The Music Box. Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter

Transcription

1 Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter December Events QMA will be hosting three events in December. On Thursday, the 10th of December from pm it will be the first ensemble concert of the year (held at QMA's Assembly Hall). The ensembles that will be performing are Junior Symphonic Wind, String Trio Cameron and String Trio Salvaggio, Little Amadeus and the Harmony Strings Ensemble. The next event will be a second ensemble concert; on Friday, the 11th of December from 4.00pm-5.00pm (held in QMA's Assembly Hall). The ensembles that will be performing are Orff Tuned Percussion, Intermediate Percussion, Senior Percussion, Junior Choir and Senior Choir. QMA's final event will be an early celebration of Qatar National Day on Saturday, 12th of December from pm (held in QMA's Assembly Hall). this event is a chance for the QMA community to celebrate National day before the winter break (Thurs, 18th Dec 2014 Sun, 4th Jan 2015). The event will feature the performances from the AMD's Percussion Ensemble, Takht and Marasi. As well as the Symphonic Wind and Youth Orchestra from the WMD. Please note: Places are strictly limited on a first come, first serve basis Performing students are required to wear their QMA performance attire at the Ensemble Concerts: White long sleeve shirt/ blouse Black trousers /long black skirt Black socks/tights Black shoes Highlights of this issue... Page 4 WISE Summit Page 10 Farewell Page 7 Doha British School Page 12 Important WMD# & AMD Info

2 November Recitals Congratulations to all the teachers and students who participated in the recitals over the past two weeks. It was fabulous to see the progress made, confidence, dedication and motivation of the students. Taehyun Kim and Aniko Kovacs' Violin Recital Ai Yabana-Moser's Piano Recital Aleksandr Haskin's Flute Recital Joris Laenen's Piano Recital Eddy Hackett and Alexander Kamenarov's Percussion Recital Andrea Diaz Frasquet's Piano Recital Dmitri Torchinsky's Violin Recital Aydan Alakbarova's Piano Recital Kirill Bogatyrev and Harald Georgi's Cello Recital Elizaveta and Michael Hesse s Violin Recital 2

3 November Recitals Continued. Zhivka Pesheva Renault's Piano Recital Katalin Varro and Colleen Wang's Violin Recital Ozgur Mert Esen's Piano Recital Ravell Galil's Piano Recital Deborah Armstrong's Piano Recital Adele Samuel's Piano Recital Ozgur Mert Esen's Piano Recital QF Radio The Arab Music Department hosts a broadcast with QF Radio every Thursday at 3.30PM to talk, demonstrate and showcase extracts of instrumental and vocal pieces from the Maqam musical forms. The sessions are recorded at QMA once a month. The main goal of this broadcast is to build awareness and appreciation of music in Qatar and the region and bring back most of the music forms of the Maqam musical tradition, such as the Bashraf, Sama i, Longa, Tahmilah, and Dulab and much more with a variety of traditional Arab instruments. Dr. Abdul Ghafour Al-Heeti was interviewed during the first recording session with QF radio. He presented the objectives and goals of Qatar Music Academy. 3

4 World Innovation Summit for Education Dr. Al Heeti, Yassine Ayari and Anne-Marie Pignéguy attended the WISE 2015 Summit. The theme of the conference was investing for Impact: Quality Education for Sustainable and I n c l u s i v e G r o w t h. Fo r i n f o r m a t i o n p l e a s e g o t o Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and the first Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama presenting the 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate, Dr Sakena Yacoobi. Sawt Al-Khaleej The Arab Music Department is proud and grateful to Mr. Mohammed al-marzouki Director of Sawt al-khaleeg Radio station (Katara) for giving the department the opportunity to enter the radio studio and record the nay, oud, qanoun and percussion curriculum pieces Level 1. The idea is to give the students an opportunity to hear their teacher and the Arab Takht performing the pieces included in their curriculum. European Jazz Festival Masterclasses The students worked with 2 musicians the Albin Brun Alpin Ensemble and the Francesco Bearzatti Tinissima 4et on Thursday October 31st at QMA. It was a great opportunity to learn about and listen to music from different cultures. 4

