PCSoM May 2013 NEWSLETTER

MAY 2013 Newsletter www.parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com (214) 929-1072

Spring Recital May 20 is OUTSTANDING!!!

Our studio presented day one of our spring recitals on May 20, 2013 at Preston Road Church of Christ. Parents smiled, camera shutters clicked, and proud instructors watched their students LAY IT DOWN! Check out this link for pictures, with updates to come (
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.622932661068023.1073741830.396137167080908&type=1
).

Recitals Postponed Due to Weather

photo credit: http://www.jackrabbitblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/inclement-weather.png

On May 20, a powerful tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, hitting an emotional note with the toll taken on students at two elementary schools in the tornado’s path. Just a few days before, North Texas was also hit with deadly tornadoes. With this fresh in our minds, PCSoM chose to postpone the 2^nd day of recitals as severe weather took hold of the area. Both private & public schools also chose to release students early. Recital make-up dates on May 30 & June 4 will take place at our studio. Even with the inconvenience, the safety & well-being of our families was top priority. Pictures of the recitals will be available soon via our social media outlets.

Summer Camps Start June 3, 2013 at PCSoM!

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Our studio will begin the summer session on June 3, hosting a number of summer camps through mid-August. We also want everyone to know that it’s business as usual for our private music lessons. Enrollment for our camps is still open, so call us for more information. Here’s a link to Summer Camp central on our website:
http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information

 

 

 

Drum & Percussion Camp Added

During the week of Aug. 5-9, 2013 from 10-11:30am, instructor Efren Guzman, Jr. will take campers through the basics of drumming & the multi-faceted job of a percussionist. What a great way to “groove” into the school year! Call us for more info & keep up with our social media for updates.

Taking a Little Break (…sort of)

Park Cities School of Music would like to let everyone know that our newsletter will be taking a summer hiatus. Do not be alarmed! We’ll be back in August as the academic year rolls around for us. If you just can’t live without your PCSoM news, please know that we’ll continue to update our Twitter, Facebook, & YouTube accounts, as well as bring you deeper coverage of the summer’s occurrences through this blog. Thanks for all of your support, and we’ll see you on the flip-side!

FOLLOW US FOR UPDATES:

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ParkCitiesSchoolOfMusic

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/PkCsSchoolMusic

WordPress Blog:
https://musicatyourhouse.wordpress.com/

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PkCitiesSchoolMusic

PCSoM Continues to Improve

Good morning, everyone. Here at Park Cities School of Music, we aim to provide an excellent music education to your child(ren). We also do our best to work with the community at large. It’s our belief that when a school chooses to be part of the fabric of the community that surrounds it, residents embrace the school & its mission even more.

It’s that theme that pushes our school to improve in all walks, including our continual revamping of our website. To many of you, the upheaval of an online make-over is nothing new, and for the unlucky few, it stands as a great nuisance. So, in working with our webmaster, Park Cities School of Music has done its best to tweak the site during low traffic hours or pinpointing specific (and small) areas that can be edited/updated/removed/reworked without great interruption to our families.

http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/

We ask that you visit our website to check out all that we have to offer, not just in terms of our revamped look and options, but also because of the various programs & classes that we have on tap for both children and adults. We also included a “Teacher’s Email” menu tab, allowing you to be able to contact teacher’s directly about availability and options for lessons. Remember that here at Park Cities School of Music, our goal is to serve, and we hope these small changes help. Have a great day!

A Musical Retrospective – Those We’ve Lost in Music in 2013

photo credit: http://lifeandletters.la.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/InMemoriam-300×200.jpg

The title of this post may be a bit odd for some of you. Usually, a retrospective takes place as a new year approaches, and we look back at the people and events that have made the passing year melancholy, bright, or combination thereof. In either case, our purpose in looking back on the passing of the featured artists in this article is to fondly remember the impact of their lives on the musical landscape sooner rather than later. Too often, retrospectives are merely PowerPoint presentations met with subdued applause at over-the-top awards ceremonies or lackluster montages set to “Canon in D” as everyone tries to figure out whose watch will be the one that counts the rest of December down. For some, these figures were sublime; for others, controversial. Still, others may be discovering an artist they, sadly, were not aware of until their passing. Park Cities School of Music hopes to do nothing more than say, “These men and women provided entertainment. They provided inspiration, direction, and were thought-provoking. In death, as in life, these men and women left a mark on the world with their art, regardless if their art is not to everyone’s liking.”

