…many great reasons to give the gift of music lessons this season!
At OPSA, our specialty is beginning children on their musical journey around the age of 5 or 6 years old. If you have a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or other loved one around this age, consider offering music lessons with OPSA as a gift this year. We have a fantastic music program that starts children out in both a private violin lesson as well as a group lesson. The ability and opportunity to make music with friends is truly the gift of a lifetime. Attending concerts where you can see all of the skills that your little one has developed through music will be such a thrill! With our Equitable Tuition Program, music lessons are accessible to all. Contact us today to inquire about our combined program of private lessons and group classes and to learn about class schedules. Now, enjoy this video of some of our current students performing in our annual benefit concert from December of 2019.
2018 Benefit Concert funds to go to Hephzibah Children’s Association.
Save the Date:
Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 2:00p at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest
Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was a Japanese violinist and humanitarian. Witnessing the destruction of his homeland due to the second World War, he formed a vision to help nudge the world toward peace through its children. Through music, Dr. Suzuki hoped to build noble hearts in children all around the world.
With this in mind, we produce an event each year that connects our students from Oak Park and the surrounding areas to the larger world they live in. In previous years, our students helped to raise money through their music for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the Heartland Alliance’s unaccompanied minor program. This year, our music students are collaborating with Hephzibah Children’s Association in Oak Park, IL. OPSA students will be performing a concert at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Oak Park on December 15 at 2p.
OPSA students and faculty will be collaborating with other Oak Park area musicians to create a global concert featuring music from around the world. In previous years, we performed music from Syria, Lebanon, China, Romania, and more. This year, the concert will include special faculty performances, global music, and even a holiday sing along. Local Suzuki students from neighboring studios will join to play music together and hopefully make the world just a little more peaceful and beautiful.
Hephzibah will be the recipient of the funds we raise. Last year, OPSA raised almost $2,000 for Heartland Alliance. We hope to do even better this year! You can make a donation right away!
We hope you are all enjoying your summer activities!
Individual lessons are still going on at OPSA throughout the summer although on a much more flexible schedule. Be sure to check your lesson schedule!
Here is some beautiful music to enjoy on this summer day. This is young violinist, Soo-Been Lee, who won 2nd Prize in the Junior Division with her performances at the Menuhin Competition in Beijing in 2012. Our four OPSA violin students attending the Indiana Summer String Academy for four weeks this summer will all be playing this. We wish them fun with their beautiful music making!
Even before I had children, I loved to read about the youngest members of society and why, when and how people raised them to become not only informed and capable people, but also kind, helpful and aware citizens of the world. Raising kids in a culture where parents are quick to be villainized and slow to be supported is still mighty challenging, although we are making progress in many communities. Parenting is a relentless job that often leaves us feeling like we are sprinting only to reach a long line in which we suddenly find ourselves waiting, with little to do.
But take heart! We live in exciting times of research and information! It seems that every day we can read about new research and understanding about Growth Mindset, child development, the plasticity of the brain, the power of modeling and environment. I have hope that the world around us is slowly but surely developing strategies for growing kindness and laying the seeds of empathy in the hearts–and brains– of our children.
When I feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to turn and wonder whether what I am doing is hurting more than helping, I find solace in books. Sometimes this is an escapist novel, but often it is a book like the ones on this list. Rather than feeling like I am reading a book about everything I am doing wrong, these books help me fill my cup with concepts, strategies, and ultimately, the inspiration to try a different way, keep at it and carry on. Even the most balanced and steady parent with a loving and peaceful upbringing has moments when they wonder, “What is this behavior about? Why is it happening and how do I handle it with this child at this moment?” If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed as a parent and wondered how to make things easier or more peaceful (and what parent hasn’t?!), try one of these books and I hope it helps you find encouragement for what is, no doubt, the challenge of a lifetime.
Also of interest to violin teachers, will be our Friday evening masterclasses with renowned violin pedagogue, Almita Vamos. OPSA students will be participating in both the masterclasses as well as the Sunday morning Advanced Violin Group class demonstration.
Saturday morning will be a treat as we listen to Stefanie Faye Frank present an array of fascinating new research discoveries regarding how the brain develops and changes as we struggle, continue to challenge ourselves and our students, and then ultimately succeed. Ms. Frank is in great demand around the globe these days as so many people find her presentations transformational.
We can hardly believe just how FANTASTIC this line up is and can’t wait to see everyone there! See here for schedule, details, and registration. For questions, please email MLanfear@OPStringAcademy.com
Angela Thompson is a violinist and violin instructor with training in the Suzuki Method of music education. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the National Conservatory of Peru in violin performance. She has played as a soloist with the Cusco Symphony Orchestra and has taken master classes from internationally known violinists, such as Ray Chen and Rachel Barton.
Angela has over a decade of teaching experience. In 2015, she co-founded the Capulitaki School of Music in Lima, Peru, which currently teaches Classical and Latin American traditional music to children of all ages. Her students have participated in musical festivals, concerts, and institutes and have toured various cities throughout Peru. She has completed Suzuki training courses Books 1- 8 and enrichment courses with Nancy Lokken, Marilyn O'Boyle, Ann Montzka, Nancy Jackson, Fernando Piñero, and Carol Dallinger. She has also received training in the Dalcroze and Kodaly methods. She has taught at festivals and institutes around Peru, and was the elected Violin Coordinator of the Suzuki Association of Peru from 2015-2017.
She loves traveling, her two cats, and learning different styles of music. She occasionally dabbles in amateur theatre and dance.
