MTNA Composition Competition
Monday, September 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
Congratulations to Dawson Dynek, Zander Ferguson, Braydon Fujan, Sophia Lau, and Ethan Riegsecker!
They each worked hard this summer to create an original composition and are eligible to enter it into the MTNA Nebraska Composition Competition. The studio deadline is Tuesday, 15 September. Entries are done entirely online, which I will do for you.
This is a statewide competition. If you win at the state level, you will receive a cash award and your composition is forwarded to be judged at the regional level. If you win at the regional level, your piece is forwarded to be judged at the national level. If you place at the national level, there is a larger cash award, from $300 up to $2,000!
Entry fees are as follows:
Elementary:
* Age: 5–10 as of January 1, 2021
* Entry Fee: $50
Junior:
* Age: 11–14 as of January 1, 2021
* Entry Fee: $70
Senior:
* Age: 15–18 as of January 1, 2021
* Entry Fee: $100
If you are interested in entering this event, please register on the Student Portal Calendar for the event on September 16. When you register, please make a note of the title of your composition, so I make sure to enter the correct piece. Please pay the entry fee directly to me. If you prefer to pay online, please add a $5.00 convenience fee. (Students who wrote a piece during 2020 Composition Camp get $20 off their entry fee.)
Things to Do When You're Social Distancing at Home
Friday, July 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
Latest Additions here at the top:
YouTube video of where a pianist directs their eyes as they play. Very interesting! Especially when they are sight-reading instead of playing from memory, at about 2:20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVvY8KfXXgE&feature=youtu.be
Movies/Shows (listed alphabetically):
Amadeus MPAA Rating: R for brief nudity 3hours 8minutes
Parents need to know that Amadeus is a 1984 movie based on a play. There are two versions; one is rated PG and an extended version is rated R. The film includes an attempted suicide, disturbing images of mentally ill men kept chained and naked in a sanitarium, and some sexual hanky-panky.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Learn about the pipe organ with Mister Rogers. You can watch the episode free on Amazon prime video. It is from year 994 episode 3 ("Episode 1763 - Things to wear").
Summary: http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/mrn/episodes/1673/index.html
The Princess and the Frog
Animated Disney movie. Recommended by several of my students.
The Sound of Music MPAA Rating: G 2hours 55minutes
A tuneful, heartwarming story, it is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world's best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II. Julie Andrews plays the role of Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.
West Side Story MPAA Rating: G 2h 33m
This musical sets the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the rivalry of two street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, in New York of the 1950s. A young woman who is sister to the Sharks leader has her first taste of love with the former head of the Jets.
NLS Recommends for Middle Schoolers and up.
Apps:
Rhythm Solitaire by Cristian Ianculescu Apple Store only $0.99
We have played this game in the studio during Group Lessons. :-)
All kinds of free apps at this website. Probably look for them in your favorite app store.
Concerts:
https://www.liedcenter.org/events-page
The Lied Center is bringing the concert to you in your own home! There are two free Facebook Live events currently scheduled. If you missed the live view, you may be able to go back and see it. The first is Emily Bass, Friday, 27 March 7:00pm. Second one is Susan Werner, Sunday, 5 April 6:00pm.
Every Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm, NET Radio airs Nebraska Concerts. These are live concerts from the past several years. You can learn more and see the upcoming schedule at http://netnebraska.org/basic-page/radio/nebraska-concerts Listen on your radio at 91.1 FM, KUCV in Lincoln, or from their website.
Websites:
Eagles' Nest at Decorah, Iowa. Eggs have hatched! https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/
International Music Score Library Project https://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page
If you've ever been interested in playing classical music and you do not own the score, you might be able to find it here. I recently searched for a piano solo arrangement of the orchestral piece Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky and found two different versions. Even found some piano duet and piano duo arrangements! Some of the scores are downloadable for free, while others you might have to pay for, or maybe you cannot see the whole score.
Music Dictionary https://dictionary.onmusic.org/
This is the best online Music Dictionary I have seen. It is from Virginia Tech University. You can search, or just read down the lists. I’m pretty sure you’ll learn something new. I always do when I just wonder around the list. I think they always have a word of the day, too.
Word Puzzles https://www.npr.org/series/4473090/sunday-puzzle
Every Sunday morning on National Public Radio (NPR) Weekend Edition, a listener solves word puzzles presented by Will Shortz, the world’s only academically accredited puzzle master. he designed his own major program at Indiana University, which in 1974 led to his one-of-a-kind degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. The Sunday Puzzle airs on 91.1 FM, KUCV in Lincoln, usually between 9:30 and 9:45am Central time. I enjoy playing along and answering the puzzle questions. If you don’t catch it Sunday mornings, you can listen to past puzzles at this website.
YouTube video of seven family members using a grand piano in new ways to create What Makes You Beautiful. Pretty cool! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic4yWW-fRPM
My student, Zaria, has a YouTube channel. Check it out! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ShSoQZs9hBU
YouTube video of Virtual Choir performances by David Wesley. I cannot fathom what kind of technological work goes into this, but the result is outstanding. One of my favorites is A Mighty Fortress is Our God.
Search YouTube.com for Victor Borge videos. An amazing comedic musician and pianist. Many of my students have seen the “Page-Turner” here in the Studio. And I have even played his piano at the Danish-American Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa. :-)
Great Weekend for Schoen Music Studio
Monday, December 9, 2019 | Performances
Seven students played at the Heritage League Holiday of Trees and did a fantastic job. Thank you to:
Zander Ferguson
Ethan Hunt
Theo Liebgott-Osinga
Kaelyn Murtaugh
Kamryn Plock
Noah Stevens
Samuel Stevens
for sharing your music to support Lincoln Music Teachers Music Association (LMTA) Music Outreach Program (MOP). I have not yet heard how much MOP will receive from the ticket sales. Everyone played very well and focused on their playing, even when Santa burst into the room and gave a loud, “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!”
Congratulations to the six students who competed in the Southwest Iowa District Piano Auditions!
Dawson Dynek
Zander Ferguson
Maria Fix
Braydon Fujan
Ethan Hunt
Ethan Riegsecker
Dawson and Maria were declared Winners in their respective levels!
Braydon earned First Alternate in his performance level!
Ethan R earned Honorable Mention in his performance level!
Braydon, Maria, and Ethan R scored 90% or higher on the theory test, placing them on the Theory Honor Roll!
Dawson and Zander had never done this whole event before this year!
Ethan H also had never done the whole event before, and chose to not take the theory test, as it is optional for the earliest level!
I am so very proud of all of you for working so hard to prepare for the Holiday of Trees and the Iowa District Auditions!
