There is the old saying of, “Be careful what you wish for”. I feel this week that has been running through my head as, like all of us, I have been steps away from melting due to the heat wave. LOL. I kept advocating for summer weather during the course of the Winter this year, and rightfully so. It wasn’t a great Winter this year. However, I’ll still take this over Winter, and snow, any day. SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE!!! LOL. As I’m writing this, it is a little cooler this morning and there has been rain, which means my car is getting cleaned…LOL A few of you have asked this week how my new house has been holding up in the heat. It has actually been great. My A/C cools the house down fairly quickly, within 10 minutes, and holds the cold temperature really well, so I only need to turn the air back on every 2-3 hours for about 10-15 minutes. I guess that’s a benefit of a brand new build with fresh insulation? This months newsletter has a lot of student accomplishments to cover and some reminders that were mentioned last month, so here’s what we have….
- 1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Reminder
- July and August Newsletter/Student of The Month Reminder
- Upcoming Newsletter Additions
- Student Awards
- More Student Artwork
- A New Violin
- Good Luck, Luke and Jude
- Student Of The Month
1st Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Reminder
In July, I’m going to begin working with students on recital pieces and I’m also going to be handing out physical recital reminders over the summer months to everyone so that you can put one up on your fridge, but here’s a reminder of the dates and I’ve included the FAQ’s from the newsletter last month as well for some of my newest students…..
- 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. 😉
July and August Newsletter/Student of The Month Reminder
Even though lessons still continue through the summer months, just like last year, there will be no newsletter or Student of The Month feature for the months of July and August. It will return in September.
Upcoming Newsletter Additions
Starting in September, I’m going to be adding a few additions to the monthly newsletters. One of the monthly additions I’m going to be adding are music dates of importance, such as famous musicians and composers birthdays, significant music history dates, etc. I also want to include more music features, similar to what I did in April for International Jazz Day. The first that I will be doing for September is going to be some music history related to Beethoven’s 9th symphony (I know, big surprise right? lol). I think adding more feature ideas in addition to the monthly music dates are important, regardless of a student thinking about a career in music, or not. And, well, I am a teacher. LOL
Student Awards
With the month of June being the official end to the school year for students, there is always a chance of school awards being received. This month, I am featuring some of the school awards that were received by some of my students. When I arrived last week for my lessons with Kristen, Ranti and Teejay, they were very excited to show me their school awards. Here’s some pictures of them displaying their awards, including Ranti with her Music Award! Congratulations Kristen, Ranti and Teejay!!!
More Student Artwork
Last month I featured a painting that was completed by Sarah, one of my piano students. This month I have more to feature. The artwork below was recently completed by Liana, my clarinet student. The painting depicts a portrait of herself and behind her are various words related to portions of her life, such as campus, learning, friendships etc. Up close, the words are easy to read and shows the life of a busy student. The idea behind the painting is as you move further away from the art, the words in the background become less visable, creating the effect of taking a few steps back during a business life schedule to give yourself a break. I’ve also included a second painting of an animal eye that she completed last year. Awesome work, Liana!!
A New Violin
As always, I love when my students get new instruments and I love featuring that in the newsletters. A few months back, I featured Elora when she got her new piano. At the time I also included a photo of her playing violin at school. This past month, Elora received her own violin!! And the first song she played for me when she showed it to me was, Beethoven’s Ode To Joy (my students know me well!) Here she is with the new violin. Congrats, Elora!!
Good Luck, Luke and Jude
The most difficult thing about being a teacher, for me, is saying farewell to a student, or students. I develop wonderful relationships with my students, I genuinely care about them, and I’m always eager to see each of them every week. This month, was my final month of lessons with Luke, and his brother, Jude. The brothers studied piano with me for almost two years and they are moving to India with their family. I won’t lie, I shed some tears in my car afterwards.
Luke and Jude: I wish you nothing but luck and good times in India. I will miss our weekly talks about Batman, Jude hoping Santa will bring him a Bugatti, and the way you both made me laugh. And to Anna and Xavier, thank you very much for welcoming me into your home every week and for your wonderful hospitality, and most importantly, for trusting me to be the boy’s music teacher. Thank you.
(Is somebody cutting onions in here?)
Student Of The Month
Our Student Of The Month for June, 2025, is Bruce!!
Bruce is the first of my adult students to be featured as our Student Of The Month, and has been studying piano with me, learning from the Faber Piano Adventures For The Older Beginner lesson book. Bruce recently finished learning two versions of Beethoven’s ‘Ode To Joy’ and he and I have been engaged in some wonderful discussions about Beethoven’s 9th symphony, sharing the same admiration for certain recordings of the symphonic masterpiece, and perhaps even at some point we might have been listening to a recording of it while conducting at his piano. Bruce’s dog, Bijoux, pictured with him above, always greets me at the door every week and loves to play ‘hard to get’ with me, with her toy platypus dangling from her mouth for me to grab, which results in me never getting it as she runs away, wanting me to chase her. *Spoiler alert…I don’t chase her.
Bruce 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, Bruce!!
Socials & Where To Find Us!
- Web: https://www.doansom.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADOANSOM
- Twitter (now ‘X’): https://twitter.com/alexander_doan
- Google Reviews if you would like to leave a review: https://g.page/r/CbNrxK_Veae6EB0/review
Alexander Doan School of Music 