I can’t believe the summer is almost here!Some exciting events happening in the music studio. I had 7 students participate in the Piano Guild Auditions last weekend and all students received Superior Plus ratings in their playing!
We had 2 State level auditions (5 memorized pieces scales and chords/cadences), 1 National level audition (7 memorized piano pieces with scales, cadences, and arpeggios), and 4 International level auditions (11 memorized piano pieces, scales, cadences, arpeggios, and ear training! I am one super proud music teacher!

Sunday afternoon, May 22 at 3pm, the music studio will be holding its Spring Music Recital at Kennesaw State University in one of the concert halls. You are invited to join us to celebrate these young musicians and all their hard work this academic school year!

​The NFMC Festivals Program is designed to give Junior (age 18 and younger) the opportunity to perform and receive a yearly evaluation in a non-competitive environment. Participation in NFMC Festivals promotes music study, stimulates interest in the musical literature of both the USA and the world, and encourages each participant to reach a high standard of musical achievement

Dr. Thomas-Lee currently offers festival participation for the Piano Solo Event, Piano Duet Event, Piano Concerto Event, Music Composition, and Music Theory Event.                                                                                                                                                                            
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?                                                                Piano Solo Event requires each student to memorize and perform 2 pieces for the judge.  One piece must be selected from the list of American compositions provided by NFMC, and the second piece is chosen by the teacher and student and must be of the same difficulty level.  
Piano Duet Event requires a duet team to play two pieces for comments and a rating.   One piece must be selected from the list of American compositions provided by NFMC, and the second piece is chosen by the teacher and student and must be of  the same difficulty level. Memorization is not required.                                              
Piano Concerto Event, each student must memorize and perform ONE Concerto Movement from NFMC Approved Concertos to perform in a closed audition with the judge.                  
Music Theory Event requires students to prepare and take a theory test on Festival day.  Scoring a 90% or better on the test equates to a Superior Rating 
Junior Composer Event requires electronic submission of a student’s composition in addition to performance link.

HOW WILL MY CHILD BE RATED?  The judge will have a judging sheet to use for the evaluation. On the sheet, the judge will provide written feedback along with the student's rating.  Each rating is worth points, and the points are as follows:                                                                                       Superior = 5 points,                                                                                             Excellent = 4 points,           
           Satisfactory = 3 points,                                       
           Fair = 2 points,                                                                                                     Needs Improvement = 1 point
Students earn trophies for every 15 points that they receive. The quickest way to earn a trophy is to receive a Superior rating 3 years in a row. This is a terrific opportunity for students to learn how to follow through on a long-term goal, and they look forward to it! Students who don't earn Superiors can still earn trophies, it may just take an extra year or two. The trophies become larger with the number of points. I've seen students earn 45 and 60 point cups which means they participated a minimum of 9-12 years! Quite an accomplishment!    
   
WHY I BELIEVE IN FESTIVAL PARTICIPATION: I've seen time after time over the course of several years a great excitement and motivation that the Festival Program provides for students. My experience has been that students who participate in this event look forward to it each year, especially as they strive to earn trophies. It gives students a wonderful sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. Because of the way the program is designed, students are encouraged to move to more difficult levels each year to ensure that they are making musical progress. For parents and teachers, the festival provides a measurement of how the students are doing in lessons based on a national standard. Receiving constructive feedback from an industry expert is such a valuable opportunity for both musical growth and life skills!                                                                                                                       

With the Covid19 still looming, our Christmas Recital was a zooming one!  However, these students rocked it out!  Again...
Every student played three pieces from memory!  I love for students to learn as many holiday songs as possible, as this gives them an opportunity to play for their friends and family over the holiday break!! Merry Christmas and HAppy New Year!!