#1 Gift Idea That's Not a Toy? Music Lessons.

According to the Huffington Post, what’s the #1 gift idea for kids that’s not a toy?  Music lessons!  With Kindermusik, your newborn to 7 year old child can get a head start on their musical journey at Kathy's Music LLC, whose award-winning Kindermusik program is celebrating 10 years of offering the world’s most beloved music and movement curriculum. 

The gift of a Kindermusik Class will create memories that will be far more memorable than the latest toy or gadget.  It's a gift that can last as many weeks as you want with Gift Certificates in any amount.  They can be used towards any future class.

SPECIAL OFFER:  We will include a Kindermusik CD with each Gift Certificate purchase.

Purchase 2 or more months of Kindermusik and you'll also receive a pair of jingle bells.

At Kathy's Music, you can purchase a gift certificate towards music lessons as well.
We offer piano, voice, guitar, ukulele, violin, viola, flute, and saxophone.  

We have group voice classes and a performance ensemble as well. 

Starting in February, we'll be offering preschool piano classes for 4's & 5's.  So there's more music to choose from than ever before.

CONTACT us today or Call (412) 344-0535.

Special Offer: Enroll now for a class, defer start and payment to January. We can help!

Favorite Board Books Suggested by our Kindermusik Parents.

by Kathy Morrison

I'm always looking for a great book and I love lists.  Put these 2 together and it feels like a big win. 

We asked some Kindermusik parents of children ages 0-24 months about their favorite books to read with their child. Below is their list that we are delighted to share with others.  

May you enjoy every moment of reading with your child!

Sophia The Giraffe Peekaboo Sophie!
Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
That's Not My Truck by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells
That's Not My Snowman
That's Not My Dragon
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault and Lois Ehlert
Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Good Morning, Good Night! by Teresa Imperato and Melanie Mitchell
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore
Llama Llama Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney
But Not The Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems
Good Night Pittsburgh by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper
Bedtime for Chickies by Janee Trasler
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram

Our Teachers are Teaching AND Performing.

One benefit Kathy’s Music offers their students are teachers that are actively performing through out the community.  Their commitment to teaching and performing keeps them in top form and well connected with other artists in the Pittsburgh area and surrounding communities.  This year’s line up of performances is impressive with a variety of shows and venues.  We invite you to take advantage of these opportunities and support our teachers in the process.

Allison Johnston (piano and Kindermusik instructor) sings with the Mendelssohn Choir with several events coming up this season. See this link to learn more:  http://www.themendelssohn.org/

Helen Andrascik and Sarah Garin (both string instructors) perform throughout the season with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.

Learn more here:  http://www.wheelingsymphony.com

Josie Kost (flute, piano, and Kindermusik instructor) performs throughout the season with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in Greenville, PA.

Learn more here about their upcoming Nutcracker performance: http://www.thegreenvillesymphony.org

Jenifer Weber (Kindermusik instructor) will be performing as a chorister in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of Otello on November 8, 11, 14, & 16. The 8th and 14th are at 8pm, the 11th  is at 7pm, and the 16th is at 2pm. Tickets can be found at pittsburghopera.org and start at $16. No one needs to buy the most expensive tickets. Even the last row in the highest balcony is a great vantage point!

A night at the opera makes a great date night: great food and passionate music

making! For a successful night, make a reservation at one of many fabulous restaurants like Grit & Grace, Meat & Potatoes, or stop in at Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room. Park at the Theater Square Garage (entrance on 7th Street off of Penn) for easy access. Stay downtown after the show for a quick night cap and dessert to avoid the parking garage rush!

Jenifer will also be performing in Britten's Ceremony of Carols with Resonance Works on Dec. 5 & 6 at 7:30 and 7 at 3. This work is paired with Christmas favorite Amahl & the Night Visitors. Tickets can be found at resonanceworks.org. (See Pam’s note below as well).

Jenifer performs through the season with Undercroft Opera.  There will be a special perfomrance at the Phipps in Decembe. That show is free with admission to Phipps Conservatory.  See http://phipps.conservatory.org for more details later this fall.

