Golden Key Paino School’s August 2021 Newsletter

1. Calendar for the Upcoming School Year
We are hoping that we can have in-person recital this year, starting with our annual duet recital that happens in December. Please mark your calendar for rehearsal and recitals. One formal rehearsal is required in order to attend the recital.

Our monthly informal performances at school will also be happening starting

September. This is a great opportunity for the students to practice their

performance skill in an easy environment. Performance days are for students only (no parents or guests). And to keep it Covid safe this year we will have a limit of 8 students for each performance day. You may sign up on the bulletin board to reserve your spot.

Please find our calendar here: https://goldenkeypianoschool.com/calendar/

2. Our Popular Group Preparatory Class is Back!

We are pleased to announce that after a few years of having no group class

we are offering a group preparatory class again this year. This class is under popular demand and is already almost full.

Our Group Preparatory classes are designed for ages three and four to prepare them for further private piano lessons. Children will be introduced

to the piano, keyboard, and musical alphabet through imagery and fun games which capture their attention and foster their imagination. They will develop an essential understanding of piano literature appropriate for their age.

ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT. To reserve your spot please reply to this email.

3. Congratulations to Eileen

Eileen student of Katrin has won third place in the U.S. International Open Music Competition. Way to go Eileen! We are proud of you.

4. Congratulations to Students who Participated in House Concert

This summer we had five House Concerts to give the students an opportunity to have live performance in a Covid-safe environment. Congratulations to all students who participated. Here are just a few short videos from the longer performances.

5. Pictures of Certificate Day

Thank you for participating in our Certificate Ceremony. Here are a few pictures from the event. Nothing makes a teacher happier than seeing their students proud of their achievement. Thank you for making us joyful with your hard work and your achievements.

6. Welcoming Teacher Eric Barlaan

We are thrilled to have a very accomplished musician join our team. Eric is a highly educated musician with years of teaching experience. What I truly appreciate about Eric is his enthusiasm to learn our school’s teaching philosophy and Artobolevskaya’s method, his warm and friendly personality, and his dedication and serious attitude towards teaching music.

If you are still taking online lessons and are thinking to come back in-person this is a great opportunity for you to save your time slot with Teacher Eric. His schedule is getting booked very fast. We can recommend teacher Eric pretty much for all ages and levels. If you are an advanced student you will get a lot out of working with him.

Eric Barlaan

Eric Barlaan is long time music educator, multi-instrumentalist, and church musician. He received his Bachelor’s from San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance, and a diploma in Music Synthesis from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Eric’s musical fluency ranges from the breadth of choral conducting and classical pipe organ, to melancholy ballads in jazz clubs, then all the way to rock-star vocals and electric guitar. As a professionally trained musician, Eric’s career has developed and grown with his individual students, along with his music instruction in classroom settings within the East Side Union School District.

Eric brings a depth of versatility into the classroom, from his artistic experience from his involvement with the SoFA art community in Downtown San Jose, and with his multiple music tours to Europe and the Far East.

Eric’s teaching style is playful and yet disciplined. We are thrilled to have Eric as part of our strong musician/teachers starting August 2021.

7. Teacher’s News

Sharing some pictures from our teacher’s gathering last week. We were so pleased to see our dear Cooper, our sweet Anastasia, and our wonderful Blake joining us for dinner. Here is to many more years of staying connected and making music!

A glimpse of Teacher Christopher’s concert at the beautiful Bowes Center last week. It was a beautiful concert in the beautiful new building of San Fransciso Conservatory of Music.