'African Dance' by Oliver

This term, the piano concert will again be taking place at All Saint’s Church, Hoole on Saturday 13th March, 2010 starting at 2pm.

We will be supporting the recently formed ‘Friends of Kampala Music School‘ to further sponsor an African piano student, suggested donations of £3 per audience member.

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The 9th Edition of my piano teaching newsletter has been published and will be distributed at lessons over the next couple of weeks. If you cannot wait until then, the print edition of the newsletter should be visible below:
Piano Tuition Newsletter – January 2010

The words are by the American, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The composition came about late in 2008 as a result of an annual competition organised by The Longfellow Chorus promoting the poetry of their founder. Graeme Hopson, the composer of this setting was a finalist in the competition with this work.

The score is available direct from the composer or from SibeliusMusic.com

The snowfall motif in the piano accompaniment delicately flutters throughout the snowflakes’ journey described in the lyrics until the ‘troubled sky reveals the grief it feels’. The harmony takes an anguished turn at this point as the heart rate of the choir members increases whilst the parts get a little more challenging to pitch! Effervescent tranquillity returns along with the carefree snowflake motif as the third verse draws to a close with whispered revelations to wood and field.

Exam results have arrived and I’m pleased to say that I’ll have certificates to present at the next concert. Well done to all the students who took exams this time as everyone passed (two with merits). It is also time to announce the top piano points results for the Winter Term 2009:

1. Mollie from St. Oswald’s – 49 points
2. Laura from St. Oswald’s – 46 points
3. Alice and Charlie from Tattenhall Park – 45 points

Over half of my students have achieved the target number of points required so will be received a certificate at the beginning of next term.

Many thanks for all the cards, presents and good wishes. Have a great holiday and keep up the practise. Lessons start again on the week beginning Monday 4th January unless otherwise arranged.

The concert went very nicely on Saturday raising a healthy sum for CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA. If you didn’t get a chance to make a donation then it is still possible to do so online and add to the total. Clicking on the banner to the left of the website will take you straight to the on-line donation page.

Five students were presented with certificates for recent ABRSM exam successes and Alice received the piano points cup which she gets to keep until the next concert. As I mentioned at the concert, the piano points results for this term will be published on Sunday 20th December.

If you have media from the concert (photos or video) that you would like to share then please feel free to add them to the facebook event page for the concert. I have uploaded audio recordings of all the performances but not added them to the gallery this time. Email me if you would like a link to hear your performance again.

This term, the concert will be supporting ‘Children with Leukaemia’. They are the UK’s leading charity, inaugurated by Diana, Princess of Wales and dedicated to fighting Britain’s biggest childhood cancer. There are no tickets for the concert but a donation of £3 per audience member towards the charity is suggested and will be collected before or after the concert.