Jeff Hanneman – Slayer (rhythm/lead guitar; mature themes, discretion advised)

Richie Havens

Patti Page

Mindy McCready

Alvin Lee – Ten Years After

Van Cliburn

Patty Andrews – The Andrews Sisters

George Jones

Chi Cheng – Deftones (bass)

Ray Manzarek – The Doors

 

PCSoM April 2013 Newsletter

April 2013 Newsletter www.parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com (214) 455-1477

Summer Camp Enrollment Still Open!

It’s SUMMER CAMP season! PCSoM has you covered. Enrollment is still available, with many discounts available. Here’s our Summer Camp website link (
http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information
) for more info.

photo credit: http://www.solutions-inc.co.uk/images/stories/john/student%20discount%20price%20ticket.jpg

JUST IN! CURRENT PCSoM FAMILIES RECEIVE A 5% DISCOUNT ON SUMMER CAMP ENROLLMENT!

PCSoM Summer Camps: NOT JUST FOR LITTLE KIDS!

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We offer a ton of great things for your little ones. Still, PCSoM wants to emphasize that we have camps for older children. Whether it’s the aspiring singer (“Voices on Stage” camp), the dedicated rocker (“Rock Band” camp), or the cerebral singer/pianist/songwriter (“Sing & Play” camp), our camps aim to cover nearly all bases and tastes! Summer camp is a great experience, and one that we believe has its place in your “tween’s” life!

Spring Semester Dates to Remember

 * May 20/21, 2013 SPRING RECITAL (5:30pm & 7pm each day)

* May 23, 2013 END OF SEMESTER

* June 3, 2013 START OF SUMMER SESSION AND CAMPS

 

 PCSoM Prepares for Spring Recitals

photo credit: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fUzorZk31Ss/Sw_G8oU1sSI/AAAAAAAAEpI/hrJiIFOZgd8/s1600/Schroeder+Playing.jpg

Our spring recital will be held May 20 & 21, 2013 at Preston Road Church of Christ. Each day will have (2) recital times, 5:30pm & 7pm. There is a $15 recital fee that will be added to your May invoice. It is important that all families finalize which DAY & TIME they want for the recital by May 5, 2013. It is also important to note that this recital is SUNDAY DRESS. This is a formal event, and we want out kiddos looking their finest!

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

photo credit: http://www.bymsmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Should-You-Be-Practicing-Right-Now.png

With recitals around the corner, PCSoM wants to emphasize the importance of practice. It’s funny to think that practice falls through the cracks of everyday life. Sure, there is school and extracurricular sports that are really important. It seems so natural do as much as possible for these parts of our life, yet music lessons are seen more as a hobby, or “just something else I do.” Practice can be tough to get excited about, but it makes a difference. Taking time to be the best you can be seems like the thing to do when you realize that you’ve been taking lessons for months, right? Take a few minutes a day to “fine tune” your skills; you may just get a bigger kick out of it than you think!

Lessons Available All Summer at PCSoM

photo credit: http://www.cube-shanghai.com/public/we_are_open.jpg

Yes, we are open! Summer is usually a time when many music schools take a break, but PCSoM stays rocking through the summer months! Call us for more information on teacher availability, or if you’re already a student, check with your teacher to see if scheduling will be different for the summer months! J

As we noted earlier, our spring semester ends May 23, 2013, so there are still (2) days left AFTER the recital. Our summer session starts JUNE 3, 2013, but instructors will still be having lessons (just be sure to touch base with your teacher for her/his availability).

FOLLOW US FOR UPDATES ON ALL THINGS PARK CITIES SCHOOL OF MUSIC:

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ParkCitiesSchoolOfMusic

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/PkCsSchoolMusic

WordPress Blog:
https://musicatyourhouse.wordpress.com/

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PkCitiesSchoolMusic

Summer Camp Enrollment Still Open at PCSoM!!!

photo credit: http://sjsonline.org/images/Kids-Summer.jpg

Hey, everyone! Our studio wants to be sure that the word is still getting around that enrollment for our summer camps is still open. We have camps that are available all summer, starting the first week of June 2013 on through the middle of August 2013. Part of the philosophy behind our camps is that we wanted to provide as wide an array of activities and concentrations for families as possible so that everyone could find something that they really liked. We also felt it was necessary to be sure to target as many age-groups as possible; after all, no one wants to get left behind when the fun is going down! Moreover, Park Cities School of Music took time over the last year to hear from past campers and all of the families that we have in our fold, trying to use their positive and negative feedback to strengthen our camp curriculum. The best part, though — we added a few more camps that families thought would be great additions (for instance, can anyone say ROCK?!?).

