MUSIC TIME ACADEMY NEWSLETTER: AUGUST 2014
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS
September 1st:
Labor Day (CLOSED)

October 31st:
Halloween (OPEN)
NEW! STUDIO CALENDAR
Proof that we inform you of all holiday closures.
ONLINE SERVICES


SEE LIVE MUSIC
Our teachers are avid performers in the San Francisco Bay Area (and across the world)! Check them out live with their bands/ensembles at these upcoming gigs.
 
Friday, August 8th: Kuckaw (Adam) at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz

Saturday, August 9th: The UnOriginals (Tim) at Meenar Music Club, Danville, Ca

Saturday, August 9th: Kuckaw (Adam) at Fernwood in Big Sur 

Thursday, August 21st: Felsen (Andrew) at Fish in Sausilito

Friday, August 22nd: Fast & Vengefully (Belinda & Tim) at Johnny Foley's in San Francisco

Friday, August 22nd: Felsen (Andrew) at Starry Plough in Berkeley

Saturday, August 23rd: The UnOriginals (Tim) at Maggie McGarry's, North Beach, SF

Friday, August 29th: Felsen (Andrew) at Rellik Tavern in Benicia

Saturday, August 30th: The UnOriginals (Tim) at Johnny Foley's SF
 
Every Thursday: Tim at Tiki Tom's in Walnut Creek 
INSTRUCTORS' BANDS
(Tim & Belinda)

(Anna, drums)

(Tim, guitar/vocals)

(Xavier, guitar/vocals)

(Xavier & Nick, vocals & guitar)

(Alex, saxophone)
 
(Anna, drums)

(Xavier, guitar/vocals)

(Mario, trumpet)

(Mario, trumpet)

(Anna, drums)

(trumpet)

(Adam, bass)

(Stewart, guitar/vocals)

(Adam, bass)

(Andrew, guitar/vocals)

(Mario, trumpet)
 
(Dave Lockhart, bass)
 
(Chris Mahon, guitar)
Wow, this Summer flew right by! We can hardly believe that it is already August, and just about time to begin gearing up for the new school year. Some of our families have even gone back to school already! On the bright side, it is very nice to see many of our students returning home from extended vacations. If you anticipate needing to change lesson times in the coming weeks and have not already informed us, we HIGHLY recommend securing a convenient after-school slot as soon as possible as many of our instructors have only a few openings in their schedules.

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS EMAIL! NEXT STUDIO CLOSURE IS LABOR DAY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST.
FREE WEEKLY WORKSHOP! 
 
Student of the Month
Congratulations to Elena Woolsey!
Elena will receive (along with priceless glory and endle
ss bragging rights) a $30 Gift Certificate to Music Time Academy, as well as a $20 gift card to the Cinema West Theater in Livermore!
 
Instrument: Guitar & Ukulele
Teacher: Swen & Cory
Age: 10
Grade: 5th
School: Joe Michell School
Student Since: March 2013
Hobbies (besides practicing): Girl Scouts
 
"Elena loves to play her instruments!" Says her mother, Sarah. "Most mornings she wakes up and grabs her guitar."

This pure love and excitement for music is exactly what made Elena stand out to us as a fantastic candidate for student of the month. Her positive energy is infectious, and the staff and instructors of Music Time Academy are thrilled to honor her for her hard work and progress.

Elena had a stellar performance of Taylor Swift's "Mean" at our Spring Concert, and apparently she even gave an encore performance of the song at her school's talent show! She first started here with guitar lessons about a year ago, then recently added ukulele to her studies. Although possibly bribed with ice cream, Elena attended the very first meeting of our Ukulele Club! Bonus points for that one.

Elena has even mentioend to her parents that she has picked out another new instrument to learn: banjo! Now, if she could just figure out how to play all three at the same time...

 

Do you know a current Music Time Academy student with a newsworthy musical story or accomplishment from the past month that should be featured? If so, please fill out our online nomination form by following this link:  STUDENT OF THE MONTH NOMINATION FORM
Teacher Feature
For August, we would like to feature Sal Minutoli - an old friend to many of our close-knit staff members, but a new face around our studio. Sal is excited to teach students on just about any instrument, although he considers his specialties to be piano, flute and guitar.

Self-described as "the ultimate band nerd," Sal has plenty of ammunition to back up the claim. He spent 5th grade through college playing in just about any musical ensemble the schools had to offer - jazz band, symphonic band, rally band, marching band, etc. Although he was not officially awarded "ultimate band nerd", he was decorated with such honors as: Most Promising Musician, Marching Band Section Leader, Honor Band (Concord High School), and Best Jazz Musician (University of the Pacific Music Camp).

Living up to the potential that his grade school teachers saw in him, Sal has continued pursue music in many ways. Over the years, he has performed with various bands and ensembles ranging from country and blues bands to punk bands to "Top 40" variety bands to jazz ensembles, vocalist accompaniment (and everything in between). In addition to performance, Sal also maintained his studies of music, working with a long and impressive list of mentors and local institutions including: Linda Lukas (San Francisco Symphony) at San Francisco State University, Susan Muscarella (founder of the Berkeley Jazz Conservatory) at Jazz Conservatory (formerly Jazz School), Bruce Cook at Diablo Valley College, and currently under Joan Cifarelli at Los Medanos College.

"I like to build a strong foundation. I teach scale and chords, as they are crucial to understanding music. I like to emphasize reading as that is another important part of understanding the language of music," says Sal. "Most importantly, I engage the student with music that they enjoy. I ask them what their favorite song is and then I teach them with it. It is fun and they learn much faster."

On top of being a proud nerd, Sal is also a proud husband and father.

For more information about our many talented and interesting instructors, please CLICK HERE!
CLOSING QUOTE

Thank you for your continued support in music education! 

Sincerely,





Anna Cucciardo (Director) & Monica Lind (Manager)
 Music Time Academy
Save 25%
MUSIC TIME ACADEMY REFERRAL PROGRAM
Did you know that you can save 25% on your monthly lesson tuition* for every new student that you refer to Music Time Academy? Tell your friends, coworkers and family members about how much you enjoy lessons & watch the savings add up. 
Refer 4 new students and get a FREE month of lessons!

*25% discount applies to tuition rate for one student only.