What a great year it has been so far! Now that we're approaching the busy holiday season, I'd like to remind you of a few things as far as my policies go.
I know that in December lots of events come up and make it so you can't make it to your scheduled lesson time. Please call me as soon as you know you can't make it so we can try to schedule a make-up lesson. If there is no time to make it up, I will take the missed lesson off of January's payment. However, if I don't receive a phone call (or text message) before lesson time, I don't give a refund. Also, if you are running late but still planning on coming to your lesson, please call or text. If it's 15 minutes into a scheduled lesson and nobody is there, I may leave for the day.
December also means it's time to start getting things ready for music festival! Southern Utah String Festival this year is on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012. I encourage all my students up to age 18 to participate in this festival. You get to memorize two songs and perform them for a panel of judges (who are teachers like me) with an accompanist. The judges will give you comments about things you do well in your performance, and offer some pointers on how to improve you playing. They also give you a rating (superior, excellent, very good, or good). You earn points for these ratings, and once you earn enough points you receive a gold cup. College scholarships are offered to students who earn at least one gold cup before graduating high school.
Forms for this festival are due on Friday, December 17. It does cost $10 per student to enter. If you are interested in participating, you may include the $10 in your December payment and I will write one check for all my students. It is important that you find an accompanist- students whose forms don't have an accompanist's name written down will not be scheduled. For more information about this festival, go to http://southernutahstringfestival.org/
The Orchestra of Southern Utah will be performing Handel's "The Messiah" on Sunday, December 11 and Monday, December 12 at 7:30 PM at the Heritage Theatre. Admission to this concert is FREE thanks to State Bank of Southern Utah and The Leavitt Group. I would highly recommend attending this concert. I perform in several concerts every year, but this one is always my favorite. The music is truly amazing!
That's all for this post. If you ever have questions, feel free to call, text or e-mail me.
