Highlights of this issue... Sze Han Law places 2nd in Euroasia Strings Competition. Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter. Page 6. Page 2.

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1 The Music Box Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter Sze Han Law places 2nd in Euroasia Strings Competition Sze Han Law, 7, started playing the violin at the age of five in Qatar Music Academy under the teaching of Mr. Stefan Robu. She has participated in the Euroasia Strings Competition 2018 Malaysia for Open category Age 7 and below, and has won first prize in the Penang regional preliminary competition and qualified to the Grand Finals in Kuala Lumpur where she has won second prize for the same category. In both competitions, Sze Han has played the Concerto in B Minor Op. 35, 3rd movement by O Rieding. Congratulations to Sze Han for her achievements. Highlights of this issue... Page 2 Page 4 School Workshops Jazz Festival Page 6 Pages Kid's Corner Important Info (both dept.)

2 The Music Box November 2018 Workshops for Schools Qatar Music Academy (QMA) continued to conduct workshops for different schools in Qatar. 1st November: 40 students from the International School visited QMA and the Arab Music Dept. (AMD) for an introduction workshop about Arab percussion instruments. 21st November: 75 students from Qatar Academy visited for a workshop from the AMD 28th November: 50 students from Al-Khor International School attended a workshop session with AMD faculty. Students enjoyed listening to Qatari national songs and discover the Arab musical instruments such as the nay, oud, qanun, percussion and violin. 28th November: Students from Al Khor International School attended workshops given by Western Department teachers Stefan, Rachel, and Dobri on November 28th. They learned about each family of instruments in the Western Symphony Orchestra. Students especially enjoyed trying instruments such as double bass, trumpet, and glockenspiel. 2

3 ABRSM Parent Information Night- December 9th There will be a parent information evening about ABRSM exams on Sunday, December 9th from pm in Room 35. The Doha representative from ABRSM, Chantelle Laubscher, will come to discuss the exams, registration, and payment. This information night is only for parents of students in the Academic Programme. ABRSM Registration (Theory and Practical Exams) The registration and payment for the ABRSM practical and theory exams will be on Sunday, January 13th from 2-6pm in the reception area at QMA. Chantelle Laubscher is the ABRSM representative in Doha and can be contacted by abrsmqatar@gmail.com or (ABRSM website) HOW TO REGISTER on January 13th at QMA: 1. ABRSM will have a card machine and will also accept cheques made out to Doha College. (The fees go through Doha College Accounts who will then transfer it to London.) 2. ABSOLUTEY NO CASH!!!! ABRSM cannot accept cash 3. If students do not apply on the day they can apply at Doha College Al Waab or West Bay campuses before the final date, Friday, January Application form can be found here: 5. Fees can be found here: Mark your calendars: The ABRSM Theory Exam will take place on Saturday, March 2nd 3

4 The Music Box November 2018 The Katara European Jazz Festival 2018 QMA s student had a wonderful time with musicians from France, Austria and Netherlands during a workshop series held at QMA on the 8th, 9th and 11th of November. QMA students jamming with Dutch musicians during the European Jazz Festival on Saturday, November 10th. Katara European Jazz Festival Performance Taoufik Mirkhan performed with Ma Jazz band and Yassine Ayari accompanied the French band 4

5 The Music Box November 2018 AMD at the MTQ Professional Development Session Maha Seif and Ahmed Al-Karawi, violin teachers in the AMD, conducted a presentation during the annual meeting of the Music Teachers of Qatar. They talked about the difference and similarity between the Western and Eastern violin called Kaman. The difference in tuning the strings, technique of playing the instrument and repertoire. AMD at Sidra's Opening Ceremony On November 12th, Hany Zein, Abdalla Mhoul, Ahmed Karawi, Kenza Obaid (percussion student in the AMD) participated in a performance at the the opening ceremony of Sidra hospital. Music Teachers of Qatar Share Your Ideas Day QMA hosted the second annual Share Your Ideas Day for the Music Teachers of Qatar group on Thursday, November 8th. Teachers from a variety of schools in Qatar attended and presented workshops on their areas of expertise. There were lots of ideas exchanged throughout the day and all participants enjoyed collaborating with their colleagues. 5

