Tag: pedagogy

LHS Young Musicians Shine!

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We’re thrilled for everyone’s amazing performances this past Saturday at the LHS Evening of Chamber Music at the Virtuosi of Houston Studio! From Seitz to Lalo to Brahms (with a little bit of Twinkle!), LHS musicians performed both solo works and ensemble favorites.

As this semester comes to an end, we’re so excited to reflect on the leadership we’ve seen from LHS young musicians. From concertmaster solos (Jessica, Lizzie!) to principal viola solos (Jordan, Anika!), from coaching younger orchestras (Olivia, Jordan!) to leading ensemble performances in the community (Sugar Strings!), from being first chair (Morgan, Jessica, Jordan, Anika, Lizzie, Amanda, Christian…we’re surely missing a few young musicians in this list, let us know!), to performing in the Houston Youth Symphony (Christian, Archana, Catherine, Elizabeth!) from making region (LHS violinists/violists in ALL FOUR region orchestras!) to teaching lessons themselves (Molly, Lauren!), we have seen everyone grow tremendously.

This week, we send lots of luck to Seline (violin) and Dhruv (viola). Both are traveling to Chicago this week as members of the top orchestra at Austin HS. Dhruv and Seline will be performing in their orchestra at the Midwest Clinic. Have fun, guys!

Smile, everyone! Photo by Karen Needham
Amber (left) and Emily (Photo by Karen Needham)
Cheers! Photo by Karen Yang. Catherine (left) and Lizzie with Ms. Haley and Ms. Lam

Kids Aren’t Lazy Now Available from Johnson String Instrument!

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We’re thrilled to announce that Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music is now available from Johnson String Instrument! It’s a huge honor to partner with Johnson String Instrument, one of the nation’s most respected sources for string instruments, sheet music, instrument repairs, and accessories. We’re excited to hear how JSI families pursue strategies from Kids Aren’t Lazy in their quests for musical excellence!

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Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music (Photo: Albertine Wang)

 

Kids Aren’t Lazy Reaches #1 Best Seller and Takes the #1 New Release Spot in TEN Amazon Categories!

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We’re absolutely thrilled to post that on its second day of sales, Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music (PDP, 2018) became a #1 Best Seller (see below) and reached the #1 New Release spot in TEN Amazon categories, including Music Instruction & Study, Psychology Education & Training, Gifted Students Education, Parent Participation in Education, Education Research, String Instruments, Baby & Toddler Parenting, Musical Instruments, Violins, and Music Techniques.

If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, here’s a link! Kids Aren’t Lazy on Amazon.com: http://a.co/0braSwH Processed with VSCO with av4 preset

 

Best Sellers Rank

 

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Juilliard Symposium – Kurt Sassmannshaus

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Hello, all!

As summer winds down, I’ve been reflecting on my favorite topics from Juilliard’s Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies. Kurt Sassmannshaus presented two dynamite pedagogy classes on technique, but his advice on practicing is what I’d like to discuss today.

The most frequent question I’m asked by parents is how they can help their children grow to be independent thinkers who practice effectively on their own. Parents worry that if they guide their children’s practice, their children will become dependent. However, the largest advantage Suzuki offers his followers is the positive and constant relationship between the student, parent, and violin.

Thinking of the families in my studio, I asked pedagogy expert Kurt Sassmannshaus (Dorothy Richard Starling Chair for Classical Violin at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) how long he prefers parents to continue practicing with their children. “Until age 25!” he joked.

Kurt Sassmannshaus and Lauren Haley at Juilliard's 2015 Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies
Kurt Sassmannshaus and Lauren Haley at Juilliard’s 2015 Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies

“The involvement of the parent is synonymous with talent.” Sassmannshaus confirmed. He mandates that parents be present and engaged for 100% of all practicing and lessons, insisting that one parent or caregiver must work with the student for 30 minutes each day or there will be no admittance to his studio. Affirming this incredible dedication of parents to their children, he reminded everyone that “there’s never a question of unconditional love.”

Kurt Sassmannshaus’s website, violinmasterclass.com, is an excellent resource for those seeking advice on technique, videos, lessons, musicality, and pedagogy.

All opinions are by Lauren Haley and all original content is copyright 2015 Lauren Haley Studios.

Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies, part 1

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Hello, all!

I’m so happy to be back in town after an absolutely brilliant week at Juilliard’s Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies. It’ll certainly take more than one post to pass along the wisdom shared by so many great violinists and colleagues, so let’s start off with one of my favorite events — Sarah Chang’s master class.

To begin the week, world-renowned soloist Sarah Chang offered not just her expert violinistic advice on major repertoire, but a prime example of positive teaching at the highest possible level. She frequently used questions to help students identify their individual musical intentions for each phrase, thereby giving students the confidence to present their own artistic interpretations with conviction. Meanwhile, her upbeat encouragement, quick humor, intelligent teaching process, and warm smile made her master class both a tutorial on technique and musicality as well as one on how to inspire your audience!

In talking about her own legendary teacher, the incomparable Dorothy Delay, Sarah Chang mentioned the importance of making disciplined learning fun. As one of the most skilled child prodigies in musical history, Sarah Chang still confessed to having watched an hour of TV after school every day — “Saved By the Bell!”

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With Sarah Chang!