Leanne's Studio

A big thank you to local violinist extraordinaire Ewald Cheung who gave a lesson to one of my students who is working on this piece. Thanks for sharing your insight, tips, talent, and inspiration!! And here's a treat for the rest of us too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I19cti7Fwhk

Scaffolding, pre-exposure, and activating prior knowledge are a huge part of the Suzuki approach, so it is really interesting to read more about these ideas! I love pre-exposing students to upcoming skills, pieces, and concepts in group class. We also use that concept in individual lessons for new pieces- beginning with a small snippet which introduces a new skill, mastering that, then learning the rest of the piece. "Pre-Exposure happens with long-term advance notice. It is teaching snippets of content and skills days, weeks, months or even years before accountability. It is otherwise known as building background knowledge. Spiral curriculums or purposeful scaffolding take advantage of this powerful tool."

It's been a tough few days getting back into the practice routine with my own kiddo after spring break (we definitely did NOT practice every day...). So, out came the Easter basket for a practice popsicle stick hunt! She had a turn hiding them for me too, of course. What are your best ways to get back into the practice routine after some time off?

It's officially spring, so why not usher in the season with a performance by local musicians and Early Music Alberta? Here is "Primavera" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", which was part of their festival a few years ago. Featuring violin soloist Laura Veeze. https://youtu.be/QrSyPc0Dxfg

This is a great article about a phenomenal violinist, Ginger Smock, who is being (re)discovered. I love the recording of "Ginger's Boogie" near the end of the article - what articulation, swing, and style!! "One of the first women to record hot jazz improvisations on the violin, and one of the first female African American bandleaders on television, her horn-like solos and dramatic stage presence electrified audiences across the country."

Congratulations to all our students who performed in our Term 2 online recital this afternoon! Wonderful playing!Congratulations to all our students who performed in our Term 2 online recital this afternoon! Wonderful playing!

A great article for parents, including useful tips for practicing at home!

Happy International Women's Day! Please enjoy this gorgeous performance of local musicians Sarah Ho and Virginie Gagné playing "Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23" by American composer Amy Beach. https://youtu.be/hUwi2sjLMeY

We attempted the Ling Ling Workout in this morning's online violin Group Class D. A great and hilarious way to see just how well we know our pieces!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsnIoFXrt0&t=188s Reference, from Wikipedia: "TwoSet Violin is a comedy duo consisting of Australian violinists Brett Yang and Eddy Chen. The pair are best known for their musical comedy on their YouTube channel.... In 2017, TwoSet Violin made a comedic reference to Ling Ling, a fictional violinist who "practices 40 hours a day". In an interview with Yle Uutiset, they described Ling Ling as the final boss of a video game: the Chuck Norris of violinists. In 2018, they released a series of videos called the Ling Ling Workout. In these challenges, the duo draws a classical piece (or contemporary music) and a handicap such as playing with double speed, scordatura, playing while dancing or hula hooping, with hand positions reversed, or while upside down. Prominent violinists such as Ray Chen, Ziyu He, and Hilary Hahn have also attempted the challenge on their channel." See more

Friday Funnies!

Happy birthday to composer Frederic Chopin! In my other life as a performer, I have the privilege to play with the Obsessions Octet. To celebrate, please enjoy our rendition of Chopin's Prelude in e minor (with a hip hop beat, naturally)! https://m.soundcloud.com/user/chopin-preludio-in-e-minor-op

#ThrowbackThursday to last May, when a few of our students and families performed a short outdoor concert at McQueen Place Lodge. This was after 2 months of lockdown, so the chance to connect with music was very moving and meaningful for all of us!

Local Spotlight Our Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has released their new ESO Virtual Stage - a digital subscription featuring new, exclusive virtual content! There are some great string/ violin performances included at the moment, with more to come! Supporting local is so important, especially right now. This is definitely worth checking out! https://www.winspearcentre.com/virtual/eso-virtual-stage/