6 Kid's and Parent's Corner Kid s Corner bulletin board: Are you able to answer this month s Music Box Kid s Corner question? If sotell your teacher for a chance to have your name in the monthly drawing. Have you seen the new Parent s Corner in the Lobby? Here you will find articles, upcoming information, and news! Check it out! Kid's Corner Question 1. Musical Math: (Assume 4/4 time) 2. List these note values from shortest to longest: (If you know the answers, share it with your private lesson teacher) Teachers will write student s names down on a slip of paper and students will put their paper into the box labeled, Kid s Corner??? outside the office of the Head of the Western Music Department. A drawing will be held each month and a winner announced on the notice board outside the office and maybe something special will be received.??? 6

7 The Music Box November 2018 November Recitals Colleen Wang s violin students on Friday, November 23rd Daniel Edelhoff, Dimo Pishtyalov, and Rachel Seay s brass students on November 23rd, accompanied by Debbie Armstrong, Lorena Manescu s violin student on November 23rd, accompanied by Nayoung Kim Harald Georgi s cello students on November 23rd, accompanied by Zhivka Pesheva Thomas Gnausch, Rony Moser, and Ai Yabana s clarinet and piano students on November 23rd Anna Dieterich s voice students on November 23rd, accompanied by Debbie Armstrong Anna Dieterich s voice students on November 23rd, accompanied by Debbie Armstrong Qatar Youth Orchestra with Guest Conductor Paul Wright Qatar Youth Orchestra was conducted by Mr. Paul Wright on Tuesday, November 6th. Mr. Wright was an in-demand trombonist in the London area, performing with groups such as the London Symphony and playing for various West End shows prior to his career in music education. He is currently teaching music at Qatar Academy-Doha. 7

8 Students selected for Honor Band in Salzburg and NYC Western Music Department students Per-Niklas Barth (percussion) and Tianyi Xu (trombone) were both selected to participate in the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) Honor Band Festival that will take place in Salzburg, Austria in February, Tianyi and Per-Niklas submitted recorded auditions to the selection committee and were selected from a large pool of candidates from international schools across the globe. Tianyi has also been selected to perform in the Honor Band of the Honors Performance Series in February in the world-famous Carnegie Hall of New York City. Congratulations, Per-Niklas and Tianyi! Buzzvember Rachel Seay s brass students have successfully completed the first QMA Buzzvember challenge! Students pledged to play their instruments every day of the month. Well done to those who completed the challenge! Violin Masterclass with Savitri Grier On December 11th QMA will host a masterclass with renowned UK violinist Savitri Grier in partnership with the British Council. Ms. Grier read music at Christ Church, Oxford and in 2017 completed her Artist Diploma with distinction at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Takeno. She is currently at the Universität der Künste Berlin in the class of Nora Chastain on a full DAAD scholarship. Ms. Grier has given recitals at festivals and venues across Europe including the East Neuk Festival retreat, the Holland International Music Sessions, Musique à Marsac in France, Krzyzowa Chamber Music in Poland, Avigdor Classics in Bern, Sage Gateshead, the St Magnus, Bury St. Edmunds, Newbury, Norfolk & Norwich, Portsmouth, Harrogate and Roman River Festivals. Recent solo highlights include the Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, English Chamber, London Mozart Players, Welsh National Opera, Barbican Young and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestras. In 2016 she made her debut at Carnegie s Weill Recital Hall. QMA violinists Anna Zafagni, Julia Salvaggio, Ailsa Cameron, Georgina Harris, and Zahra Zen will be playing for Ms. Grier. The masterclass will take place on December 11th from 6-7:30pm in Ziriab Hall. Admission is free and first come, first served. You can register on the British Council s website: 8

