Finally some cooler weather is moving in, which makes for a much more pleasant experience for me making my rounds of piano lessons in Brooklyn; nothing worse than running around trying to keep from being late for a piano lesson when it’s eighty degrees and humid. The Berkeley Carroll School third and fourth grade choruses have been keeping me busy; the lower school has moved to a “six day” schedule with the choruses meeting on day one and two, so my commutes in to Park Slope have become much more frequent.
I’m very excited for some new and old students that are continuing this year. Five-year-old kindergarten student Lucas has completed his first three lessons and is off to a terrific start. Lucas lives in a beautiful apartment building on Eastern Parkway near the Brooklyn Museum at Grand Army Plaza. The building was opened in 1929, according to a plaque in the lobby. The architecture of old Brooklyn is so amazing, I love visiting the homes of my students- these places must have so many stories inside them. One of my “older” students, Maya, had a lesson today. What a beautiful voice! She plays nice piano as well, especially to complement her singing. Maya is a sophomore at LaGuardia High School for the Arts. She sang for me today a beautiful Italian Aria that she’s been working on at school, I sight read the piano accompaniment. It was a real moment, I have to say.
Big week next week- Halloween! I’ve got to figure out what kind of costumes to construct for my third-grade son Faron and his little sister Millie, who’s in kindergarten. It’s a busy week for my eighth-grade daughter Ruby; SHSAT test this Sunday, which is a huge pressure test that will enable her to get accepted into one of the elite “specialized” NYC high schools if she does well. Good luck Ruby! I know she’ll get into some sort of great school, even if the SHSAT doesn’t work out as well as we hope.