Tag Archives: performance

Spring Break ’23 Update

Hello WCS Students & Families! 

This school year has been flying by, and it seems like in the blink of an eye each and every one of our students has transformed into a more mature, more capable, more talented player than they were during the fall semester.  As always, it’s a pleasure to participate in that process of growth and learning with you all, and we look forward to this last quarter of the school year with you.  Here’s a look at what’s coming up… 

Spring Break

West County Strings will be off for Spring Break from March 19-26.  We hope you enjoy a week of rest and relaxation with no private lessons or group classes, and that you all come back rested, refreshed, and ready for the final stretch of the school year.  As always, break is a great time for some extra listening to your Suzuki CDs / other supplemental recordings, and for some extra practice during all those hours off of school! 

Summer ’23 Registration

We always look forward to the summer with our students.  That time to continue building with consistency on all we’ve done during the past school year – or to get ready for a brand new school year – is so valuable.  

Registration for the Summer ’23 Semester will go out on April 1 and be due May 1.  
Remember, summer is a great time for flexibility.  If you know you’re going to be out of town a few weeks, we can accommodate that.  If you know you’re going to be in town and would like to take more than one lesson a week, we can do that, too.  More details will come when the forms are sent out on April 1. 

Solo Recitals

Solo recitals are always a highlight of every semester.  This spring’s solo recitals will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, April 30.  Recital time assignments, location, and other details will be forthcoming after Spring Break.  

Piano rehearsals with Mrs. Parkin will be held at the studio on the afternoon of Sunday, April 23.  Students playing Book 4+ repertoire should plan to have a rehearsal.  Students playing in Books 2-3 should consider it optional, though possibly beneficial.  When in doubt, whether as to how much rehearsal time you need or whether you need a rehearsal at all, just ask your teacher!  Rehearsal sign-up sheets will be posted after Spring Break.  

Spring Festival

One of our other most-anticipated events of the school year is our Spring Festival Group Performance.  It’s always special to have everyone together on one stage, highlighting the Suzuki repertoire and other ensemble pieces we’ve studied in group class during the school year.  This year’s Spring Festival will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, May 21.  Please invite your friends, family, neighbors, etc. to join us! 

Repertoire lists and schedules for the dress rehearsal held immediately prior to the performance will be released as the Spring Festival draws nearer, and we’ve had a chance to really dive deep in group classes.  As an aside, it’s been so wonderful to have so many of you returning to regularly participate in group classes this spring.  Group classes really are a “glue” that holds the whole learning process together and makes it deeper, stronger, more impactful, and more lasting.  So, thank you so much for joining us! 

With that, we’ll see you for lessons through March 19th, and then we hope you all enjoy a wonderful break! 

Spring Festival ’21

Hello WCS Students & Families!

With our Spring ’21 Solo Recitals behind us, the next big thing we have to look forward to is our Spring Festival ’21. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Who: students who have been regularly participating in Tuesday-evening group classes throughout the semester.
  • What: a group performance in Suzuki “play-in” style, beginning with the most advanced repertoire and working down until we finish with everyone playing Twinkle.
  • Where: the Amphitheater at Schroeder Park, 359 Old Meramec Station Rd. Manchester, MO 63021
  • When: dress rehearsals from 5:15-6:15 p.m., with the concert at 6:30 p.m.
  • How: as the Amphitheater has lawn seating, this event will be weather-permitting, and will be B.Y.O.C. (bring your own chair!)

For dress rehearsals, students Book 4+ should please arrive at 5:00 to tune, and students Pre-Twinkle – Book 3 should arrive at 5:30. Attire should be semi-formal, but comfortable for outdoor weather. Please see the list below for the concert repertoire, which we’ll be focusing on polishing in group class this week!

Spring ’21: Upcoming Concerts

Hello WCS Students & Families!

