Is your dance card full? We are just on the brink of October, with a forecast for snow in the Black Hills and I am already running out of time for any “music just for fun”.

The Black Hills Area Music Teachers Association (BHAMTA) has three recitals planned for October.  On Monday, Oct 19, students will play  at Batchelder’s Plummer Piano and Organ.  On Tuesday, Oct. 20, students will play at Black Hills Piano Gallery.   That’s for the Southern Hills players.  Then, on Thursday, Oct. 22, the Northern Hills recitals will be held at Meier Recital Hall at BHSU, Spearfish.  For more information, please contact Rita Hicks at 722-7429.

Thanks for stopping by.  mlt

Margie Litzen, Anita Paige and mlt at the Connected exhibit...it comes down on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Tony Thomas explains the insides of the piano.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a piano and not be tuned? Or to be just sitting there and not be played?

It must be very lonely!  Find out more on the Anatomy of a Piano this Saturday, Sept 26 at 3 p.m.  Tony Thomas, owner of Black Hills Piano Gallery will discuss the different components of the piano and how to keep them healthy. Most importantly, what it takes to keep your piano very happy. The piano is a very complex instrument and one that most people know very little about.

Piano teachers -  this is a great program for your students.  It saves a lot of time because your students will stop asking about those pedals once they have seen this presentation.

Music lovers -  Steven Swedish will be presenting a concert in October and Jacqueline Schwab in November.  Details coming soon.

Although the temperatures still seem like summer, the fall music calendar is kicking in.  The Black Hills Chamber Society starts their concert season this Sunday, Sept. 13, with a piano duo performance at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. John Walker and his wife, Mary, will be playing at the First Congregational Church, 1200 Clark Street, in Rapid City.   Dr. Walker has been a Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at South Dakota State University for a number of years.  You may have read about his performance cycle of all 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven.   Mary has just joined the SDSU piano faculty, but maintains her private studio in Brookings as well.

I hope all the Piano Pals members can make it to this concert for a bit of inspiration. 

Speaking of Piano Pals, here’s a photo of my duo partner Anita Paige (far right) at the CONNECTED art exhibit last week.  Anita is showing some of her original jewelry work and her pals came up to take a look and have some fun.

This photo exemplifies what a great time we had.  The “connections” continued throughout the evening as more folks came to see the artwork and were surprised to find that they knew so many other people.   The exhibit continues at the Bay Leaf Cafe in Spearfish throughout the month of September.

Meanwhile, back at the piano studio, I have just completed my first week of teaching for the Autumn Session.  The choice spots are filling in quickly, so if you are looking for piano lessons after school, you’d better call soon.  342-3328.

Hope you are having a great season and getting ready to practice this year.

I welcome your comments and suggestions for future blogs.

Thanks for stopping by. mlt

Marie working on art project

The last week of August is typically “downtime” for we piano teachers. I  usually keep busy with gardening and some home repairs and paintings.  This year I am organizing an Art Exhibit.

Yes, I said Art Exhibit.  There will be a dozen artists joining me at the Bay Leaf Cafe in Spearfish, SD.  I’ll be hanging the artwork on Monday, August 31, so by lunchtime you should be able to view it. 

For refreshments, special deals and live music come on up on Friday, Sept. 4, from 4-6 p.m.  The live music will be our own piano tuner Curt Bauer.  Many folks get a tiny taste of his remarkable talent when he tunes their home piano.  Now you can hear him play for a couple of hours.  Not to mention - see some great art and eat delicious food.

WHAT: CONNECTED - a celebration of art

WHERE: Bay Leaf Cafe, 126 West Hudson, Spearfish, SD

WHEN:  The whole month of September.

Special event:  Artists’ Reception, Friday, Sept. 4, 4-6 p.m.

    If you rise with the dawn and walk into the garden, you will find some fresh flower bud with a shining bit of dew glistening in the first light.  A beautiful moment, but you have to be ready or you’ll miss it.

   The audience at Black Hills Piano Gallery had such a moment this Saturday, August 8, when 16-year-old Ariel Pocock took the stage.  She appeared in a simple, navy sundress with oversized, white buttons, long brown hair tucked behind her ears to reveal  single-strand dangles, little yellow sandals on her bare legs….a simple hello…. and then she took over the stage.  

     The first number was restrained, but then she kicked off that little yellow sandal and started to stomp that  primary beat with one foot and a secondary with the other.  The old standards were fresh and new with her mastery of the keyboard and pleasant voice.  While singing her voice can reach down into the husky, contralto range like an ol’ gal who’s “been there and done that”,  but her speaking voice still has the ever-upward lilt of an American teenager. 

     Chatting with Ariel and her family afterward, I discovered that she will be returning to Washington state to start her driving lessons.  Driving lessons ?  This girl can handle a strange crowd in another city, with two other musicians she practiced with ONCE, and noodle her way around some impromptu improvisations……and she doesn’t drive yet?? 

    Well, let me tell you,  if pianos were automobiles, this girl could drive a stick-shift with 3-on-the-tree and never bat an eyelash.

