Hello everyone! It’s a huge privilege to be featured by my alma mater in “20 Outstanding Eastman Women for 2020.” I’m absolutely inspired and grateful to be featured next to musicians I so deeply admire! And yes, I just about dropped my phone when I saw the article, it was a wonderful surprise! Mobile users, click through to your browser to access links and photos. Check out the article on Eastman’s home page here, and tune in to a recent Eastman video about Kids Aren’t Lazy here. Wishing you all a safe and musical spring break with your families!
Hello everyone! I’m sure you have seen a few scary reports regarding this year’s aggressive flu season and now the new coronavirus. I’m happy to reassure everyone that we currently plan to move forward with our exciting spring schedule, including the March 21st studio recital.
It’s important to keep our cozy studio safe for everyone.LHS policy is conduct classes via FaceTime when a student is coughing, sneezing, or otherwise ill. Family members experiencing symptoms are asked to stay home or wait outside. The Sugar Land Art Center & Gallery will be making a similar announcement regarding all artist classes — group and individual — this week.
The close interactions between teachers, students, and parents mean it’s crucial to emphasize appropriate hygiene, including hand-washing before every class. All studio families will appreciate knowing that the family here before them didn’t leave any germs behind! 😉 After all, we never know when an illness that presents as a mild cold for some will be dangerous for others.
Students who come to class with symptoms like cough, sneezes, congestion, stomach upset, or fever will be sent home immediately. This policy is in place to protect all studio families and will be strictly enforced. To take advantage of your full lesson time, notify Ms. Haley as soon as possible and plan to do the class via FaceTime.
I’m proud of our mutual effort to maintain a safe studio space together. LHS young musicians and families can celebrate our emphasis on health by engaging in frequent hand-washing and good sleep routines at home.
Photo credit: Dr. Lisa Caravan. Shared with permission.
Last week was so full of teaching inspiration! It was a dream come true to speak about pedagogy with string performance students at the Eastman School of Music (mobile users, click through to your browser to view the photos). Eastman’s performance majors (both graduate and undergrad students) already had so much insight into teaching and it was such a privilege to spend time with them! Many thanks to Dr. Lisa Caravan and Eastman’s Music Teaching & Learning Department for sponsoring my visit. It was especially exciting to hear that Dr. Caravan and her students headed to ROCMusic to teach immediately following our class together! If you haven’t heard of ROCMusic, click this link and check it out!
It was incredible to speak with musicians, professors, administrators, and teachers before and after the lecture. One band director introduced herself to me before the lecture and mentioned that she has been teaching band for 34 years. Of course, my immediate thought was, “my goodness, I’d love to listen to YOU here tonight too!”
One thing that brings us together as teachers (regardless of whether we teach middle-school brass, conservatory violin, or collegiate physics!) is that deepening our understanding of Growth Obstacles (musical, technical, or academic challenges that, given appropriately, spur development) and Hindrance Obstacles (matters of circumstance that stall progress and strike students unevenly) helps students reach their highest goals. Last week really lit a fire under me to continue collaborating with performers, educators, and administrators in support of students and their families!
There is the distinct feeling that Rochester is full of possibilities for becoming Ever Better. And yes, I’ll be carrying that spirit with me back to my Houston lessons! Together, we are persistent and resilient in our pursuit of self-betterment through collaboration, literature, music, theater, science, medicine, technology, and history.
Many thanks to Dean Mary Ann Mavrinac (vice provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of the University of Rochester Libraries), Ashlee Huff, and Matt Cook for arranging this visit, and to the River Campus Libraries for hosting my trip.
PS — How fitting that on the day of the lecture, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performed for Rochester public school students! Note the school bus parked right by Eastman. 😉 When children see artistic paths and possibilities, it furthers their own voices and artistic potential. And yes, if you look closely, you’ll see that Eastman’s crosswalk features piano keys!