We’re headed into perhaps the most fun part of the school year – that time when we get to share our music with one another and see how all of our hard work has paid off in musical growth, development, and maturity. As always, the primary ways we do this are with our Spring Solo Recitals and our Spring Festival Group Performance. Here’s some preliminary details about both!

Spring Solo Recitals

Our Spring Solo Recitals are for all of our students and will be held this year on Sunday, May 16 from 1-5pm at the Parks, Recreation, and Arts building at Schroeder Park in Manchester. St. Louis County regulations change from week to week, but we expect to be allowed to have 35-55 people in the performing hall at a time, which means we’ll be dividing students up into 3-4 recitals throughout the afternoon.

Kirby and I are working now to put together balanced programs that highlight a little bit of everything from the first steps of learning to some of the more advanced. If you need to be placed earlier or later in the afternoon for scheduling reasons, please let us know so we can accommodate to the best of our ability.

Piano rehearsals for students playing concerto repertoire or other Book 4+ repertoire will be held with Vera Parkin on Saturday, May 15 at Lacefield Music in Chesterfield. (We will add Monday, May 10 if everyone cannot fit into the schedule on the 15th). A sign up sheet will be sent by email to those who need rehearsals.

Spring Festival Group Performance

Our Spring Festival Group Performance is for anyone who’s been regularly participating in weekly in Tuesday evening group classes. Our Spring Festival this year will be held on Tuesday, May 25 in the Amphitheater at Schroeder Park in Manchester. The concert will be at 6:30pm, with dress rehearsals from 5:00-6:15.

Here is the repertoire list for this year’s Spring Festival, so that you know what to focus on in your at-home practicing, and what we’ll be focusing on in group classes between now and the performance:

Chicken on a Fencepost Variations on E & A
Vivaldi Concerto No. 11 for 2 Violins, RV 56: 1. Allegro – Adagio e spiccato – Allegro
Bach “Little” Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578
Rameau Gavotte
Veracini Gigue
Seitz Concerto No. 5 In D Major, Op. 2: 1. Allegro moderato
Gavotte in G Minor
Minuet 3 / Bach Minuet (Bk. 3)
Two Grenadiers
Hunters’ Chorus
Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus
Cannon in 4 Voices
Etude
Allegro
Brother John
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
Twinkle Theme & Variations

Violas, you should have duets to all of the Suzuki repertoire except for Seitz Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Gavotte in G Minor (which you’ll be playing melody on), and Hunters’ Chorus (which you’ll also be playing melody on).

That should cover it for now, and more specific information for each of these events will follow as the particular event draws nearer. Until then, happy practicing!

New Year ’21 Update

Hello WCS Students & Families,

Welcome to 2021 at West County Strings! Kirby and I are so looking forward to each and every teaching moment, learning opportunity, and continuing to develop and deepen our relationship with each of you during this upcoming year. By the end of 2021, we hope and trust that each of you will look back at a vast chasm between your ability when you started the year as compared to where you ended up!

Here’s a few key dates for the beginning of 2021 to note:

Private lessons will resume on Wednesday, January 6 and run through Saturday, May 29.

Group classes will resume on Tuesday evenings at the beginning of March and run through May.

Missouri Federation of Music Clubs opportunities are available through the local “Virtuoso Club.” These include the chance at a $500 scholarship as a winner of the Summer Music Camp Scholarship Competition, District Honors and the chance to compete at the State level through District Competition, and a performance opportunities, insightful judge feedback, ribbons and points towards trophies as part of the Spring Festival. All events will be held via video submission this spring, and your teacher will be in touch regarding repertoire selection and requirements, if you have not begun preparing your repertoire already.

And of course, as always, we will have our Spring Solo Recitals and Spring Festival Group Performance to look forward to and work hard to prepare for, as well!

I think that about sums it up for now, so we look forward to seeing you all again beginning on the 6th, and we trust that you’ve been listening, reviewing, and practicing new material over the break. If you’ve fallen a bit rusty, now would be a great time to dust things off and buff them up. We’ll see you soon!