Alexander Doan School of Music

Alright, Mother Nature…Real talk…You’ve had your fun now…You gave us a bad winter, and you teased us with summer weather before dumping this cold, wet weather on us. It’s the end of May…Enough is enough…LOL. I have a running joke with Vanishka’s mother about bad weather, so, Freya, I know you are reading this, but did you bring this upon us?? LOL. The month of May has flown by. It’s been a very busy month for me, both personally (Mother’s Day and my Mom’s birthday, for example), and professionally with regards to the school. A standing rule with me is, I don’t do any work when I return home in the evening after teaching, however I have an official confirmation and announcement that I’m eager to share with everyone so I’ve decided to tack on some additional work hours this evening by writing the newsletter, as I listen to Beethoven’s 9th symphony playing on my speakers from my living room. Here’s what we have for this months newsletter…..

• 1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Announcement
• July and August Newsletter/Student of The Month
• Birthday Party Fun!
• A Completed Painting
• Student Of The Month

1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Announcement

As some of you know, finding a venue for student recitals this past month has been…challenging, to say the least. LOL. I’ve been very picky as to what I wanted for us, including some ‘wish list’ items, and after meetings this week, I’m very eager and happy to say, we have one. So let me make the official announcement…The 1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital is now official!!!! Before I get into the details, I would first like to thank everyone that suggested a venue. All of your suggestions were fantastic and I thoroughly researched them. Thank you again. Here are the details, followed by some F.A.Q’s….

• Event: 1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital
• Date: Saturday, October 4, 2025
• Time: 1pm-3pm
• Where: St. Andrew’s United Church, 5645 Morrison Street, Niagara Falls

F.A.Q.’s

Is it mandatory that I, or my child(ren), perform at the recital? No, it is not mandatory, however, it is strongly encouraged. I’m very proud of each of my students and since I launched here in the Niagara Region, everyone has progressed beyond my expectations. I think it’s important to showcase what the students have been working on and let’s be honest, parents love to take pictures! And for my adult and retired students, I encourage you to perform as well. Many of my young students are always surprised to find out that an adult takes music lessons with me. Many of them are surprised and think only kids do. I think it would be great for them to see you perform as well. It can be very inspiring to a young musician.

Why October? The initial plan was to hold our first recital for this coming June. First, getting a venue with what I wanted, and hoped to have, was very time consuming the past couple of months. I looked at so many options. Only this morning was the venue finalised so I didn’t want to be rushing the planning for this event. More importantly, I was told the sanctuary at the church, where the recital is being held, does not have air conditioning. I didn’t want everyone to have to deal with the heat at the end of June, so I picked a time that would be more pleasant and before the winter weather hits. Also, it gives me more time with each student to prepare music over the summer months to perform, especially for those whom have just recently started studying with me. I’ll start focusing on recital pieces with students towards the end of June/beginning of July.

Why Niagara Falls? Trying to get something confirmed that is mid-point for everyone, was also a challenge. I decided to try and get something in Niagara because the school is an officially registered business here, so it made sense. Also, Niagara Falls is more centered on tourism, so having an event like this, even though its only for us, I feel can contribute to the arts here somehow. I do have a contact at the local newspaper, and as the time draws nearer I’m going to ask if he would like to attend with the hopes of him possibly doing an article afterwards.

Do the piano students need to bring a keyboard, or are you providing a rental? Neither. This was the icing on the cake. The church is allowing us full use of their beautiful Grand Piano!! I’m so excited that our piano students are going to have this opportunity!

Are you still planning on doing a Toy Drive? Yes. I mentioned this in one of my meetings with the church staff and they actually told me that the church takes donations for slightly used toys and also canned food items. I’m going to be doing both and the church will be providing the donation bins. They do sell the toys (at a very low cost) at their events, but all of the proceeds go to charitable causes and not for profit. They did assure me of this.