Here is a link to our website for camp info and enrollment/registration, as well as links citing the benefits of summer music camps. As always, Park Cities School of Music thanks all of its families, followers, and well-wishers for everything you do to make us a success. See you this summer!

http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information

http://www.camppage.com/articles/five-benefits-to-sending-your-kids-to-music-summer-camps-or-arts-summer-camps&c=2

http://www.bhg.com/health-family/activities/seasonal/the-benefits-of-summer-camp/

PCSoM Summer 2013 Music Camps

For those of you still looking to find quality camps for your little ones, look no further than Park Cities School of Music! We are proud to offer camps that cover a wide range of interests and age groups, all the while providing excellent music education in a fun, lively manner. Check out all of our offerings, and please do not hesitate in touching base with our studio for more information. Thanks for your continued support, and best wishes on the home-stretch of the school year!!!

http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information

Here are looks at the latest camps to be added to our offerings! Our studio will certainly be rocking!

 

 

 

 

Music and Education — The Connection

photo credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v_iR42Ladcs/UO2FmzT0xRI/AAAAAAAAIb8/LzWq50xXtrQ/s1600/15211_01-ph20040503_461v3_wide-88adbbc29362d067d4eb7228ac2adf4d04e55b86.jpg

Let’s be honest. When you read an article title such as the one above, your eyes not only roll back and question the validity of the individual writing the article and they also tend to scan the archives of the blog at hand, signaling to the brain that it’s time to return to the general search engine lottery game that plagues our Internet-heavy world. Well, worry not, followers and visitors! This entry is one that highlights one of the most pure amalgamations of music and education ever brought forth into existence — SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!

How many of us didn’t spend our formidable years during the 1970s and 1980s wasting Saturday mornings on cartoons (it’s amazing that the ACME Company was never sued or put out of business by faulty gadgets, huh?!?)? Moreover, between the voice talents of Mel Blanc and other animated genius, there were sprinklings of something that almost resembled school — almost. Schoolhouse Rock! was a brilliant program that catered to the inherently small attention spans of children, as well as their innate nature to get up and dance, and brought forth an entertaining mix of hip music (don’t deny that it’s hip) and material from every subject at school. Science, history, math, English/Language Arts, it was all there, and in a way that made your crabby, old teachers seem even less cool.

Sure, I think there are times when we look back and think, ‘Really? Cartoon characters with bell-bottoms?’ Still, the execution was astounding and thought-provoking. Talk to anyone over the age of 30 and ask them about Schoolhouse Rocks, and you’re almost guaranteed at least one bold individual will start chugging their arms at their sides and start belting out, “Conjunction Junction/What’s your function?” Maybe they’ll crinkle up their face into a somber expression and start whining out, “I’m just a bill.”

So, sit back and watch some of the best that Schoolhouse Rock! has to offer, and feel free to let us know if we missed anything. Also, take a look at some of the hyper-linked articles that note the continued significance of a forty-year-old show. Enjoy, everyone!

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2013/04/06/boston-children-theatre-puts-schoolhouse-rock-onstage/wYWo0sMXPGjl5viB4hosaO/story.html

http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/05/04/key_votes/

http://edf.stanford.edu/readings/when-%E2%80%98rock%E2%80%99-schooled-us

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/06/168699556/the-voice-of-schoolhouse-rock-on-the-series-at-40

“Shot Heard ‘Round the World”

“I’m Just a Bill”

“Conjunction Junction”

“Energy Blues”

“Electricity”

“Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla”

UPDATED SUMMER 2013 CAMPS…CHECK THEM OUT!!!

photo credit: http://www.cflparents.org/information/resources/SummerCmp.jpg

Hey, everyone! It seems like it has been way too long since we touched base with our WordPress family of followers, well-wishers, friendly acquaintances, and casual visitors. Nonetheless, we want to be sure that we are touching base with everyone about our Summer 2013 offerings. You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened! PCSoM has added three (3) new camps (see pics below) to cater “to the masses,” so to speak. Check out our website for more information on these camps, as well as a fast-track way to enrollment for your little ones! It’s almost the end of the school year!!! Let Park Cities School of Music be the place for your child(ren)’s music edu-tainment (pretty nifty wordplay, huh?!?)!

http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information

UPDATED Camp Details

UPDATED Camp Calendar Page 1

UPDATED Camp Calendar Page 2

 

PCSoM March 2013 Newsletter

March 2013 Newsletter www.parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com (214) 455-1477

UPPA Spring Market ROCKED!!!

