A pretty present for your family...

 

We have an excellent selection of holiday CDs perfect for ringing in the season! Need a hostess gift, stocking stuffer, or a gift for that hard-to-buy-for relative? Look no further- our collection of seasonal music is bound to be the perfect addition to your family's wish list! Stop by our Wexford location to enjoy 10% off our full inventory of holiday CDs at CYM. CDs will also be made available in our Sewickley location. 

Thanksgiving Break is November 23-27

This is your friendly reminder that CYM's Thanksgiving break is Tuesday, November 23rd- Saturday the 27th. Classes will resume on Monday, November 29th. Have a happy Thanksgiving and see you next week!

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  -Thornton Wilder

Parents as Partners- a Suzuki Online Series this Winter

As suggested to us by CYM parent Melanie Drake, the Suzuki Association of Americas is offering a unique learning opportunity for parents of musicians! This program would be great for any family in CYM's programs- we encourage everyone to consider this opportunity- especially families whose children are playing an instrument or preparing to play an instrument.

The Suzuki Association of Americas website describes the program as:

"Parents as Partners Online will provide participants with informative talks on various parent education and Suzuki education topics, presented over the course of 6 weeks. Video sessions are 10 to 20 minutes each; participants can access the site at any time day or night to take advantage of these informative, inspiring and concise presentations. We aim to nurture the parent side of the Suzuki triangle on such invaluable subjects as:
•Practice: building a strong parent-child relationship; managing frustration; strategies for creating a successful practice

•Repetition and Review: the whys and hows

•Balancing Busy Schedules

•Reflections and advice on the Suzuki Journey

•Managing the Teenager Years: The Road to Independence

•The Changing Role of the Parent

•The Importance of Listening

•Childhood Memories of Dr. Suzuki

•Institute Experiences: What it’s all about

•What Current Publications are saying about "Talent"

Once you’ve registered, you'll receive emails with schedule details and other information when available. Online discussions, video presentations, and special "events" are just a few of the opportunities to expect."


If any parent at CYM is interested, please comment to this post so we are able to register CYM as a group to provide access to CYM families free of charge. Also, we would love to have parents convene after the program to share thoughts and ideas about the topics covered.
Find out more information by clicking here.

Home for the Holidays season begins with the Fall Harvest Community Concert

It is that time of year again! This Saturday, November 20th, kicks off the start to CYM's 2010 Holiday Concert season with the Fall Harvest Community Concert. Join us as we celebrate the bounty of music harvested from the efforts of our students this fall. The concert features faculty members Tanya Satteson, violin, and Michelle Bitler, piano, perform Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata No. 9 Op. 47 as well as selections from members of CYM's violin, piano, and guitar departments.

The concert is held at the Wexford Community Presbyterian Church at 4:00 p.m.. See you all there!

Karolina Lagerquist Graduates from Suzuki Piano Book 7

Karolina Lagerquist smiles about her successful recital.

Congratulations to Karolina Lagerquist, above, as she graduates from the seventh and final book in the Suzuki method for piano. Her Graduation Recital was held last evening, November the 16th, in Wexford. Family and friends gathered to celebrate this important milestone for Karolina.

CYM family and friends gather after the recital for refreshments.

 Way to go, Karolina, on a job well done!

Welcome to CYM, Rochelle Agnew!

 

We want to extend a big welcome to the newest member of our staff, Ms. Rochelle Agnew! Rochelle, who hails from Lancaster, Pennsylvania is currently earning her Artist Diploma at Duquesne University in violin performance. She holds a B.M. in violin performance as well as a M.M. in violin performance from Duqeusne University, where she studied under the tutelage of Rachel Stegeman and Charles Stegeman.

Ms. Agnew is an accomplished violinist and has performed with many symphony orchestras, most notably with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Orchestra as well as serving as Duquesne Symphony Orchestra's Concertmaster this year. Ms. Agnew is an experienced violin instructor registered through Suzuki violin book two and teaches private lessons and orchestral literature to undergraduate students at Duquesne University as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She also serves as an instructor through the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society's Poco a Poco program, teaching Suzuki violin to under-privileged children at the Urban League of Pittsburgh Charter School. 

We are delighted to have Ms. Agnew join us here at CYM- she has taken the helm at CYM's Winchester Thurston strings program, and looks to expand a violin studio as well as begin teaching Early Childhood Music classes beginning in January.

CYM Violinists debut at Heinz Hall at Fiddlesticks Concert: In Review

Congratulations to our violinists who represented CYM proudly at the October 30th Fiddlesticks Concert presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. As mentioned here and here on the Take Note Blog, we are delighted to say that the experience was a marvelous one!

An exciting opportunity for violin students of all ages, CYM was invited to participate in a pre-concert performance for the Fiddlesticks concert audience as well as showcase the Young Artist violin group as a part of the Fiddlesticks concert program. The pre-concert program featured a series of twinkle variations taken from the Suzuki violin book 1 as an illustration of a student's progress from early learner to accomplished musician. Pre-concert violinists included: Ava Heinricher, Josephine Reiter, Annie Comerci, Lochlan McGinnis, Brita Lagerquist, Bernardo Vieira, Abigail Hartman. The "Bach Double" performed by CYM violinists Elsa Lagerquist, Madeline Marco Scanlon, Meredith Hudock, Haley Raphael, and Anthony Cicco. They performed as a part of the concert to demonstrate to the audience how melody is an essential component of making music.

Elsa Lagerquist, Madeline Marco Scanlon, Hayley Raphael, and Anthony Cicco under the direction of Tanya Satteson and Leah Givelber, dedicated themselves to additional practices to prepare for the big day!

Pre-concert violinists prepare for their first piece. Our performance station was one of many- audience members were encouraged to move from station to station at an allotted time to experience many different performances.

Mats were provided for children in the audience to get an up-close encounter with our musicians!

Our performers showed poise and professionalism for a constanly circulating crowd.

CYM violinists immediately following their successful performance on stage with director Lawrence Loh and the PSO!

Fiddlesticks the Cat, the PSO's Music Ambassador to Children, (and a huge celebrity among the children attending) with his friend and Mistress of Ceremonies Katy Shackleton Williams, soprano.

What a great day for our performers! Congratulations to all, and we hope to do it again soon!

CYM Ensemble Recital: In Review

Bravo to everyone who participated in this year's Ensemble Recital! We are so proud of your individual efforts that went into making the concert a memorable one. Thank you to our teachers, staff, and families for your support as we journey through a new season of musical learning. Here are some highlights from last Saturday:

These are a random sampling of the many photos taken by Burkhardt Reiter- thank you Burkhardt! Would you like to include your great photo in Take Note? Send it to info@youngmusicians.org- we would be happy to post it.

Also- discussion time! CYM Families, would you like us to upload our many photos to a Flickr account for you to access? These could be photos taken by our staff and other parents during CYM events and concerts. Leave a comment with a yay or a nay and why! Thanks for your great input! 

CYM Ensemble Recital 2010

Violin Department performs at CYM's Ensemble Recital in 2008

All friends and family of CYM students are invited to join us tomorrow, November 6th at 3:00 p.m. for our Annual Ensemble Recital held at Marshall Middle School. Groups and duets from CYM's Violin, Piano, Cello, and Guitar departments come together to showcase their musical abilities. Practice Challenge Winners will be announced, and Beginner's Bow beginning students will take their first bow on stage.

Join us for an afternoon of beautiful music and collaboration.