Are you affiliated with the church? I am not. I had a list of items that were important to me for picking a venue. Safety, good acoustics, a place we can return to for future recitals and for me to build a business relationship with, resonable associated costs, etc. These were just a few on my wish list. I did meet with the local library as well this week and I had an option for us there, however we were limited to library hours on a Saturday, and I didn’t want us to have to rush, plus they were also booked with events in June. Having a piano was never a major concern as I was planning on renting an 88-key digital keyboard for us. I was so happy about the use of the grand piano and with all the other wish list items being met, it was pretty obvious where we were going. I also used to compete at the church as a clarinet soloist in regional competitions when I was in highschool, so I was somewhat familiar with the location and remembered that they rented spaces for music events, or at least knew they did at that time and kept my fingers crossed that they still did.

How many songs am I allowed to perform? At the moment, students can only select one song to perform. I have over 30 students. During the summer months, as students choose the songs they want to perform, I might be able to allow the combination of two short pieces into one, but I won’t know that until I know the timing of each piece selected. Fingers crossed that we don’t have 2 hours of ‘The Juggler’ being performed. LOL. I’m expecting some overlapping of song choices with some students, however I promise I’m going to make sure we don’t end up with everyone playing the same song and have variety. See the above mentioned comment regarding ‘The Juggler’…LOL

I’m one of your clarinet or saxophone students. Will I need a piano player to accompany me? I’m currently working on that.

I’ve never performed in front of people. I’m scared to do it or to make a mistake. It’s ok to be nervous. I still get nervous at times when I’ve performed. I will be right beside you if you want me to be, and it’s ok to make a mistake. You see me do it sometimes when I’m demonstrating a new song for you. And I’ll let you in on a secret…Nobody in the audience will know. Shhh, don’t tell anyone. 😉

More information will be shared over the next few months and I’ll be handing out print-outs that you can hang on your fridge with all the important details, and as I mentioned, during the summer months I’ll be working with everyone regarding songs to pick and getting everyone prepared. I’m so excited!!!!!

July and August Newsletter/Student of The Month

Just like last year, there will be no newsletter or Student of The Month feature for the months of July and August. In June those will conclude and resume in September. It gives me a bit of a break even though I’m still working during those months and now I’ll also have recital practices and planning to do this year. I know, you are going to miss the newsletters. 😉

Birthday Party Fun!

Earlier this month, I was invited to celebrate Vanishka’s 7th birthday!!! Vanishka is one of my piano students and it was a wonderful event. The event was a Dance Party themed party, and Vanishka and her friends owned the dance floor!! There was a DJ, dancing staff members to assist, a face painter and lots more, including some awesome food!! A very big thank you to Vanishka and her family for inviting me, and for the container of food to take home with me!!

A Completed Painting

As always, I like to showcase some of our students achievements outside of the school. This month, I wanted to showcase a painting that was recently done by Sarah, one of my piano students. Sarah was our Student of The Month in January, and even with juggling a busy high-school and work schedule, in addition to piano, she finds the time for another of her favourite pastimes, which is painting. Her most recent painting was completed earlier this month and is pictured below. It looks awesome, Sarah, and thank you so much for sharing it with me and our students!!!

Student Of The Month

Our Student Of The Month for May, 2025, is Teejay!!

Teejay is one of my piano students, as are his 3 siblings. Every week he greets me with a hug after running to the door when he hears me ring the doorbell. Teejay just recently completed the Faber Piano Adventures Level 1 lesson book and has started the Level 2A book and also knows how to play the Super Mario Bros. theme on the piano, plays drums at his church, and is also currently competing in track and field events at his school!! His current choice of stickers for his song completions are the Super Mario stickers, but has also been known to choose from the Spider-Man or Star Wars stickers.

Teejay received his framed Student Of The Month certificate, and is featured in this months newsletter as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and on the school website when the newsletter is posted there.

Congrats, Teejay!!

Coda

Phew!!! That was a long one this month!! But an awesome one!! I can’t tell you how excited I am about our student recital. I’m looking forward to working with all of my students over the next few months in preparation for it and to see them perform!! I leave you this month on a personal note…In June, I’m going to be seeing a live performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, also known as the ‘Ode To Joy’ symphony. I’ve been waiting a long time to see this, and I’ve been doing a full score analysis of the symphony, historical reading regarding the work, you know, just typical music nerd stuff…hehe. For those interested, or for those wondering what an orchestra conductor is reading while he waves his baton at the orchestra, I’ve included a photo below of a sample of what the full orchestral score looks like for the 9th symphony. Enjoy!

Socials & Where To Find Us!

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