5 Workshops for Music Teachers in Doha QMA hosted the Qatar Music Teachers Guild annual Professional development 2 day course on November 12th and 13th this year. Anne-Marie Pignéguy invited the main presenter, Michael Griffin, M.Ed Studies; B.Ed (Music); A.Mus.A Michael Griffin is an educator, speaker, author, conductor and pianist. Michael s talks are inspired by theory of motivation and the premise that the greatest predictor of progress - music and otherwise - is the quality and the quantity of learning time. He is particularly interested in motivation theory and the influence of mindset on achievement. He has consulted for Cambridge University Press and is the author of five books, the most recent Learning Strategies for Musical Success receiving universal acclaim. Michael worked with the 50 music teachers including our own staff on the topics of music and motivation, mindset, metacognition and the importance of singing. For more information on Michael please look at the two websites addresses: - griffin@musiceducationworld.com The Faculty from the Arab Music Department also presented 2 sessions on Maqam musical forms and the Samai an instrumental form. Here are some of the comments from teachers who attended the sessions: Informative and applicable to people at all stages of life Michael Griffin s workshop encourages students and adults to grow in our own ways and discover how to maximize our potential in our goals and ambitions. 'Fantastically informative, relevant and inspiring; a wonderful confirmation of the importance of music and what we do. It was a great opportunity - thank you for hosting it'. Great to have scientific research to support us in our quest to have students practise slowly! The sessions reminded me to take a step back and evaluate why I m doing what I m doing for my students. Thank you so much for reinvigorating, inspiring, and reigniting the passion in my teaching. Yassine Ayari, Head of the Arab Music Department, Michael Griffin, presenter and workshop organizers Anne-Marie Pignéguy, Head of the Western Music Department and music teacher, Kehri Magalad from Qatar Academy Al Wakra. Marasi performing at the QMTG Workshop 5

6 Workshops for Music Teachers in Doha, Cont. One of the questions that was discussed was, Why do some children achieve more than others? The answer was not natural talent, it was motivation and work ethic. The greatest motivator is progress. We looked at how you help a student to make consistent progress through improving the quality of practice. Here is a look at how to help your child with their practice at home Look at small achievable goals (SMART goals Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound). Demonstrate that you are interested in what they are playing. Ask them to perform for you at home. Model enthusiasm Look at intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is linked with a higher quality of learning. Here are the four golden rules. 1) Chunking-This is when you recognize patterns in order to simplify the learning load. Students can break the piece up into small sections and focus on areas of weakness. Don t repeat the parts they can already play. 2) Repetition Repeat difficult section up to 10 times. Students can vary the way they play the repeated section to avoid boredom. Be careful not to repeat mistakes, slow down and start again. 3) Slow practice- It is recommend to use a metronome. By slowing the piece down students can focus on good technique and accuracy. It helps them to work on good posture and breathing. 4) Divide your practice time up into small sections and then repeat sections later on in the practice session. This is called distributed practice. In the second week of December the instrumental teachers will be modeling what good practice looks like in their music lessons to help the students apply the four golden rules. For more information on practice check the following links below: Georgetown University National Day Event Yassine Ayari, Abdulla Najjar and Nadir Abdul Salam participated in Georgetown University's National Day event on November 15. 6

7 Doha British School On November 4th students from Doha British School attended a workshop on the Instruments of the Orchestra from the members of the teaching faculty of the Western Music Department, and a workshop on Arab music and instruments presented by the teaching staff of the Arab Music Department. The staff demonstrated many of the instruments of the Orchestra and Arab music including; the nay, qanun, ud, the violin, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, tuba and a variety of Arab/Western percussion. Trip to Tunisia Yassine Ayari travelled to Tunisia to meet with a number of prestigious music and musical heritage institutions to ensure that QMA s music Programmes and curricula adhere to international standards in music education with a view for possible collaborations in the future. The establishments visited were the Center of Arab and Mediterranean Music, Tunis Higher Institute of Music, National Center of Popular Music and the Tunisian National Conservatory of Music. Below are some of the issues discussed with top management at the above mentioned centers: Comparison of the Arab music programs and curricula at both academies as Tunisia is famous for its music institutes. Reviewing and comparing Arab instruments curricula and musical in different institutes particularly at the higher levels in order to prepare those students for university. Exchanging expertise in terms of Arab musical resources Exchanging teachers and organizing workshops/events related to music education. The possibility of Exchange programs for all students of different age groups in both countries. Obtain accreditation from the academies and institution visited. With Dr. Mohamed Zine Al Abidine, Director of Tunis Higher Institute of Music 7

