Last March 10, Pinky and mommy went to their very FIRST Piano concert and it was AMAZING!!! I was a little worried about my little one’s reaction through the whole concert, since it was my first time, too! However, she DID behave extremely excellent.Indeed, it was a magical afternoon!

“In the second concert of their inaugural season, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra returns to Symphony Hall with a magnificent program of Schumann and Mahler. This concert features wonderful collaborations with piano soloist George Li, the Harvard University Choirs conducted by Ed Jones, and soloists Barbara Quintiliani and Robynne Redmon.” Taken from The Boston Philharmonic website.

 

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The conductor??? Benjamin Zander.

Benjamin Zander was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England on March 9, 1939. Benjamin’s main instrument was the cello. He began studying at the age of ten and became the youngest member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of twelve. Zander is now the Conductor and Music Director of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, a brand new youth orchestra in Boston composed of both High School and College age students. The BPYO rehearses at The Franklin Institute in Boston's South End. Their premier performance took place in Symphony Hall on November 25, 2012. On the program was Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and Elgar's Cello Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. BPYO's first international tour will take place this summer as the entire orchestra goes to Holland to play Mahler's Second Symphony in the Concertgebouw.

Visit his web site over here. And make sure you visit his profile at TED, here, and LISTEN to his spectacular talk: Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music.

Conductor: Benjamin Zander, Pianist: George Li, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

“Everybody loves classical music, it's just that many people haven't found out about it yet”.

 

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The pianist??? George Li

George Li was born in August 1995.  Since his first public performance at Boston Steinway Hall at the age of ten, George has gained significant attention as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra. Li was awarded the first prizes in the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association state competitions at the age of 6 and 7. Li currently resides in Lexington. He is a 10th grade student at the Walnut Hill School and the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory School, where he studies piano with Ms. Wha Kyung Byun.

Here’s the link to his Biography.

 

 

Did I say the whole experience was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G???

And now……my little own pianist

(don’t get scare at the end….lol…that’s how my silly girl loves to practice)

Don’t you love those cute little fingers???

 

It has been almost 2 years since Pinky started to take piano lessons. It was such a beautiful day in October 2011, when I took my little 3 years old girl to meet her new piano teacher. It was an exciting day….well just 15 minutes that fell like an hour. Pinky was more excited about exploring her teacher’s house, music room and the goodies table. However, it was the beginning of our music experience. With time, we have been exploring music games, music websites, practicing charts, practicing silliness, etc. Because of Pinky’s age, to learn how to play the piano, so far is a challenged adventure. But, when we take the time to look backwards, it is a valuable experience for both of us.

Actually, she is learning the music theory, and here is an activity we came up to get her to focus: water bottle caps music notes! Hands-on-music activity following the Montessori method inspiration. You can use this with the staff written on paper or to put then on each piano key. On the second photo we were practicing the Yankee Doodle song.

One of the website we love to visit is Free piano lessons for kids with Mr. Hoffman. We love to watch the free videos on YouTube and then practice. He has a great lessons curriculum available to buy, but some lessons are free plus you can subscribe to the newsletter with very useful resources. Mr. Hoffman is really great!!!! So far, I am planning to buy his lessons in the future. Disclaimer: I am not receiving anything, just sharing what we love and took sometime to find! Here is Pinky doing one of Mr. Hoffman’s lessons:

To learn how to play an instrument is really serious work, but at the end music will fill your life. Plus it is 100% better for the brain development than videos games or televisions…..!!!!

Are your kids learning to play an instrument? At which age do they started? How do you make practice fun for them?

Thanks for any advice!