Dr. Kathleen Baynes, Lauren Haley, and Herbert Smith at WXXI Photo credit: Robert J. Braden
As you’ll hear in our conversation, Herb’s enthusiasm for music bubbles over into literally EVERYTHING he says. Listening to Herb, you’ll definitely have an extra spring in your step when you head into the practice room! I would totally have been a trumpet player had Herb been my teacher. Come to think of it, maybe it’s not too late!
Dr. Kathleen Baynes’ warmth and her emphasis on helping families develop self-esteem and soft skills in young musicians made we want to reach across the table to give her a high-five every time she spoke. Y’all, I learned so much and just KNOW I’ll be quoting Dr. Baynes going forward! PS — She has two young musicians (ages 8 and 10) at home!
Many thanks to Dean Mary Ann Mavrinac (Vice Provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of the University of Rochester Libraries), Ashlee Huff, and Matt Cook at the UR, to Evan Dawson and Megan Mack at WXXI, and to Hebert Smith and Dr. Kathleen Baynes. Photo credit: Robert J. Braden
MS Region auditions are just around the corner and we’re so excited to give everyone an extra boost. We’ll be offering the FBISD Region 13 MS etude and scale performances and tutorials on violin and cello for 50% off this week only! Click HERE to access the videos through the LHS Vimeo site! Young musicians can rent the videos to rewatch at home an UNLIMITED number of times before Region auditions on November 2nd and 3rd.
LHS is thrilled to collaborate with cellist Mark Yee to create exceptional cello tutorials and performances for this year’s audition material! You can read all about Mark, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music (B.M., Cello Performance) and Eastman School of Music (M.M. and Performer’s Certificate) at this link.
Best of luck to everyone for fabulous auditions again this year! Be sure to follow @LaurenHaleyStudios on Instagram for audition tips and to keep up with the latest studio news!
It’s finally fall and that means we have all sorts of happy news to share!
Congratulations to Jordan (viola), Elizabeth (violin), and Catherine (violin) for their acceptance letters to Virtuosi of Houston! We’re so proud of their audition success!
This past weekend, Ms. Haley flew to Rochester to speak for the Rochester Cello Society at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance. Many thanks to Hochstein for the Recital Hall and to Sandra Halleran and the RCS for hosting! While in town, it was amazing to reunite with Eastman mentors and colleagues and to celebrate Sarah C. Mangelsdorf’s inauguration as the UR’s 11th president! MELIORA!
One happy surprise was discovering this Eastman IML poster by the Sibley Music Library elevator. So neat! (Many thanks to Anna Schlia for the heads up!)
In other news, all three parts for Applause to the Musician’s series with Ms. Haley have been released! Watch the videos and subscribe to Applause to the Musician HERE.
Remember to follow @LAURENHALEYSTUDIOS on Instagram to keep up with the latest studio news!
It’s an honor to share this month’s Eastman IML Spotlight interview! Mobile users, click through to your browser to follow this link and read about balancing performance and education, advice to aspiring writers, and the inspiration behind Kids Aren’t Lazy!
So much of Eastman is reflected in Kids Aren’t Lazy and in my own studio. I was fortunate to belong to three ESM studios: Phillip Ying’s, Zvi Zeitlin’s, and Oleh Krysa’s. Phillip Ying shared with me the joy of chamber music. Zvi Zeitlin saw more potential in me than I saw in myself and invested so much in my development as a violinist. I will always be grateful for his determination. Oleh Krysa leads a studio full of kindness, friendship, and musical excellence, all while covering so much incredible repertoire! I also had a fabulous mentor at the University of Rochester, Russell Peck. I took every English class he offered while I was studying at Eastman. He and his wife, Ruth Peck (a pianist) showed me that music and academics (writing, especially!) are hugely synergistic.
Ms. Haley as quoted in the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership (IML) Spotlight
Congratulations to Ryder J., who this week won a spot in the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra! Ryder is a freshman at Travis HS and will join LHS violinist Anna M. in performing with the FBSO in their upcoming Russian Fireworks concert on Sunday, October 6th at 2pm. Works will include Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #2, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture, and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain. We are exceptionally proud of Ryder’s musicianship, dedication, and awesome speedy progress over the past two years! Way to go, Ryder!