8 Young Talent on Stage at the St. Regis Eight students from the Western Music Department performed on the stage of Jazz at Lincoln Centre at The St. Regis Doha Hotel on November 22 nd to an appreciative audience. The students performed pieces by Mozart, Hansen, Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, Paganini, Fink, Rameau, Villa-Lobos, Rieding, Schubert and Moszkowski on the piano, violin trumpet and snare drum. The next concert is scheduled for the 20th of February Thank you so much to wonderful performers and to Ai Yabana-Moser the organizer as well as the teaching faculty of QMA who helped prepare the students to perform so well. To relive the highlights go to our youtube channel here. 8

9 Bayan Rida and QPO Once again it was another success for the cooperation between QMA and QPO. On Friday the 13th of November, Bayan Rida accompanied t h e O rc h e s t ra p l ay i ng a p i e c e c a l l e d Sensations- (Haneen) composed by the Qatari composer Nasser Sahim. New Member of the WMD Olga Schemetowa was born in 1982 in Charkow, Ukraine. As a daughter of musicians, music was always a part of her live. Her musical education started at the age of eight at the Georg Telemann Music School in Magdeburg, Germany. Olga decided to become a singer and started to sing in the Music School Choir and played the piano. At the age of twelve she played piano in several concerts and also sang Solo parts with the Exaudi Choir Germany, which was conducted by her parents. Soon Olga realized that she liked working with people and began to teach kids and adults the piano. In 2001 Olga studied music, to become a teacher for music and voice with the famous Hannover Opera Singer Waltraud Pusch, at the College of Music and Theatre in Hannover. She also finished a Masters of Education at the University Oldenburg in the areas of Russian Language, Pedagogy and Psychology. Olga has worked in several music schools (Music School Minden, Music School Hannover, Music School Langenhagen) as a teacher for voice, piano, early music education and conducting. She has also conducted the Kids Choir Minden. She has toured with the Police Choir Magdeburg and the Exaudi Choir Magdeburg to America, Ukraine and England, where she performed Solo and Choir parts. Ambassador of France On the 27th of November, the Ambassador of France paid a visit to Qatar Music Academy (Pictured from left to right: Anne-Marie Pignéguy, Dr. Abdul Ghafour Al Heeti, H.E. Eric Chevallier, Olivier Deseez & Yassine Ayari.) 9

10 Violin Competition Tricia Ng (violin) will be participating in the 2015 National Piano & Violin Competition. She has already passed the video stage and is through to the live rounds. Farewell, Katalin It is with sadness that we say goodbye to one of our fulltime staff members, Katalin Varró. During her time at QMA she has been responsible for forming the Little Amadeus Ensemble, Harmony Strings, String Trio Cameron and String Trio Salvaggio as well as teaching 16 violin lessons. The students have gained so much from her tuition and guidance. Katalin will be returning home to Hungary with her husband Peter and son Gergely. Katalin has been made a wonderful contribution to the Qatar Music Academy community. She will be missed by the staff, parents, students and parents. We wish them all the best of luck in the future! Ajyal Youth Festival QMA Youth Orchestra, Symphonic Winds and several students from the AMD have been invited to perform on Saturday, December 5th as part of the Doha Film Institute Ajyal Youth Film Festival Family Weekend. Their performances will take place on stage in the Katara Esplanade; the Youth Orchestra will play from 4:10-4:40pm and the Symphonic Winds will play from 5:005:30pm. The Youth Orchestra will be joined by Lubna Hassanain, Nadir Abdul Salam, Talin Jouzi and Chloe Adelaja for one piece called 'Raksat Rast', composed by Yassine Ayari. Family weekend is free so please come along to enjoy the festivities and to support students in the QMA family! AMIS Honor Band After a rigorous audition process, Kaela Coil, Ruth Zachariah, and Per-Niklas Barth have been selected to participate in the 2016 Asian Middle School Honor Band run by the Association for Music in International Schools. They will travel to Myanmar in April to perform along with the other selected students. Congratulations, and we wish them all the best for a wonderful concert! 11

11 Symphonic Winds Guest Artists Symphonic Winds welcomed two guest artists on Saturday, November 28 th. Mr. Dan Miles and Mr. Chris Ward are music teachers and conductors from Abu Dhabi. They worked with the Symphonic Winds to help them refine the pieces they are preparing for their upcoming concerts in December. Mr. Miles encouraged the ensemble to add more dynamics and phrasing when they play even the simplest passages and Mr. Ward helped the group improve their inner pulse and rhythm. Both conductors brought a fun and exciting energy to rehearsing so it was a great experience for everyone! #

