MUSIC TIME ACADEMY NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2014
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS
December 14th: Winter Concert (CLOSED)

December 22nd-January 3rd: Winter Break (CLOSED)

January 19th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (OPEN)

February 14th: Valentine's Day (OPEN)

February 16th: President's Day (OPEN)
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.

Saturday, December 13th: The UnOriginals (Tim) at Johnny Foley's in San Francisco

Saturday, December 13th: Muncie (Anna & Swen) at Jingletown Jazz Room in Oakland

Saturday, December 13th: Zack Bateman (Judy) at Rooster's Roadhouse in Alameda

Friday, December 19th: Stephen Michael & The Rickety Van Band (Judy) at Rooster's Roadhouse in Alameda

Saturday, December 20th: Kuckaw! (Adam) at Neck of the Woods in San Francisco

Saturday, December 20th: Fast & Vengefully (Tim & Belinda) and Hellaphant (Judy) at Barn Solstice Party in Martinez

Sunday, December 21st: Jeremy Jones Band (Anna) at 19 Broadway in Fairfax

Friday, December 26th: Timmy G at Maria Maria in Walnut Creek

Saturday, December 27th: The UnOriginals (Tim) at Meenar Music Club in Danville

Friday, January 9th: Hellaphant at Fireside in Alameda

Thursday, January 22nd: Jeremy Jones Band (Anna) at The Utah in San Francisco

Saturday, January 31st: Rupa & The April Fishes (Mario) at The New Parish in Oakland

Friday, February 7th: Kuckaw! (Adam) at Leo's in Oakland

Every Thursday: Dueling Guitars (Tim) at Tiki Tom's in Walnut Creek 

Every Sunday: Alex's Funk & Soul Jam at 50 Mason Social House in San Francisco
INSTRUCTORS' BANDS
(Tim & Belinda)

(Anna, drums)

(Tim, guitar/vocals)

(Judy, violin)

(Xavier, guitar/vocals)

(Xavier & Nick, vocals & guitar)

(Alex, saxophone)
 
(Anna, drums)

(Judy, violin)

(Xavier, guitar/vocals)

(Anna, drums)

(Mario, trumpet)

(Mario, trumpet)

(Anna, drums)

(trumpet)

(Adam, bass)

(Stewart, guitar/vocals)

(Adam, bass)

(Andrew, guitar/vocals)

(Judy, violin)

(Mario, trumpet)
 
(Dave Lockhart, bass)
 
(Chris Mahon, guitar)
Greetings & Happy Holidays, friends!

With only one week left until showtime, but one question remains - Are you ready for the big concert?! 

Over the past few weeks, our bucket has been filling with thousands of raffle tickets earned by hardworking students that are ready to win one of our many prizes (like free lessons, an iPad mini, various gift certificates, instruments, etc.). Who will be the big winners? Only time will tell...

In the midst of the excitement, we would like to highlight a couple key ideas for performance preparation:

1) Practice making mistakes! Fear is a problem, mistakes are not. If performers are afraid to make mistakes, then the chances of disaster are imminent! However, if you can calm your fears by having a clearly understood "Plan B" (with "Plan A" being to play perfectly) then you can conquer any fears of making mistakes - because if you make one, you know exactly what to do!

2) Visualize your performance! Envision the performance as you hope it to be. Seriously. Your mindset is an enormous factor, and if you already know that the performance will be successful (because you have seen and experienced it in your mind), then guess what - it WILL come to pass.

3) Consider the odds! Do not be satisfied with one successful, mistake-fee performance at home. Ensure that any difficult parts have the odds in their favor! That means that you are playing these sections correctly about 8 out of 10 times (or 80%) AT LEAST then you are somewhat safe. 100% is the goal! You will only know the odds if you try your piece multiple times.

And we ask once more - Are you ready for the big concert?! 

Winter Concert Information

We can't wait! Please remember to arrive at 11:45am, in order to receive your stage assignment and to be seated for the beginning of the performance (12pm sharp). We anticipate the program to last for about 2.5 hours, so please plan accordingly. The big raffle will be drawn at the end of the concert, and you must be present to win!

In case you missed the official announcement, you can download it here:
 
https://mtastudents.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/winterconcert2014announcement1.pdf
Student of the Month
Congratulations to Andrea Jade Larson!
Andrea 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: Violin
Teacher: Judy Cruces
Age: 10
Grade: 5th
School: Bethany Elementary
Student Since: February 2012
Hobbies (besides practicing): Dance (Tap & Ballet) and Reading
 
Andrea caught our attention these past few weeks after cleaning up on raffle tickets (which we have been awarding for various forms of preparation for the concert). Although we already knew that she was no stranger to performance through her participation in several past Music Time Academy Concerts, Andrea Larson has truly gone above and beyond all expectations, exemplifying courage through numerous live performances for (literally) hundreds of audience members - and she has the raffle tickets to prove it! 

"Every time Andrea has the opportunity, she plays for friends and family, at birthdays parties, special occasions and even on the sidewalk gathering the neighbors," tells Andrea's mother.

On November 29th, Andrea performed in the Golden Anniversary of the Church of Evergreen in San Jose. She proudly conquered two challenges, playing a duet with a young pianist, as well as playing with the Young Orchestra of Evergreen. Andrea also performed a third number - a duet with her instructor, Judy. In addition to the performance in San Jose, Andrea (and teacher Judy) also performed in school for Andrea's entire class last Friday. 

Although she clearly has love and passion for music (plus excellent practice habits, according to her mother), Andrea is versatile in the arts and can be seen performing The Nutcracker with the Children's Dance Theatre of Tracy. Thank you Andrea - you are a true inspiration to us all as we prepare for the biggest performance of the year!

 

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 December, we bring you the exciting story of Belinda Salvidge! 

Belinda began teaching at Music Time Academy back in 2011, coming to us with an impressive and varied background of music education, including well over a decade of experience teaching Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano, and Mandolin in both Brighton, England and in the United States. She continues to work with private students as well as groups, leading the one and only String Ensemble of Music Time - adding excitement to our concerts since 2012 (with this upcoming concert being no exception). 

Not only an avid educator, Belinda is a devoted mother to her daughter Ella, who can be found here at Music Time alongside Belinda on Thursdays. After numerous years of teaching music to so many children, Belinda is thrilled to see her own daughter starting to learn to read music and play the piano.

With careful organization and planning (around her commitments to teaching and to her daughter), Belinda somehow still remains an active performer, having been featured at the World Music Festival in Berkeley for the past 2 years. She is most known for her lively Celtic fiddle style playing, as heard with the group Fast & Vengefully (alongside fellow teacher, Tim Garry), which is currently gearing up for a performance at a huge Winter Solstice Party and (even more excitingly, of course) a performance at the Music Time Academy Winter Concert. Don't miss it!

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.