Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Preparing for Summer Camps
Camp Allegro Wichita 2013 and Summer Camp: Group Piano for Kids Oklahoma City, OK are the two events I will be teaching at. Camp Allegro is where I first taught piano ensemble to younger students. I was asked to teach Kinderpiano at the camp in 2011.
The idea of hosting a piano camp for young children ages (5-6 yrs) was birthed after I taught there. It was a new challenge for me. I have taught class piano to college students for many years and individual piano lessons to young children. I have also worked as a tester for Success for All and had to work with some kindergarteners on English reading. Even with all this experience, I had never attempted teaching piano to young children in a group. I was a little nervous of accepting the assignment but the camp director was confident I could handle it.
My mother runs a private kindergarten next to my home in Malaysia. She has 250 students ages 4-6 daily. I have observed her and her teaching staff for most of my life. She started the business when I was a toddler. There have been a few times when I have taught some singing there. Armed with these experiences and observations, I tackled the challenge of Kinderpiano. I knew I would have 2 classes of about 8 students each so I insisted on an assistant. :)
At the end of the camp, the students would also present in a concert. We started off the week with some singing and playing with music alphabet blocks. We learned a few songs by rote and we played together with a CD accompaniment. Children love making sounds on the piano, more aptly described as "banging very loudly" on the keys, so we had one particular piece that allowed them to do just that.
We did have a student who cried every morning but that is to be expected. As the class went on with the activities, he later joined in. By Friday, he was good and looked forward to class.
Since then, I have collected a lot more materials and game ideas for my studio. Looks like the animals on my piano are also ready to go on an adventure. I look forward to bringing this syllabus to the Oklahoma City area with my friend and colleague, Miss Vivi Vivi.
The idea of hosting a piano camp for young children ages (5-6 yrs) was birthed after I taught there. It was a new challenge for me. I have taught class piano to college students for many years and individual piano lessons to young children. I have also worked as a tester for Success for All and had to work with some kindergarteners on English reading. Even with all this experience, I had never attempted teaching piano to young children in a group. I was a little nervous of accepting the assignment but the camp director was confident I could handle it. My mother runs a private kindergarten next to my home in Malaysia. She has 250 students ages 4-6 daily. I have observed her and her teaching staff for most of my life. She started the business when I was a toddler. There have been a few times when I have taught some singing there. Armed with these experiences and observations, I tackled the challenge of Kinderpiano. I knew I would have 2 classes of about 8 students each so I insisted on an assistant. :)
At the end of the camp, the students would also present in a concert. We started off the week with some singing and playing with music alphabet blocks. We learned a few songs by rote and we played together with a CD accompaniment. Children love making sounds on the piano, more aptly described as "banging very loudly" on the keys, so we had one particular piece that allowed them to do just that. We did have a student who cried every morning but that is to be expected. As the class went on with the activities, he later joined in. By Friday, he was good and looked forward to class.
Since then, I have collected a lot more materials and game ideas for my studio. Looks like the animals on my piano are also ready to go on an adventure. I look forward to bringing this syllabus to the Oklahoma City area with my friend and colleague, Miss Vivi Vivi.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Camp Allegro Wichita 2013
Camp Allegro Wichita 2013
I will be returning to Camp Allegro for my 5th year as piano ensemble and music theory teacher. I look forward to an amazing time with my Kansas colleagues and teaching at this camp! This year's camp will be held at the Independent School at 8317 E. Douglas.
Camp Allegro fills up very quickly so mail your applications as soon as possible. Financial assistance is also available. Check out their website for more information.
Excerpt from Camp Allegro's website:
"Our summer session brings some new and exciting changes for Camp Allegro Wichita. This summer, we will have TWO guest artists-in-residence: Hal Grossman, violin professor at University of Oklahoma, will return this summer to work with our advanced string players; and Wesley DeSpain, director of orchestra at Derby High School, director of the Delano Chamber Orchestra, and Friends University professor, will coach woodwind and brass ensembles, lead masterclasses and teach private lessons to our advanced wind players."
I will be returning to Camp Allegro for my 5th year as piano ensemble and music theory teacher. I look forward to an amazing time with my Kansas colleagues and teaching at this camp! This year's camp will be held at the Independent School at 8317 E. Douglas.
Camp Allegro fills up very quickly so mail your applications as soon as possible. Financial assistance is also available. Check out their website for more information.
Excerpt from Camp Allegro's website:
"Our summer session brings some new and exciting changes for Camp Allegro Wichita. This summer, we will have TWO guest artists-in-residence: Hal Grossman, violin professor at University of Oklahoma, will return this summer to work with our advanced string players; and Wesley DeSpain, director of orchestra at Derby High School, director of the Delano Chamber Orchestra, and Friends University professor, will coach woodwind and brass ensembles, lead masterclasses and teach private lessons to our advanced wind players."
Monday, April 1, 2013
30 Famous Chinese Piano Pieces, 中国钢琴名曲30首
30 Famous Chinese Piano Pieces, edited by Wei Tingge. 中国钢琴名曲30首. Publisher: The People's Music Publishing.
Several of the pieces in this collection have garnered attention due
to Lang Lang's recording, Dragon Songs. Be careful of what iTunes lists as the
composers as the information is inaccurate or incomplete. It only lists the original composer of the tune and not the composer who transcribed the pieces. Below are the correct piano composers/transcribers for the pieces.
