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Springboard triumphs, round 1!

A huge congratulations to sisters Riya and Berniya for their weekend success at the Springboard competitions (piano and strings). We were all so excited here at SCMT when we heard the news from their teacher, Emily.

Here are their results:

Berniya won:

The Christine Pembridge Cup (Junior) for the winner of age 10-14 Junior Recital Class (and was the youngest!)

The Seventh Art Sonata Cup for the highest mark (91) for both sonatina/sonata age 10-12 and 13-14 classes.

1st place in J S Bach class for age 10-12 …..with medal.

3rd place in grade 4/5 violin, viola, cello an double bass class with distinction mark (88).

Riya won:

1st place in J S Bach class (age 9 and under)

2nd place in Jazz class (age 9 and under)

PHEW! Well done girls… We can’t wait to see you again and the Summer Concerts!

 

Latest News

ABRSM exams start tomorrow!!!

ABRSMGood luck to all our students taking their exams over the next couple of days.

By now all the hard work will have been done, here’s a couple of tips for the day itself. Make sure you are there with plenty of time before your exam so you can warm up. Scales are always a good warm up. Make sure you don’t forget your books and instruments. But above all remember the examiner is not your enemy, try to enjoy it as much as you can!! We look forward to seeing the results in a few weeks time!

Latest News

SCMT Youth Music Competitions

IMG_2537Here at SCMT we are delighted to announce that we’re launching our ‘SCMT Youth Music Competitions’ with support form Ackerman Music. They will take place Saturday 15th June and Sunday 16th June at St Nicholas Church, Dyke Road, Brighton. It is free choice, classical or Jazz, Grades 1-8, split into 4 categories, with a maximum age of 18. It is open to everyone not just people learning with SCMT, but there will be discounted entry for our students. As well as cash prizes for winners and runners up, all entrants will receive a written evaluation and certificate, regardless of their placing!

This is a charity event with all proceeds going to Belltree Music Therapy Centre.

More information can be found on our Concerts and Events page, and watch this space for more news! The entry deadline is the Friday 10th May…….So what will you play?????

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Watch our new concert videos on You Tube!

concert programmeI think it’s safe to say this year’s Christmas Concert was a great success. We had some fantastic performances and we have posted some of them on our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/cassammusictuition please take some time to go and watch them they are all incredibly inspiring and give you a great insight as to what the SCMT concerts are all about!

We will be posting them on our facebook page www.facebook.com/susannacassammusictuition and our twitter page @susannaCassam too!

Susanna's blog

Some thoughts from Susanna, this week about piano lessons…

Piano Time!

A very wise old lady once said to me ‘If you sit here for long enough, your life will be so much more exciting than you could ever imagine’. Every week at half past 4 on a Monday afternoon, Mrs Johnson would sit on my right-hand side as I perched on my piano stool, legs swinging way above the ground, desperately trying to talk my fingers into co-ordinating properly.

Naturally, being only 4 years old at the time, I remember thinking that the most exciting thing I had ever imagined was being the queen and having a pet tiger, so her words stuck fast – at least for enough time for me to obtain the skills required to play all of my favourite music and thus fall in love with my piano. As a consequence, I never gave up or stopped improving.

With a combination of fun lessons, a talented and inspiring tutor, plenty of variety and some practise on the side, a child can learn to play the piano from the age of 4 and progress effectively. There are numerous benefits to learning the piano as a starting point for a child on their musical journey. They can play straight away, they can learn virtually any style or genre, they need no accompaniment and yet at the same time the instrument is big enough for a parent or teacher to play alongside. Many children begin music lessons at the piano and then add other instruments to their skills base having gained a thorough understanding of music, how it works, and how to make the most of it. Additionally, showcasing new-found talents at recitals and small concerts can massively boost self esteem, giving children that air of confidence and pride that is so fundamental to a full and well rounded education.

Being a pianist myself I am often prone to being biased, but I’ve seen the power of the piano being used as a platform for all kinds of musical adventures both for the individual and ‘teams’ of musicians in private and public environments alike. On that basis why not find out for yourself if it’s true. Unleash that pianist waiting to jump out of your child, and see how quickly they become settled on their piano stool. In fact, pull up a chair, join in, and see how addictive it can be. You might even find you want lessons yourself! Neither of my parents ever learned to play a musical instrument (something they both regret) and in fact they very recently gave our family piano to one of my 7 year old pupils who didn’t have one at home, after seeing him play so well in a concert. Hurrah, my piano back in action after all those years. Now I sit in his lounge, on the right, every Friday at 4pm, and say: ‘If you sit here long enough, life will be (let me think)… full of musical adventures.’ And that’s guaranteed (I can’t promise big cats on the lawn of your palace)