Alexander Doan School of Music

As I sit and write our first newsletter after the summer months, I’m feeling a smile form on my face. This month is the official start to the 3rd year of launching my business in the Niagara Region and teaching music in your homes. Wow!!! 3 years!!! I’m still full of various emotions at times regarding that. The overwhelming support from all of the students and parents has been absolutely amazing, I still have constant inquiries regarding lessons, new students registering, and in just a little over a week, WE HAVE OUR FIRST ANNUAL RECITAL!!!!! Every day I look forward to going to work and the most valuable aspect for me are the relationships I’ve formed with both the students, and the parents. Over the summer months, the focus in lessons has been the pieces that everyone is performing in the recital next week. Every week I’ve seen each student work on their pieces, work through any challenging areas, and fine tune small details. I’ve watched some add more advanced techniques to their songs that I’ve taught them, such as finger slides down the piano keys, or improvising on some notes, or adding trills on the clarinet. And each week I was always thinking, “Wow, these are my students.” I’m VERY proud of each of you, and of all the recitals I’ve hosted over the years, our first one next week is the one I’m looking forward to the most. We have a lot of talent that will be on the stage next week, and represented across all ages. September is also the month that parents are usually excited because it means the kids are back to school!! Or, perhaps it means a busier schedule…LOL. I love that I’m still teaching through the summer months and it’s nice to have, at times, a different schedule for a few months, but I do look forward to when September comes and being back at the usual afternoon/evening schedules for most. As mentioned in June, I’m adding some new features into the monthly newsletter, such as music history dates, and one new feature that was suggested to me over the summer months that I’m adding in as well is a Pet Corner. Let’s get to it! Here’s what we have for this month…

• Final Recital Details
• Good Luck, Vanishka
• Summer Fun
• Pet Corner
• This Month In Music History
• Student Of The Month

Final Recital Details

I’m going to start this section with big, bold letters……DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR MUSIC!!! lol… Even if you have your performance piece memorized, bring your music. If you happen to get a little nervous, sometimes nerves can take over and we can forget things. Our nerves can have a negative impact on our performance such as forgetting parts of our piece, fingerings, or even knocking an expensive clarinet across the stage just prior to your first solo performance with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (yes, I actually did that…lol). DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR MUSIC!!! I will be bringing a music stand for the solo instrument performances.

An email was sent out this past weekend to everyone to confirm attendance numbers for any guests you are brining that are not a member of your household, such as grandparents. This coming Thursday (September 25th) is my cutoff for that, so if I don’t hear from you regarding extra persons, I will assume I’ve either spoken to you already or you aren’t bringing additional guests.

I will be at the venue somewhere between 12-12:30 pm. Entrance into the church is the entrance at the parking lot side. I’ll either be at the door to direct everyone or have someone there doing it (Hey Mom, want a job on October 4th? Asking for a friend).

At some point I would like to have some pictures taken of me with all of the students. We can do this either before the performances begin, or at the conclusion. Programs will be available at the entrance, and here is the current order, which is subject to slightly change…..

• David
• Altey and Alex
• Ranti
• Clara and Alex
• Isabela
• Bence
• Remy
• Jacqueline and Josie
• Arie
• William (awaiting confirmation to be discussed this week)
• Teejay
• Noah
• Kristen
• Elora
• Ari
• Priya
• Sarah (awaiting confirmation regarding work schedule)
• Harriet
• Liana
• Josie
• Pamela
• Bruce
• Bennie

Please arrive early. There will not be any assigned seating, however, I would like to have all of the performers in the first two rows and that will be instructed as everyone arrives. Oh, and one more thing…Not sure if I mentioned this yet…DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR MUSIC!!! 😉

Good Luck, Vanishka

In the June newsletter, I featured Luke and Jude, as they concluded lessons with me prior to moving to India with their family. In July, I bid farewell to Vanishka and her family, prior to them moving to Dubai. Vanishka was one of my earliest piano students and every week she was so excited to tell me about her week, including her pizza day lunches at school on Wednesdays. Her parents, Freya and Akash, always welcomed me into their home with wonderful hospitality and I would be lying if I said I didn’t shed tears in my car after our final lesson (ok, I might be shedding a couple right now). To Vanishka and the Shukla family, I wish you nothing but the very best in Dubai, and I’m looking forward to video calls with you once you are settled.

Summer Fun

One aspect I love about my job is how much the students make me laugh and smile every week. Over the summer we were hard at work with recital preparations, but it didn’t mean that there wasn’t time for some laughs and fun…Here’s a few pictures I took of some of those moments this summer…..

