Spring - A Season to Grow and Blossom

Hello Crescendo Families,

We hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather! It is so exciting to see the sun shining and the weather improving every day with a lot more daylight! We know that this means you probably want to be outside as much as possible, and we definitely get that! On that “note”, spring time can be a wonderful time to explore music composition… there are so many inspiring things to write about at this time of year. If this is an interest for you, be sure to speak with your teacher about exploring this together in lessons!

Spring is also the perfect time of year to establish specific and detailed goals along with a clear strategy regarding when you will find practice time between all the other activities that come with Spring. This is especially important with the Sherwood Park Music Festival and Crescendo Video Showcase just a few weeks away. Parents, we encourage you to sit down with your child and draw out a plan for each week that includes music practice at least every second day (and every day for those students who are performing). We are so looking forward to all the upcoming performances and can't wait to see some of the incredible talent that will take place in the days ahead!

As well, it is time to start planning for Summer. Continuity is so important in the music learning journey of all students no matter what age you are! Creating consistency from week to week, including during the summer months, is of utmost importance. This is why, at Crescendo Music Studios, we believe in the value of summer lessons. Even if we can see you a few times through the summer, this will help to create consistency in learning. This is why we offer flexible scheduling options for lessons throughout the summer. Please take the time to read our article below, regarding the importance of continuity. Please enjoy the beautiful weather…but also remember, “Practice Makes Permanent!”

As always, we as owners truly welcome any feedback you may have! Please do not hesitate to email or call us any time.

Warm Regards,

Dean and Leanne Cummings

Owners of Crescendo Music Studios

Read our article about the Importance of Continuity here.

TEACHER FEATURE

Ryan Ast

Each month we like to feature one of our talented Crescendo teachers. This month's Teacher Feature is Ryan Ast.

Ryan teaches guitar, ukulele, and bass guitar. His first love is his 6-string bass, while his animals are a close second. He started exploring music through piano at an early age, also taking an interest in percussion and guitar. As a teenager, Ryan began to focus on building his bass skills. He graduated from the Grant MacEwan music program in 2015.

Ryan is currently working on some of his own original music and hopes to share more of his authentic musical expression in the near future.

Ryan has become an accomplished bass player who has been involved in several music projects like Greif Week, Violent Riot, Aliza, El Niven and The Alibi, Wild T & the Spirit, and Uncle Joe and the Nephews (to name a few). Ryan has also toured Canada and the US with multiple groups such as Big Wreck. Ryan’s sound and technical skill is versatile and eclectic, incorporating his bass guitar in a variety of musical genres from rock & roll and punk rock, to hip-hop and R&B.

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of our teaching team, Matthew Aniston. He is joining us as a piano teacher!

STUDENT FEATURE

Kianna Firth

Enjoy this phenomenal vocal and piano performance by 16 year old Kianna Firth. Kianna wowed us with her version of "Blackbird" by The Beatles at our 2022 recital.

To see more of our wondeful student performances, please click here.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS...

Let’s continue to help each other by taking the basic precautions. As such, we encourage everyone to please wear a mask whenever they have mild cold-like symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, please call us and we will be pleased to switch to a Zoom lesson or we can send you a video lesson.

We ask you to please, protect yourself and others by:

· Washing your hands

· Sanitizing hands when entering the studio

· Covering your coughs and sneezes

· Practicing social distancing when possible

· Staying home when feeling unwell.

With the wet, snowy weather upon us, please remember to remove soiled footwear and leave it at the front door. Thank you for helping to keep our studio as clean as possible during the mucky seasons!

IMPORTANT DATES

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

April

Friday, April 7 - Sunday, April 9: Crescendo will be closed for the Easter Long Weekend. Regular classes resume on Monday, April 10.

Saturday, April 8: Open Band Jam. Have fun playing with like-minded musicians in this free, relaxed jam setting. Ages 11-14 from 4:00 - 6:00pm. Ages 15+ from 6:30 - 9:00pm.

Monday, April 17 - Saturday, April 22: Crescendo's Video Showcase is happening all week! Watch for an email with your child's recording time and other important information. We continue to have regular lessons this week.

Monday, April 17 - Friday, April 21: Sherwood Park Music Festival at Festival Place. Grand Concert will be held on Monday, April 24. We continue to have regular lessons this week.

Monday, April 17: All Crescendo WeJam bands will be taking the stage at Festival Place as part of Festival. Join us for a rockin' concert starting at 6pm.

May

Sunday, May 7: Early Bird Registration opens for students doing some summer lessons. You can register for BOTH the Summer and Fall Terms.

Saturday, May 13: Early Bird Registration for existing students (who are not taking summer lessons) opens for the Fall Term.

Friday, May 19 - Monday, May 22: Crescendo will be closed for the Victoria Day weekend. Regular classes resume on Tuesday, May 23.

Wednesday, May 24: Registration for the Fall Term opens to the public.

Friday, May 26: Video Showcase Awards Night. 6:30 - 8:30pm at Trinity Baptist Church. Join us to recognize our top Video Showcase performers. Prizes will be awarded and we'll be entertained by these high performing musicians.

June

Sunday, June 4: Rock Band Recital. We will invite specific, older and more advanced students to perform in our Rock Band Recital at the Rec Room to help kick off our Recital Week!

Monday, June 5 - Saturday, June 10: Year End Recitals! Details to follow.

Friday, June 30: Last day of regular lessons.

Click here to see the full year calendar

CRESCENDO IN PICTURES

The Importance of Being in Tune

It’s important to tune your instrument so that it’s in tune with itself and with others with which you’re playing. This is true for instruments as well as vocals.

Being in tune makes a huge difference to the quality of your sound, the quality of your performance and to the enjoyment you feel when you make music.

Try out GuitarTuna a popular, and useful, tuner that’s available online and as an app.

How To Help Your Child Prepare For a Performance

“I enjoy reading about the lives of musicians, and find many similarities in their ideas of preparation and their utter devotion to this great eternal language: music.”

– Jessye Norman, Opera Singer

Preparing for an upcoming performance can be daunting, both for the student and for the parent or family member who is dedicated to helping them! Preparation is perhaps the most important part of performing, as it is the determining factor for how successful the performance itself will be. Here is our list of the four best strategies that students (and parents) can use to ensure they are fully prepared, practiced and ready for “the big day”!

Click here to read the full article.

Registration for Summer Camps is Now Open

Musical Theatre Mania Camp

July 3 2023 – July 7 2023 AND August 21 2023- August 25 2023

Location: Trinity Baptist Church

Perfectly Princess Camp

July 10 2023 – July 14 2023

Location: Crescendo Music Studios

Spectacular Superhero Camp

July 24 2023 – July 28 2023

Location: Crescendo Music Studios

Rock Band Rollers Camp

July 31 2023 – August 4 2023

Location: Crescendo Music Studios

Kids Bop Camp

August 14 2023 – August 18 2023

Location: Crescendo Music Studios

Visit our website for more information about Crescendo Summer Camps

Crescendo students performing at RavenWood 2022!

RavenWood Music Festival 2023

Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24, 2023

Crescendo Music Studios is on the same bill as Juno Award winner, Sass Jordan! How exciting!

Check out the lineup.

If you would like to volunteer, please email [email protected]

Check out RavenWood's website for more information.

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The Encore Music Foundation is focused on providing collaborative music education and experiences for underprivileged youth, and we're excited to be partnering with the owners of Origin Road in this endeavour.

The name "Encore" comes from our vision to help youth in our community: