Phi event.

Oct. 4 - 8 -- No lessons, Fall Break.

Oct. 11 -- Lessons Resume.

July 29 -- End of Summer Lessons.

August 2-6 -- Studio Closed, no lessons.

August 9 -- Lessons Resume with Fall Schedule.

Sept. 6 -- Labor Day, no lessons.

Sept. 7 -- Lessons Resume.

May 12 -- AMTA State Audition judging was completed. Thirteen students entered this audition from this studio. Two students were selected Winners, six students were Honorable Mention Winners and five students were rated as Outstanding. The grades are Outstanding, Excellent, Good, Comments Only (no grade). A percentage of Winners and Honorable Mention winners are chosen from the Outstanding rated students. The Winners will submit a video to be viewed at the virtual AMTA State Conference beginning the last week of May. These videos will be available to view until Sept. 1. The judges were out-of-state college piano faculty members.

May 24 - June 4 -- Studio closed.

June 7 -- Lessons resume.

April 10 -- The District AMTA Audition was held virtually with You Tube Videos presented to the judges. Thirteen students from this studio entered and all made the double Outstanding grades and will advance to the State AMTA Audition.

April 25 -- Timothy and Katerina won 2 of the 3 piano scholarship awards of $400 each, given annually by the Huntsville Music Study Club. Congratulations to both of them. They made a You Tube video of 2 pieces which were submitted to the Scholarship Chair. These 2 students will have their videos streamed via Zoom on May 13, at 7:30 p.m. If you want to view this HMSC program that features the Scholarship Winners -- just let me know and I'll send you the link. The students performing will be: Piano, Strings, Woodwinds/Brass, Voice, College Piano and College Voice. The high school students are in grades 9-12 and their teachers live in Madison County.

May 1 -- The State AMTA Piano Audition date for submitting videos for a virtual audition. This audition is for those students making the grade of Outstanding in both Performance and Theory. There is no theory requirement for the State Audition. The registration fee is $30. I will add that cost to your May invoice. Check your email for further information sent by me.

Congratulations to Timothy for winning the 3rd place in the Omega Psi Phi Audition held in March!

April 10 -- AMTA District Piano Audition Videos judging begins.

April 14 -- The Annual HMSC Scholarship Awards will be held virtually. The video links are to be sent to me by this date. I have already pre-registered the students who are entering this event.

April 26-27-28 -- The State Piano Videos are to be sent to me during this time frame. This is for all students who made an Outstanding rating in both theory and performance. The videos contain only the 3 pieces, no theory is played at the State level.

May 1 -- Judging begins for the State AMTA Piano Auditions.

March 6 -- Spring Piano Recitals, The Art Museum's Great Hall, 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

March 20 -- AMTA forms are due and the entry fee ($30.00) will be added to the monthly invoice.

April 5-6 -- You Tube videos are due to be sent to me.

April 10 -- AMTA District Audition.

Congratulations to Timothy!!! He won 1st place in the recent Omega Psi Phi Talent Hunt audition.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Recitals -- March 6th

Happy New Year!

March 6 -- Recitals at the Huntsville Museum of Art, details will be sent at a later date.

March 20 -- Registration is due for the AMTA virtual auditions, which I will send in for each student. Entry fee is $30. which will be added to your March monthly invoice.

April 7 -- YouTube videos are due for you to send to me and I preview them and send to the district chair.

April 10 -- The videos are sent to judges and we get the results back that week.

Merry Christmas!

Dec. 1 - 18 -- Lessons.

Dec. 21 - Jan. 1 -- No lessons in observance of Winter Break.

Jan. 4, 2021 -- Lessons resume.

AMTA District Auditions will be April 10, 2021. All auditions are virtual this year. YouTube videos must be sent to me by March 19th. State AMTA Videos are due to me 2 weeks after the District Auditions.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Nov. 23 -- Monday students will have lessons.

Nov. 24-27 -- No lessons in observance of Thanksgiving.

Nov. 30 -- Lessons resume.