Park Cities School of Music served as the Live Entertainment sponsor for the University Park Preschool Association’s 13^th annual Spring Market on March 20, 2013.

Festivities ran from 10am to 7pm, giving the community an entire day to check out a wonderful collection of vendors, exhibitors, artists, restaurants, and, of course, UP Elementary, its facilities, and the wonderful student body! PCSoM was thrilled to engage the audience in the late morning, as well as at pick-up time, showcasing the talents of instructors, but also the talent of our students. UP Elem. students and their families participated in musical games, dancing, sing-a-longs, and above all else, had a fun time interacting with our studio. We can’t thank UPPA enough for giving us the opportunity to work with them on such a vital event in their calendar! For more pictures, check out our Google+ album:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107552979256549860952/albums/5858237328006503665

Spring Break Voice Camp: Fun Times!

photo credit: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ODYkr0vTNXc/UGjXyoit4XI/AAAAAAAAAe0/4_k6z0LEIYk/s759/singing-kids.gif

PCSoM hosted a Spring Break Voice Camp, March 11-15, 2013. Vocal instructor, Deborah Ivey, served as camp leader, and we couldn’t have had a better time! Our campers were lively and spirited, making the week go by really fast.

The end of camp culminated in a performance by the campers for family and friends. Check it out on our studio’s website (and check out our summer camp info, too):
http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information

PCSoM Offers a Few More Summer Camps

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Our summer camp offerings have been expanded:

1) An additional “Voices on Stage” camp for kids 5-8yrs. old, June 17-21, 10am-12pm (limit 10)

2) Beginner Guitar camp for kids 7-10 yrs. old, June 24-28, 1-3pm

3) Rock Band camp for kids 10+ yrs. old, July 22-26, 1-3pm; kids need at least (1) year of lessons under their belt.

Summer Camp Enrollment Still Open!

It’s SUMMER CAMP season! PCSoM has you covered, with camps offered June 3 through August 16, 2013. Enrollment is still available, with family and referral discounts available. Hop on over to our Summer Camp website link (
http://parkcitiesschoolofmusic.com/2013-music-summer-camps-information
) for more info on what we have to offer.

Spring Semester Dates to Remember

photo credit: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zVdLBSack0o/ULOQ6ziWnwI/AAAAAAAAAAk/WujBJrwjQbQ/s1600/calendar.jpg

We wanted to make everyone aware of important dates for your calendar:

* May 20/21, 2013 SPRING RECITAL (5:30pm & 7pm each day)

* May 23, 2013 END OF SEMESTER

* June 3, 2013 START OF SUMMER SESSION AND CAMPS

Important Info for Summer Lessons

As the summer season approaches, it will be very important to keep in contact with your instructors. Our studio has become more & more popular during the last school year, and as such, our instructors have students in waiting. Summer is a time when families take extended breaks from lessons or stop for the summer altogether. In order for our instructors to maintain a steady schedule of lessons, instructors will be instituting a required number of lessons during the summer in order for your family to guarantee a spot for Fall 2013. Otherwise, your spot will be filled with another student(s).

The required lessons do not have to be consecutive, but this does help fill in the often significant gaps in a lesson schedule, a time when teachers lose 80-90% of their students for the entire summer. Contact your instructor for more information on this policy.

PCSoM Wishes Everyone a Happy Easter!!!

photo credit: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m-KMEUd9Bro/T4Fe1WgNH1I/AAAAAAAAD-w/Tu1Te0UV5cc/s1600/flag8889.jpg

FOLLOW US FOR UPDATES ON ALL THINGS PARK CITIES SCHOOL OF MUSIC:

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ParkCitiesSchoolOfMusic

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/PkCsSchoolMusic

WordPress Blog:
https://musicatyourhouse.wordpress.com/

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PkCitiesSchoolMusic

PCSoM Faculty Concert/Recital Performances

photo credit: http://www.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/Chris-Griffin-Rocking-Out-psd7218.png

Even though we have been posting our faculty’s performances on our Facebook account, we wanted to be sure to touch base with our followers and first time visitors! Please enjoy and take a look at our YouTube channel (
http://www.youtube.com/user/PkCitiesSchoolMusic
)! Performances includes pieces from Chopin, Mozart, Puccini, Liszt, John Williams, and others.