“Schooooool’s Out…For…Summer..” (Yes I attempted to channel some Alice Cooper there…lol). But yes, school is out and the kids are officially on summer break without the worry of homework, tests or teachers. Well, except for me…But I’m fun and great….Right?!?! LOL. I do look forward to hearing about the end of the year school trips or school awards that are received. For me, I’m still working through the summer months and it gives me a chance to run a modified schedule with some students moving to day time slots, and this year I was able to move my Sunday students to different days for the summer months, allowing me to have full weekends off for the first time in 15 years. This past weekend was the start of that schedule and I kept saying to Sue, “Oh yeah, I’m off again tomorrow” (meaning Sunday) and “It’s going to feel weird not teaching on Sunday”. Even if it’s only for the summer months, I’m very happy to have this option this year and thanks again to the students/parents that generously moved days to allow this. We have a mix of topics to cover in this month’s newsletter, including more reminders, so let’s get to it. Here’s what we have for our June, 2026 newsletter…..
- REMINDER – 2026 Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Announcement
- July and August Newsletter/Student of The Month Reminder
- Physical Awards Arrived
- Good Luck, Sarah!!
- Student Achievments
- Beethoven’s 9th and Air Supply
- Pet Corner
- Student Of The Month
REMINDER – 2026 Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital Announcement
Here’s another reminder for some of our new students of our Annual Student Recital that was announced at the start of May, including the FAQ’s that were answered…..
- Event: 2026 Annual Alexander Doan School of Music Student Recital
- Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
- 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 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? As we did last year, the decision was made for our annual recitals to take place in October. 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? The school is an officially registered Niagara Falls business, so it makes 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.
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 once again allowing us full use of their beautiful Grand Piano!! I’m so excited that our piano students are going to have this opportunity again!
Are you still planning on doing a Toy Drive? Yes. Last year we filled two donation bins and I have no doubt that we can do that again this year. The church takes donations for slightly used or new toys and the church will be providing the donation bins again. 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 last year and it will be no different this year.
Are you affiliated with the church? I am not. When I was first planning our annual recitals 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. 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 and were going to continue to go. 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.
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. 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, just as we had last year.
I’m one of your clarinet or saxophone students. Will I need a piano player to accompany me? No.
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. Just like last year, 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, there will be no newsletter or Student of The Month feature for the months of July and August. It will return in September.
Physical Awards Arrived
At the start of the month, the physical copies of our recent business awards win were delivered. All of the categories that we were nominated in/won were mounted on wooden plaques, and I also opted for the glass statue for the Platinum award. These will be proudly displayed in my office along with our Readers’ Choice Award wins this past December. 🙂
Good Luck, Sarah!!
I’ve said this many times before, that the hardest part for me as a teacher is saying farewell to students. I genuinely care about my students, look forward to seeing them each week, and I develop wonderful relationships with them. At the start of June, I said farewell to one of my long time students, Sarah. Sarah has been accepted into university in France and will be studying Anthropology. After all the years of teaching, this was the first time in my career that I’ve seen one of my students off to university. I won’t lie, it was a teary-eyed moment. Sarah was a wonderful student, very motivated and balanced a busy schedule with school, work and music lessons. In 2025 I featured some of her paintings in one of our newsletters, and as a thank you for teaching her, she surprised me with an amazing music painting at our last lesson that now hangs in my office (pictured below).
Sarah – Thank you for being a wonderful student, and thank you for the many laughs, generosity, and sharing many of your paintings with me. I wish you nothing but success and I can’t wait to hear about your program. And to Sophie, thank you again for welcoming me into your home, and trusting me to be Sarah’s music teacher. (I’m totally not tearing up again as I write this)
Student Achievments
As always, I love showcasing our student’s achievements outside of the music school. This month we have two to feature. The first is, Elora, who recently created a rain forest diorama for school, and the second is, Priya, who recently placed 2nd for Track and Field at her school! Congrats to both of you!!
Beethoven’s 9th and Air Supply
As you know, I’ve waited years to see a live performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. Last year, I had my chance and the performance I saw was not great. Shortly after, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra released their 2025/26 season schedule and it was announced that they would be closing out this season with their performance of the 9th. I knew that the TSO/Mendelssohn Choir would not disappoint so I had my second chance to see a ‘proper’ 9th. The day the tickets went on sale in August, 2025, I bought two and as patiently as I could, I waited almost a year, with my ticket purchase confirmation staring at me every time I opened my email. On June 13th this month, I finally saw my 9th, and it was everything I wanted it to be. It was an absolutely wonderful performance. Sue was away on an Alaskan cruise with her mother for the week, so I took my mother with me and we enjoyed dinner before hand and a couple of glasses of red wine when we arrived at Roy Thompson Hall. Here’s a couple of pics.
In addition to the Beethoven symphony this month, Sue and I, and our mother’s, went to see Air Supply in concert at the OLG Stage this past weekend (June 27th). I have to say that it was one of the best concerts I’ve seen. Even after 51 years, they were fantastic, and Russell Hitchcock’s famous voice still sounded amazing at 77 years old. Here’s a couple of pics from that evening.
Pet Corner
This year we introduced a new feature into the newsletter to feature some of the family pets that hang out with me while I teach lessons. This month the Pet Corner returns and our featured family pet is, Bijoux!!!
You may recall seeing Bijoux in the June, 2025 newsletter, as she was pictured alongside her ‘Pet Daddy’, Bruce, for his Student Of The Month photo. As I mentioned then, Bijoux 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. As I approach Bruce’s front door every week, I try to reach the doorbell before Bijoux sees me through the window, but she always seems to win at that game and alerts Bruce to my arrival before I reach the doorbell. Bijoux is also very happy to see me when the warm weather arrives and I am wearing shorts, as wearing shorts last year became an invitation for her to continuously lick my legs while I teach Bruce, and she very quickly resumed this ‘feasting’ past time this year. You really can’t make this stuff up…LOL. Good thing she’s cute. LOL
Student Of The Month
Our Student Of The Month for June, 2026 is, Pamela!!!!
Pamela is another of my many piano students, and one of many adult students that I teach. If Pamela looks familiar, it’s because she was one of our students that performed in the recital last year and as she introduced her piece that she was peforming, she suggested that I dance to it, which resulted in everyone chanting for me to do so (thanks again, Pamela…lol). Pamela was our student that suggested the idea of the Pet Corner, and she has been working on an arrangement of Dave Brubeck’s famous jazz piece, ‘Take Five’. Pamela will be performing it in the recital in October alongside a certain clarinet player/teacher you may know 😉
Pamela received her framed Student Of The Month certificate, and is featured in this months newsletter as well as on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, and on the school website when the newsletter is posted there.
Congrats, Pamela!!
Coda
And just like that, poof!! The public school year came to an end, as has our June newsletter. Just a reminder again that there will be no newsletter for July and August, and with this week marking the start of July, please have a safe and a Very Happy Canada Day, and I’ll see you in your summer lessons!
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Alexander Doan School of Music 