Oct. 5-6 -- No lessons, Fall Break.

Oct. 12 -- Lessons resume.

Nov. 24-27 -- No lessons, Thanksgiving Break.

Nov. 30 -- Lessons resume.

Sept. 7 - No lessons, Labor Day holiday.

No group Theory-Performance classes are scheduled at this time because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stay Well!

Most summer lessons will continue to be taught online with Zoom or FaceTime for the month of August.

August 17-21 -- The studio will be closed.

August 24 -- Lessons resume.

UAH 7th Annual Piano Festival Results:

Jr. Category:

AMTA Auditions were conducted with YouTube Video submissions and 19 students from this studio entered: All judges were out-of-state college piano teachers. The grades are Outstanding, Excellent, Good and Not Acceptable. The Winners and Honorable Mention Winners are selected from the Outstanding grades.

May 1 -- Invoices were emailed.

May Lessons -- May 4 - 22.

June 8 -- Lessons resume.

March 21-28 -- Twenty-one AMTA District You Tube videos were submitted to the judges. Twenty students made the top grade of double Outstanding in both theory and performance and may now submit videos for the State Audition.

April Lessons -- All lessons will be taught on line by using FaceTime or Zoom.

April 11 -- the Spring Recital is canceled.

April 20 -- The AMTA forms must be mailed to the Registrar.

April 24 -- All AMTA State You Tube Videos must be submitted to the AMTA State Chairman.

Stay Safe -- Stay home and Practice!

March 14 -- Group Theory Classes

March 14 -- HMSC Scholarship Auditions at UAH, Roberts Recital Hall

March 21 -- District AMTA (Alabama Music Teachers Association) Auditions

March 30 - April 3 -- Spring Break, no lessons

Jan. 12 -- Joey won the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra's Young Artist Competition at UAH and will perform 4 times with the HSO at the VBC for the Young Peoples Concerts! Congratulations to all contestants, parents and teachers!

Jan. 6 -- Lessons begin.

Jan. 12 -- Young Artist Audition Finalist Recital at Roberts Hall, UAH, 2:00 p.m. Joey will be competing with his Haydn Concerto!

Jan. 25 -- Group Theory - Performance Classes at my studio.

Three students entered the Omega Psi Phi Audition in 2022 and won the first 3 prizes. They advanced to the next level, and one won 3rd place. Only the first 2 students advance to the next level. Congratulations to all students!

The HMTA sponsored an in-person Christmas Palooza Recital in December at Redstone Village. Five students from this studio performed in this recital program.

Nineteen students entered the in-person AMTA District Piano Audition held April 1. All made the top grade in both performance and theory and advanced to the State Audition held in-person on May 13th in Tuscaloosa at the University of Alabama. At the State audition the judges were from out-of-state college piano faculty. Three students were selected as winners, six students were chosen as Honorable Mention Winners, and seven students received the grade of Outstanding.

The Studio Spring Recitals were held at the Huntsville Museum of Art’s Great Hall April 15. All students took part this year, and it was great to “see and hear” the students in-person! One student was a graduating senior from Bob Jones High School! He shall be missed.

Huntsville Music Study Club hosted their annual Scholarship Audition in-person at UAH Roberts Hall and four students entered. There were three piano scholarships available, and two students were chosen as winners from this studio. All received monetary prizes! In addition, they did perform for the club at their May meeting.

Two students performed in the annual Huntsville Music Teachers Association’s Honors Recital held April 23rd at UAH. One recital was for any age student, and one recital was just to honor the graduating seniors.

The State AMTA Conference was held in June at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL. The winners all performed in their recitals in-person this year. One student was chosen by the Guest Artist to receive the ASRA Award (Alabama State Recognition Award) which is awarded to a Division III piano student. In addition to the winner the judge chose 2 Honorable Mention ASRA students, and one was from this studio!

Several students play the piano for church services regularly. Other students have been asked to fill in as substitute pianists or accompanists when needed. I am delighted that they can do this easily! Congratulations to all students and parents for another good year of piano study.