9 3rd Congress of the Youth Identities 2018 On the 19th and 20th of November, the AMD s faculty participated in the 3rd Congress of the Youth Identities, held at Qatar sports club and sponsored by His Excellency Sheikh Jasim Bin Hamad Bin Nassir Al-Thani. The exhibition was an opportunity to promote QMA and the Arab Music Department in order to attract Qatari students to the programme. Welcome Back, Dr. Debbie Armstrong! Hello again dear QMA community, After a 28 month stay in Singapore, I flew back to Doha on November first! My time in Southeast Asia was really interesting and exposed me to sights and experiences I never dreamt I would be lucky enough to encounter. I taught history, theory and chamber music at the School of the Arts in Singapore, and was mentor to some wonderful young pianists in Jakarta where I also gave professional training to music teachers. In addition, I gave recitals in China, Southeast Asia and Ireland. It has been wonderful to see many of you again over the past couple of weeks and meet some of our new students and parents. Thank you very much for the very warm and sincere welcome back I have received from so many of you. It has been hilarious to see students who are now several feet taller than when I last saw them, and a lot of fun to accompany former and newer students in their violin, brass and singing lessons and recitals! I look forward to continuing my accompanying work and also teaching my theory / musicianship classes.i also look forward to catching up with more of you! It's truly great to be back, Dr. Debbie 9

10 AMD at Hamad Hospital The AMD conducted a music therapy session for patient from Hamad hospital, Psychiatry department. It was great successful. The session entitled "Reactivating Memory through Music'' the idea was to be working on reactivating some memories relate to the love of the country by singing the National Anthem, Allah ya omri Qatar and history and souvenir through video and photos related the Qatari traditional heritage Hamad hospital wrote: On 20 November 2018, HMC s Mental Health Service organized for music teachers from Qatar Music Academy (QMA) to share the joys of music with male inpatients at the Psychiatry Hospital. Mr. Yassin Ayari, Head of the Arab Music department at QMA, who helped facilitate this highly successful Arabic music session, led the group of male patients in singing Qatar s national anthem, local diving and other folk songs. He accompanied this with the playing of while playing the nay, which is the main wind instrument of Middle Eastern music and the only wind instrument in classical Arabic music. Dr Suhaila Ghuloum, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Professor at Weil Cornell Medicine, was instrumental in organizing the workshop. She explained about the increasing evidence of the therapeutic role of music specifically and the arts in general for people with mental health issues: We in Qatar have such a rich tradition of songs and music which can help in the recovery of our patients. Mr. Iain Tulley, CEO of the Mental Health Service and the National Health Strategy Lead - Mental Health & Wellbeing for the State of Qatar, added: One of the challenges in our in-patient setting is providing a sufficient range of activities to keep people occupied, and this was the first in what we plan to be a series of sessions. I am pleased several of our Occupational Therapists, Nurses and Psychiatrists were present to witness the level of enjoyment and engagement from patients. We are working on incorporating more activities into a daily program as part of the therapy and support we offer within the hospital. Staff who were able to join also enjoyed learning the complex clapping rhythms to accompany the musician s playing of various traditional percussion instruments such as the tar, tabla, riq (type of tambourine) and daf (large Arabian frame drum). Ahmed s oud kept the melody going throughout the session. The patients were elated and several were animated to perform the traditional dance and singing along, often calling for their favorite tunes to be played. The general enjoyment of all participants led to the session being extended as patients were given percussion instruments and asked to follow increasingly complex rhythms, which they did with great aplomb. All in attendance agreed it was a wonderful collaboration that should be repeated. 10

11 AMD in the Media Protools Workshop On November 28th, AVID Company (Protools) hosted a very successful workshop session conducted by Star Sreejesh Nair, a multi-award winning sound engineer. The session was an initiative to set a future collaboration between AVID and QMA to conduct a workshop series at QMA s music lab. This is a new experience that QMA are setting for studio recording fun! 11

12 Important Information: Arab Music Department Important Dates What Parents Can Do To Help Their Child: Reduce after school activities Be sure to leave and collect your child in and from his class room Attend his instrumental lesson without disturbing the teaching process Be involved in your child s progress (ask the teacher/send /take appointment) Have your music stand at home Have your foot stand at home Listen to your child play Create a schedule for practice Attend recitals and concerts to support your child 12

13 Important Dates: Western Music Department 13

14 Important Information: Western Department Violin Internal Exams Internal Violin Exams are coming soon! Students are to be dressed in standard concert attire (white top, black bottom, or all white, or all black). We are excited to have our first public internal exams this year parents and students are strongly encouraged to stay to listen and support our QMA violin department. Remember to fill out THREE (3) copies of the grading rubric before the exam. Rubrics will be available outside Ziriab Hall. 14

15 Important Information: Western Music Department Violin Internal Exams 15