1. Autumn Moon On Calm Lake, Chen Peixun
2. The Cowherd's Flute (aka A Buffalo Boy Playing His Flute), He Luting
3. Colored Clouds Chasing the Moon (aka Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon), Wang JianZhong
There is a piece which Lang Lang performs, which from the Mermaid Suite, called "Straw Hat" by Du Mingxin. This book does not have the piece but has two other movements from the same suite, "Dance of the Coral" and "Dance of the Waterweeds." They would be late intermediate to early advanced levels.
Some other nice pieces in this collection are:
1. Flower Drum, Qu Wei. This is the famous Anhui folk song. There are English lyrics to this song too.
2. The Second Spring Bathed in Moonlight, Abing/Chu Wanghua. Originally composed for erhu.
3. A Hundred Birds Paying Respect to the Phoenix, Wang JianZhong. I believe this was a pipa solo
4. Ode to Plum Blosson, Abing/Wang JianZhong.
5. Music at Sunset, Li YingHai.
There are two transcriptions of music from the revolutionary ballet of the Cultural Revolution, "The Red Detachment of Women" by Du Mingxin. They are aptly titled, "The Happy Women Soldiers" and "Forging Ahead." Some day I will be as brave as these women and will program them on a recital.
I also want to update some information regarding where to purchase this piano collection. It is no longer available at China Sprout. Amazon.com has a few very overpriced copies, but I have found another seller, Science Press USA.The book is priced at an affordable $12.00 plus shipping at this website.
If you are just intending to browse the collection, I do have a pdf copy. Please leave me a comment and I will email that copy to you. For my friends near Kansas State or Wichita State, there are genuine copies at their libraries. I believe the copy at Wichita State was donated by yours truly. I have annotated dates for the pieces and the composers in my own copy. Please do not hesitate to ask for that information if you need it for a program.
----------------
June 2005:
This book offers a good selection of Chinese piano music by current composers. The score for the pieces I chose for my senior and graduate recital are found here. The paper quality of the book is rather poor. It would be advisable to make photocopies when learning a new piece. Markings would easily damage the score. I'm sorry I don't know whether it is an acid-free edition since it is published in China.
I do intend to talk about each piece and composer in brief, with the hopes that this would be a source of information for pianists and teachers alike. In my research I have found that the little information is scattered in many different websites and references. And of course it would also help me keep track of the information I have found. There is just too much note paper scattered in my apartment too.
The only website that sells this book for a decent price is China Sprout. While you are at this site, check out some of their other offerings. I will be investing in a couple more books later this year.
Several of the pieces in this collection have garnered attention due
to Lang Lang's recording, Dragon Songs. Be careful of what iTunes lists as the
composers as the information is inaccurate or incomplete. It only lists the original composer of the tune and not the composer who transcribed the pieces. Below are the correct piano composers/transcribers for the pieces. 1. Autumn Moon On Calm Lake, Chen Peixun
2. The Cowherd's Flute (aka A Buffalo Boy Playing His Flute), He Luting
3. Colored Clouds Chasing the Moon (aka Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon), Wang JianZhong
There is a piece which Lang Lang performs, which from the Mermaid Suite, called "Straw Hat" by Du Mingxin. This book does not have the piece but has two other movements from the same suite, "Dance of the Coral" and "Dance of the Waterweeds." They would be late intermediate to early advanced levels.
Some other nice pieces in this collection are:
1. Flower Drum, Qu Wei. This is the famous Anhui folk song. There are English lyrics to this song too.
2. The Second Spring Bathed in Moonlight, Abing/Chu Wanghua. Originally composed for erhu.
3. A Hundred Birds Paying Respect to the Phoenix, Wang JianZhong. I believe this was a pipa solo
4. Ode to Plum Blosson, Abing/Wang JianZhong.
5. Music at Sunset, Li YingHai.
There are two transcriptions of music from the revolutionary ballet of the Cultural Revolution, "The Red Detachment of Women" by Du Mingxin. They are aptly titled, "The Happy Women Soldiers" and "Forging Ahead." Some day I will be as brave as these women and will program them on a recital.
I also want to update some information regarding where to purchase this piano collection. It is no longer available at China Sprout. Amazon.com has a few very overpriced copies, but I have found another seller, Science Press USA.The book is priced at an affordable $12.00 plus shipping at this website.
If you are just intending to browse the collection, I do have a pdf copy. Please leave me a comment and I will email that copy to you. For my friends near Kansas State or Wichita State, there are genuine copies at their libraries. I believe the copy at Wichita State was donated by yours truly. I have annotated dates for the pieces and the composers in my own copy. Please do not hesitate to ask for that information if you need it for a program.
----------------
June 2005:
This book offers a good selection of Chinese piano music by current composers. The score for the pieces I chose for my senior and graduate recital are found here. The paper quality of the book is rather poor. It would be advisable to make photocopies when learning a new piece. Markings would easily damage the score. I'm sorry I don't know whether it is an acid-free edition since it is published in China.
I do intend to talk about each piece and composer in brief, with the hopes that this would be a source of information for pianists and teachers alike. In my research I have found that the little information is scattered in many different websites and references. And of course it would also help me keep track of the information I have found. There is just too much note paper scattered in my apartment too.
The only website that sells this book for a decent price is China Sprout. While you are at this site, check out some of their other offerings. I will be investing in a couple more books later this year.
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