    In Rapid City we usually see/hear musical phenomenons at the end of their career (witness all those tired ol’ rockers at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally).  This was a chance for us to see someone at the beginning of a career.

Don’t take my word for it…check out this Youtube link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx7KM4apb9A

I’ll be able to say “I knew her when”.  Thanks Ariel!

Ariel Pocock, a 16-year-old prodigy, will perform in Rapid City on Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Black Hills Piano Gallery.    She won the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation Outstanding Vocalist Award - they haven’t given that one out in 10 years. 

Ariel recently performed at the Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition where she won the outstanding pianist award as well.

Ariel and her trio will start playing at 7 p.m.  The jazz standards they promise should be a cool breeze during our hot August nights.

For more information go to www.blackhillspianogallery.com.

Ticket are $10 for adults.  $8 for students and music teachers.

We are about 3 weeks into the summer vacation and the fun may be wearing off for some children.  I know it seems weird, but we all flourish with some steady routines. 

PIANO lessons and practice present a wonderful framework to hold the days together.  Over the years, I have discovered that students can make terrific progress with their piano skills.  Since they don’t have school homework, there is plenty of time for practice. 

MORNING is a great time for practice because the brain is fresh and alert.  Afternoons are good because we should stay out of the heat.  Or, if the day is too full, how about a little evening concert while the last light of day disappears?

YOU may not catch that big fish, or get to see the Himalayas, or win the big prize, but if you practice this summer you will be assured of one good thing:  you will be a better piano player.

Will Collins sent an e-mail from Las Vegas.  I thought everyone who reads this blog would be interested so I pasted it in as a post.  Does anyone here remember him from RC school days?  Have you seen him perform in Vegas?mlt

Greetings from the great desert southwest!

Will Collins

Hair raising idea

 

 

 

My student Christina arrived for her piano lesson as the character Pippa Longstocking.  The hairdo seems to express May mayhem.

This week I received several calls from frantic parents cancelling piano lessons because of dance rehearsals.  “Not to worry,” I laughed. ” I always assume that children will miss lessons just before dance recitals.”

Juggling the schedule of regular lessons, sports events and school activities is tough enough.  When you add the pressure of PERFORMANCE, the camel’s back is broken!  That’s why I have a long-held policy of  lais-sez-faire when May hits.

In a few weeks we’ll add the graduations, confirmations, showers and open houses.  I just ask that you keep practicing on a regular basis.  A good suggestion is to practice the piano on any day that you eat.

My dilemma is how to attend all the events.  This Saturday I would like to see the Candyland dance recital (but I missed last week’s Cindella - whoops).  There is also a chamber music presentation for the Symphony League that sounds like so much fun. Then again, I’ll probably be lying in a heap after a day of gardening.

In a few weeks all this will be a memory and we’ll be setting up the summer schedule.  Just keep breathing.

THANK YOU for all the comments and suggestions.  The latest stats show that this blog in Number 19 in the lineup (I guess there are about 40-50 regular bloggers with the staff and volunteers like me).  Anyway, they like us.  Be sure to send your ideas, questions and comments by using the comment box below.  OR, you can contact me at marietesch@rap.midco.net.

Thanks for stopping by. mlt

Marie at Jessica's recital

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a music recital at Black Hills State University.  Junior Jessica Finch was playing and I nearly “busted my buttons” with pride since she had been my student from start to finish in Rapid City.   I like to think that she got a good basic “grounding” with me and Dr. Janeen Larson has put on the finishing touches. Jess has become a powerful, confident player and grown into a lovely young woman.

Her family sent the photo above and I thought I’d share it with you.  This is what a REAL piano teacher looks like after a day of volunteering at a rummage sale, teaching a few lessons, walking the dogs and then jumping into the car to motor up to Spearfish for a concert (I was late, or course).

It’s a plain picture and I am just a plain piano teacher.   I think you can tell that I am happiest when sitting at a keyboard with a few folks to entertain….lots of chatter, a bit of playing.  Many of you only see me at recitals and concerts when I fling on a posh frock and spend some time at the vanity table.  Well, here is the real thing: my dressy jeans, sensible shoes and a jacket sewn by my sister Loey.  Any makeup I put on at 6 a.m. is long gone, but I am wearing a pair of simple earrings.

The following weekend I had occasion to volunteer some time at the ivories and by Sunday evening (when I attended the Pierce Emata recital) several people greeted me with the salutation, “Hello, Piano Lady”.  Boy, that made me feel good.

I have decided to change the name of this blog to PIANO LADY.  It fits.  Besides, the editor teased me about the excessive alliteration in the title, Piano Polish.  AND, my niece thought I was writing about people from Poland.  Whoops!

PLEASE NOTE:  Piano PALS will meet this Saturday, May 2, at 3:30 p.m. at the Black Hills Piano Gallery.  Bring your music and a cheerful attitude of “let’s try it once”.

Thanks for stopping by.  Your comments make the folks at the RCJ happy to keep me rolling.  So let me know what you’d like to read about. mlt