The following is a list of events that Pam Murchison (flute, piano, and Kindermusik instructor) will be participating in:

October 26 - World premiere of "Evolutions 2" by Pgh composer Sean Neukom on at "Kanawha Forum 2.0" in Charleston, WV, a work I commissioned for solo piccolo. I'm also playing a work by Pgh composer Roger Zahab, "From Above" https://www.facebook.com/events/1413915965511610/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

November 1 - "Symphony Spooktacular" with Ohio Valley Symphony - http://ovs.arieltheatre.org/

November 7 - Akron Symphony Orchestra, music of Prokofiev with violin soloist Joshua Bell - http://instantencore.com/concert/details.aspx?PId=5111575

November 14-16 - West Virginia Symphony Orchestra - music of Brahms http://wvsymphony.org/

November 15 - "Paul Bunyan and Friends" Family Discover Concert with West Virginia Symphony and Luke Frazier - http://wvsymphony.org/concerts-and-tickets/family-discovery-series

Nov. 17 - Guest artist recital and masterclass at Ohio University in Athens, OH

November 18-21 - WV Symphony Young People's Concerts - performing 8 concerts in 3 cities. Last fall, we performed for nearly 10,000 school children throughout WV

December 5-7 – “Amahl and the Night Visitors” – performing at Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside. This is a lovely Christmas sotry about the visit of the three Magi and will be programmed with the Britten’s Ceremony of Carols.   http://www.resonanceworks.org/#!amahl---britten/c1imy

Anja Wade (guitar, ukulele, and piano teacher) is collaborating with Chelsey Nicole of Chelsey Nicole and the Northside Vamps, as well as Avi Diamond (separate acts but both are vocalists based in Pittsburgh).  She’s performed on guitar with both of these ladies in the city, so be on the look out!

EVITA

Stage 62

Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall 

in Carnegie, PA

Thu. to Sat., Nov. 13-15 and 20-22 at 8 pm; Sun. Matinees Nov. 16 and 23 at 2 pm

Stage62.com

Robin Hawbaker (one of our piano teachers) is directing.

AND Shows JUST for Kids!

Special thanks to Robin Hawbaker for the details on these shows. She is marketing these shows through her work at Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

SKIPPYJON JONES

Pittsburgh International Children's Theater

Various locations - Byham Theater, Penn Hills High School, Marshall Middle School, Moon High School, Upper St. Clair High School, Seneca Valley Intermediate High School

October 19-26

TrustArts.org/Kids

I market these shows at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

SKINK

Pittsburgh International Children's Theater

Various locations - Byham Theater, Penn Hills High School, Marshall Middle School, Moon High School, Upper St. Clair High School, Seneca Valley Intermediate High School

November 16-22

TrustArts.org/Kids

I market these shows at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

BIG NATE

Pittsburgh International Children's Theater

Byham Theater only

November 23

TrustArts.org/Kids

I market these shows at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Please welcome Anoush Tchakarian to our Music School!

Anoush Tchakarian

Piano Instructor, Performer, Accompanist

We are pleased to announce that Anoush Tchakarian has joined our music school teaching Elite Artistry lessons on piano in our Mt. Lebanon location. 

Anoush Tchakarian started playing piano at the age of four and at the age of five she was accepted in the first of its kind class for gifted children at the Music High School “Lubomir Pipkov” in her native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. Her first solo recital took place in 1987. 

In 1997 Anoush graduated the school with excellent Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy Diplomas in the piano class of Vera Mitcheva. Afterward she successfully took her exceptional Piano Performance Bachelor Degree at the National Music Conservatory “P. Vladigerov” in Sofia, in the piano class of Prof. Marina Kapatsinskaya and in the chamber music class of Prof. Dimitar Kozev. During these years, Anoush participated in several national and international festivals in Bulgaria, England, and Finland as soloist as well as with different chamber music ensembles. She also participated in many national and international master classes coached by outstanding pianists such as Prof. Boris Bloch, Prof. Marco Tezza, and Prof. Bruce Voght. 