12 Important Information: WMD & AMD Assosiated Board of Royals Schools of Music(ABRSM) Exams The ABRSM exams are available to all students in the Music for All and the Academic Programme at Qatar Music Academy. Please check with your instrumental teacher as to which grade you will be applying for. All students in the Academic Programme from Grade 1 and above will be required to do a theory exam. The students in the Preparatory Level Two classes will do their theory exam in May through the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). QMA has decided to test each academic programme student taking a practical exam next May on his/her aural skills. This will take place in theory class during the last week of November. The examiner last academic year stated that the ear-training was by far the weakest component of the practical exams, and the teachers preparing this aspect of the exams with the students find that this part of musical training needs to be taken far more seriously with regular practice-time devoted to singing and sight-singing. If a student has not shown the desired level of ear-training capabilities required, he / she will be asked to attend a meeting with both theory and instrumental teachers to determine a suitable way forward. Examination dates for 2016 The Theory exams will be held on Saturday, March 5th The venue is still to be announced. The Practical exams held at QMA and will be scheduled by the ABRSM during the months of May June Examination Fees for 2016 Please see the fee schedule below: Grade Level Music Theory fees Practical/Instrument exam fees Prep Test N/A 320 QAR Grade QAR 380 Grade QAR 420 Grade QAR 430 Grade QAR 475 Grade QAR 485 Grade 6 305QAR 600 Grade 7 320QAR 655 Grade 8 330QAR 775 DIP ABRSM Complete exam N/A 1,580 12

13 Important information: WMD & AMD Assosiated Board of Royals Schools of Music (ABRSM) Exams Cont. Alena Pyne the ABRSM representative will be collecting the examination fees in January, Parents will need to bring the correct money in an envelope to Alena Pyne or Anne-Marie Pignéguy the Head of Western Music on the following days: Thursday, January 7th pm Saturday, January 9th pm Sunday January 10th -9.00am-5.00pm Monday January 11th pm The fees must be paid in cash, cheques or debit card will not be accepted. Fees will not be accepted after the 11 th of January. If you are enrolling for more than one exam you will need to bring separate envelopes with the correct money in cash. Students will not be enrolled if no money is received including Qatari students (Qatari students are not free). The information that is required from the parents at payment is as follows: Students full name (as you would like to see it on the certificate) Student s Qatar ID number Student s date of birth Special needs such as translation, reversal of the surname Progress Reports The students in the Western Music Department's Academic Programme will receive their first progress report for the Academic year on December 16th via . The Arab Music Department's progress reports will be sent out in January. The report will cover student progress, attitude and participation in instrumental lessons, theory lessons and ensembles. Attention all First Study Academic Programme Pianists!! I hope you're all looking forward to your internal piano exam which will take place on December 3rd and 4th in room 37. Your piano teacher can give you the time of your exam if you don t already have it. Here again are the requirements: For both preparatory levels: 2 pieces from Dozen a Day 2 pieces chosen in consultation with child s piano teacher For Levels 1 and Above: One baroque piece One classical piece One étude We look forward very much to hearing you play. Happy practising! 13

14 Important information: WMD & AMD Important Recital Information for December (WMD) Performers must wear performance attire- black trousers/long black skirt, white shirt /blouse, black shoes and black socks/stockings. Venue: Ziriab Hall, QMA Date/Time Instrument Teacher(s) Friday, Dec 4th am Clarinet Rony Moser Thomas Gnausch Friday, Dec 4th pm Saxohpone - Oboe Tamas Marschall Claire Glago Friday, Dec 4th pm Double Bass Hossam Haggag Friday, Dec 4th pm Violin - Viola Victor Soumenkov Islam El Hefnaway Mohamed Sharara Saturday, Dec 5th pm Woodwind Jo Cathrine Rita Rajz Monday, Dec 7th pm Violin Lorena Manescu Monday, Dec 7th pm Violin Alie Bekirova - Lilya Bekirova Tuesday, Dec 8th pm Brass Progress Reports Rachel Seay Dimo Pishtyalov Daniel Edelhoff Phillip Rebmann Important Recital Information for January (AMD) Please note: All students taking a one-to-one lesson in the AMD (with their teacher's approval) must participate in the recital on Jan 21. All students in the AMD taking a takht or ensemble class must participate in the recital on Jan 28. Venue: Ziriab Hall, QMA Date/Time Recital Type Thursday, January 21st pm Instrumental Recitals Thursday, January 28th pm Jawqa and Takht Recitals (ensembles) 14