Pet Corner

As mentioned, one of the new features of the newsletter, as suggested by one of my piano students, Pamela, is featuring some of the family pets I see weekly. The first to be featured, and I’m sure it’s no surprise to Ashley and her family, is Clark!!!!! Every week, without fail, as I pull up to the house, Clark is sitting on the front porch waiting for me (Ok, let’s pretend he actually is waiting for me). As soon as I shut off my car, he comes running over to the driver’s door to greet me. Clark usually sits beside me while I teach the kids and also likes to lay on the lounge chair next to us as I rub his tummy (sorry, Ashley…not sorry?). Clark has various nicknames such as, ‘Chunky’, ‘Loaf of Bread’, or just ‘Clarkie’ (that may have been mine). Clark is a bulldog and is named after Clark Griswald, the character Chevy Chase played in the National Lampoon movies. Priya, Bence, Atley and Arie had been asking me for months to bring Molly over for a visit so they could meet her and for her to meet Clark, so on one of my days off in the summer, Molly and I had a visit with Clark and the family.

This Month In Music History

JAZZ

• Saxophonist Art Pepper born (Sept 1, 1925)
• Jazz saxophonist, John Coltrane, records First Meditations for Quartet (Sept. 2, 1965)
• Miles Davis opened at Royal Roost (Sept 3, 1948)
• Clarinetist Sidney Bechet records Blues In Thirds with Earl Hines (Sept 6, 1940)
• Jazz tenor saxophonist, Sonny Rollins is born (Sept 7, 1930)
• Miles Davis records ‘Round Midnight’ with tenor saxophonist, John Coltrane (Sept 10, 1956)
• Pianist/Singer Harry Connick, Jr. is born (Sept 11, 1967)
• Singer Billie Holiday records ‘He’s Funny That Way’ (Sept 13, 1937)
• Alto Saxophonist Cannonball Adderley is born (Sept 15, 1928)
• Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach record ‘Money Jungle’ (Sept 17, 1962)
• Saxophonist/Composer John Coltrane is born (Sept 23, 1926), as is Pianist/Vocalist Ray Charles (Sept 23, 1930)
• Singer Sarah Vaughan records ‘My Funny Valentine’ (Sept 24, 1973)
• Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie playst at Carnegie Hall with Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker (Sept. 29, 1947)
• Lous Armstrong and Billie Holiday record ‘You Can’t Lose A Broken Heart’ (Sept 30, 1949)

CLASSICAL

September is officially known as, Classical Music Month and was first introduced by President Bill Clinton, in 1994, as a way to bring awareness to, and preserve, classical music. The term ‘classical’ typically refers to a single period of music history, however it’s also known to most as the combination of five smaller periods of music history with each era having it’s own differences and characteristics. The most known composers of the Classical Era, or Eras, are Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Brahms. Here’s a rundown of each era that makes up the ‘Classical Era’ as a whole….

• Medieval (500-1400) – Mostly influenced by the churches of the time, the main forms of music were Gregorian Chants and major composers of this time were Gildegard von Bingen, and Guillaume de Machaut.
• Renaissance (1400-1600) – As music began to move away from the church, experimentation was encouraged and the invention of the printing press allowed for composer’s works to be circulated and shared. Major composers of the period were William Byrd, Claudio Monteverdi and Josquin Des Prez.
• Baroque (1600-1750) – This is considered one of the most important eras of music as the forms of the concerto, sonata, cantata and oratorio were created and instruments in the symphonic orchestra began to advance past just the strings and brass. Major composers from this era were Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi.
• Classical (1750-1820) – The music of the Classical Era was considered more simpler, more fun, and more melodic than the Baroque music before it. It was also the music period that introduced woodwinds such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoons to the symphony orchestra. The major composers of this time were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven began his career during this time, but he is the sole reason for the transition to the Romantic period).
• Romantic (1820-1910) – This era is arguably, and in my opinion, the most important era of music and why we still have symphonic forms of music still being composed today. In addition to the size of the orchestra once again growing, the music that was being composed was very emotional and very expressive. And the composer at the center of it, who was responsible for these changes, and was the bridge between the Classical period transitioning into the Romantic period, was Ludwig van Beethoven. Next month I’ll be featuring Beethoven in the newsletter and why he was so important in music, and why his 9th Symphony, known as the ‘Ode To Joy’ symphony, was, and still is, considered the greatest symphonic work created. Other major composers during this period were Frederic Chopin, Fanz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Johannes Brahms.

Student Of The Month

Our Student Of The Month for September, 2025, is Josie!!

Josie is another of my adult students to be featured as our Student Of The Month, studying piano with me, and learning from the Faber Piano Adventures For The Older Beginner series of books. Recently, Josie completed the first book in the series and has now moved to the next book. Josie’s two children, Jude and Jacqueline, also study piano with me, and at our recital in October, Josie will be playing a duet with her daughter, in addition to performing a solo piece!!

Josie received her 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, Josie!!

Coda

Wow, that was a beefy newsletter!! Lot’s of great stuff wrapped up in this one. We are just over a week away from the recital!!!!!!! I can’t wait!!! Still lots to do on my end and just some final touches on some of the pieces being performed, but I can honestly say that everyone is ready, and it’s going to be awesome!! Have a great week and I’ll see you in your lessons!

Oh and I’m not sure if I mentioned this or not…. DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR MUSIC!!! Hehehe. 😉

Socials & Where To Find Us!

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