Anoush is a laureate from various national competitions with Second Prize from the National Competition for German and Austrian Music, and winner of the Special Prize of His Excellency the German Ambassador in Bulgaria. She was a soloist of the National Music Conservatory Orchestra in 2001 in Sofia, and soloist of the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra in Pittsburgh in 2004 as the winner of the Concerto Competition. Anoush performed numerous solo recitals and charity concerts with a vast piano and harpsichord repertoire. She has great experience as a collaborative pianist and participated in different chamber music ensembles. She has made various recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio, the Bulgarian National Television, and WQED Multimedia, Pittsburgh, PA. 

In February of 2006 Anoush won the Western Pennsylvania Steinway Society Piano Competition. 

She is also a member of the National Music Honor Society Pi Kappa Lambda, and the Women’s Advisory Board at Duquesne University. In 2013, Anoush won Award of Excellence for her performance of Ravel’s Ondine from Gaspard de la Nuit in the Global Music Awards Competition, La Jolla, California.

Currently she is an adjunct professor of piano in the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University, and piano faculty in City Music Center.          

Building Math Skills in Music Class

by Kathy Morrison, Director

Kindermusik with Kathy's Music is committed to using music to develop the whole child, including math skills such as sequencing.

While sequencing is a cognitive skill and invites memorization, the act of sequencing increases vocabulary by using words such as “first”, “next”, “last”, “before”, “then”, etc.  In our preschool classes, we practice creating our own sequences in the Hello How Do You Do song,  learn the sequence to chants such as "Two Hands", and introduce the Rondo form or sequence in songs like "What Shall We Do" and "Grasshopper Park Instrumental Medley. " Story time is an invitation for the children to remember the sequence from the last lesson. In addition, we will use ensemble activities to remember the sequence of who plays first, who plays next, and who plays last, etc.

Each lesson uses the child’s love of play and discovery to notice and practice the musical and cognitive concept of sequencing. 

But why is sequencing important?

'Sequencing is the process of putting events, ideas, and objects in a logical order. Why is sequencing important? We sequence all day long—we divide our time into what we need to do first, second, and last; we understand events in our lives by understanding the order in which they occur. For some children, sequencing can be a hard concept to grasp, especially when they are trying to tell a story. Using good key words like “first,”“next,” “then,” and “finally,” cue your child as to what is coming next.'

-Becky L. Spivey, M.Ed

Learning how to sequence, put objects in order, and create patterns are basic math skills. Here are some thoughts on these concepts by “Extension”, America’s research based learning network:

Ordering, sequencing, and patterning are important foundational skills for mathematics. Child care providers can build young children's early math skills by help them learn sequencing, seriation, and patterning.

• Sequencing is the ability to create and identify patterns. For example, children may stack blocks in a pattern of red, blue, red, blue, and so on. As adults, using calendars is one way we use sequencing skills. We look at a calendar and look for the pattern that helps us predict what day or month comes next. For preschoolers, sequencing means knowing which number comes next.

• Seriation is arranging objects in order by size, location or position. Have you ever asked children to arrange objects from smallest to largest, largest to smallest, shortest to tallest or thinnest to thickest? You’ve been teaching seriation. Young children who understand seriation can put numbers in order from lowest to highest, smallest to largest. Eventually, they will come to understand that 6 is higher than 5 or 20 is higher than 10.

• Creating Patterns Having children copy patterns or create patterns of their own (such as red, blue, red, blue, red, blue) may seem simple, but it is a great way to help children recognize order in the world and prepare for later math skills, such as multiplication. Child care providers can begin exposing young children to patterns -- long before they are ready to learn multiplication facts -- by having them make groups and count the total number of objects. For example, four groups of three objects each make a total of 12 objects (4 X 3 = 12).

http://www.extension.org/pages/25597/basic-math-skills-in-child-care:-creating-patterns-and-arranging-objects-in-order#.VEQekEvWaRs

We're using your child's curiosity to build a foundation in music while teaching them skills for life.