Exciting musical happenings! And random stuff.
Stay tuned for details on an upcoming fall performance of Rachmaninoff’s beloved Second Piano Concerto with the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra under the direction of Eric Benjamin! Date is now set for Oct. 29, 2023, 3 pm at First Baptist Church on Fairmount in Shaker Heights, OH. Please join me and bring friends!
Here is the orchestra site: http://www.clevelandwomensorchestra.org/
I have updated the website with events for 2022-23 and a current studio policy. Registration and first payment are due Aug. 10, so please take a look.
Mark your calendars for all the 2022-23 events!
What a year 2021-2022 has been! Our studio has participated in many festivals, competitions, recitals, and workshops, and our members have earned medals, prizes, awards, scholarships, and most importantly, a great deal of piano knowledge.
Here is a run-down of some of this academic year’s important studio highlights. Stay tuned for more details on many of these events, plus recaps, photos, and videos throughout the summer:)
In the fall, we were part of:
September Keys to Artistry studio recital
November’s Scales Olympics: our studio earned quite a few medals
Anna presented her own piano recital in November, assisted by her mom, Ellie
December’s studio recital
This spring semester, we participated in:
February’s Stark Co. Music Teachers’ collaborative recital
March Ribbon Festival
March studio recital
April Stark Co. Music Teachers’ art recital and workshop
Buckeye auditions: Eric was our representative from the Middle East District elementary level, and Eden won the senior level in April; both represented us at the state level of the competition earlier this June, with Eric earning an honorable mention for his work
See Eric’s performance of one of his competition pieces here: www.keystoartistry.com/STUDENT-PERFORMANCES
Eden graduated high school and earned a top music scholarship to pursue a major in music at the University of Mount Union starting fall 2022
Eden presented her senior recital in May
We also held our end-of-the-year studio recital on May 15:
Enjoy photos of our year’s events in our new Photo Gallery: http://www.keystoartistry.com/new-gallery-1
As we are settling into summer lessons, let’s take time to relax this summer, and don’t forget to give yourselves credit for the work you’ve done all year.
https://www.cantonsymphony.org/converzations/
Check out Maira’s talk, “The Art of the Soloist,” in this audience-friendly presentation laced with many clips of beautiful music for solo instrument and orchestra.
My monthly video series documenting my journey to the performances of the Chopin E Minor concerto series is in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw1IG49xjXnfejVfSSB18G4cQeUbeKYj8 . I hope you enjoy!
Some highlights of the spring:
Our students participated in a fantastic Spring Recital in May, glad to offer up their music again after a long pandemic shut-down.
Anna and Eden represented us well at the annual Buckeye Auditions, receiving very strong comments on their performances!
And Eden presented her junior recital in stellar fashion to cap off a strong school year.
Congratulations to all the students on their excellent work!
Happy Summer!
Maira’s journey to the Chopin E Minor concerto performances is documented on the front page of area newspapers!
Maira Liliestedt, the University of Mount Union, and the Alliance Symphony Orchestra launch the exciting “Prelude to a Masterpiece” series of posts to lead us to the live performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto in E Minor in fall 2021! Check out the first installment on YouTube!
Elle and Dannie participated in a masterclass with Dr. Angelin Chang at the Middle East District of Ohio Music Teachers’ Association annual fall conference.
Our Technique Challenge had students racking up correct scales, arpeggios, chords, harmonization, and sight-reading examples performed in a quest to earn Studio Dollars! They bought many prizes including new music books, “no practice today” coupons, and cold, hard cash :)
An excellent showing at Scales Olympics in November, an event held at Malone University. Our students took home 8 medals: 4 gold (John, Michael, Nadia, and Sami), 3 silver (Julianne, Betsy, and Anna), and 1 bronze (Elle)!
Scales Olympics
Studio Reading Challenge had students racing around a game board to see who would earn the 2019 Reading Challenge Trophy! After many note flashcards and sight-reading pages from all our students, the winner was Julianne!
In December, 11 of our students played a beautiful recital including Christmas favorites and Classical treasures, and some also participated in our county-wide Collaborative Recital!
Keys to Artistry Studio Recital December 2019
Our Practice Challenge was rudely interrupted by COVID-19 and other health concerns, but students did fantastic work learning and memorizing new pages of music, and racking up hours of practice before we had to pause the challenge in March. We look forward to the race beginning again soon!
Ribbon Festival in March saw 11 of our students earning anywhere between Second Year to Thirteenth Year (!) Ribbons. Although COVID-19 cancelled the actual recital, our students were days away from performing, and have earned their ribbons nonetheless.
Ribbon Festival March 2020
Several students were selected to represent the studio at the county-wide Honors Recital. Though the recital was cancelled because of COVID-19, we still congratulate Anna, Michael, and Nadia for having been chosen for their outstanding work!
Stay tuned for exciting events coming up in the next academic year, and perhaps even this summer! As health concerns allow, we will start participating in festivals and contests and scheduling studio recitals again, including a joint piano recital by two of our more advanced middle school students. Don’t miss it!
Check out Maira Liliestedt’s YouTube channel for the baby steps of the first Chopin concerto, and a recording of last summer’s Rhapsody in Blue!
Maira plays Gershwin’s beloved American Rhapsody in Blue! The piece is featured on a free community concert of the Alliance Symphony Orchestra, joining a plethora of pops audience favorites!
When: Tuesday, Aug. 6; 7 pm
Where: University of Mount Union; Giese Center for the Performing Arts; Brush Performance Hall
Who: Alliance Symphony Orchestra, with Eric Benjamin conducting; Maira Liliestedt, piano soloist
