I’ve been pretty busy the last few months. Here’s an update on what I’ve been doing.

 

Personal Life 20160720_150036

I had a baby last November. He is such a sweet baby, but having a baby and a 3 year old takes a lot of time and energy. I’m finally starting to feel that we are settling in to being a family of 4 though.

I’m excited that this fall me and the boys will be attending a music class once a week! We did a trial one a couple months ago and it was so much fun.

Music Life

I’ve been working on Certifying with MTNA on both the violin and piano. I submitted my projects last month, and look forward to becoming a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM). The projects were very time consuming, but I learned so much doing them. Over the next few weeks I will share some of the projects.

I am currently on the Utah Music Teachers Association Board as the UMTA Concerto Competition Chair (Instrumental). I am also on my local chapter (Nebo) board as well over the Annual Master Class. Being active in the association has taught me so many things and introduced me to so many wonderful colleagues. Joining MTNA 2 years ago was one of the best things I have done to continue furthering my music education.

Bertie Botts Note Identification Game This summer I held a Hogwarts Music Camp for my students. We spent the camp learning about conducting with our wands, reviewing notes on the staff with Bertie Botts Beans, creating scales, learning music terms while casting “spells”, and so many other fun activities. My students informed me that this is their favorite camp that I’ve held so far.

In March I also returned to playing with the Utah Valley Symphony after taking a short maternity leave. We did a stage presentation of the musical “The Secret Garden”. Previous to the rehearsals I was familiar with a few songs from the show, but I fell in love with the entire show during the rehearsals and performances.

On top of all of those things I’ve continued to teach private violin and piano lessons, and am continually trying to improve my teaching. This fall I will be adding a lab time on to lessons. I will share my experience and some of my lab time plans as the weeks go on.

What have you been doing in the last few months?