New Clarinet Instructor!

We are excited to announce that a new clarinet teacher is joining our faculty at MANC!

Mrs. Catherine Keen Hock, originally from Four Oaks, NC, is pursuing a DMA in clarinet performance and jazz studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she is a graduate teaching assistant for the jazz department. She holds the MM in Clarinet Performance from UNCG and the BA with Honors in Music Performance with a minor in international studies from Wake Forest University. Mrs. Keen Hock was a William L. Poteat Scholar, and winner of the Concerto Competition and Giles-Harris Competition for Performance at Wake Forest.

She currently performs with the UNCG Wind Ensemble, University Symphony Orchestra, Casella Sinfonietta and Jazz Band, and is the bass clarinetist for the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Obsidian Clarinet Quartet, she premiered two new compositions at the 2008 ClarinetFest in Kansas City. Her primary teachers include Michael Waddell, Eileen Young, Edwin Riley, and Kelly Burke, and she is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, Sigma Alpha Iota, and the International Clarinet Association.

Welcome to The Music Academy!

Inside the Instrument

On Saturday we held a fascinating workshop with Evelyn Smith, of Noteworthy Piano Services. She talked about the inside workings of the piano, the history of its design, and how to take care of your instrument. Some good tips we learned:

• Regulate the temperature of your piano by keeping it in a space with about 40% humidity....absolutely NOT in a basement or garage!
• Keep your piano away from heating registers, radiators, fireplaces, and air conditioning vents.
• Have your piano tuned and cared for regularly.
• The price of a piano can vary from a used $1,000 instrument to a whopping $300,000 depending on the materials, make, and whether or not it is "handmade".
• Your piano strings can be under nearly 30 tons of pressure as they are stretched and wound within the instrument. To help offset this pressure, the piano includes a cast iron frame that holds the parts of the piano together. This is why your instrument is so heavy and should only be moved by professionals!

Students Annika Preheim, Tate Overbey, Aidan Welsford, and Sam McDowell performed before and immediately after the workshop as guests mingled and munched on reception food. Thank you to Evelyn for an entertaining and educational afternoon!

'Tis the Season

Congratulations to all of our students who have performed on the Showcase Recital Series this Fall, and elsewhere in the community. All of you have been making so much progress, and it is a joy to hear all of the improvements that you've made! To those of you who haven't performed yet, I know we'll be hearing from you soon!

Little Zachary Kroeger was very excited to be performing at the last recital on December 5th. Here he is with Miss Janice:







and after the performance:








Below is a video taken last weekend at our Violin and Cello Ensemble class. The two groups joined to perform Christmas Carols for a rapt audience!



Thank you to all of our students for bringing the holiday spirit to life!

New Teacher!

The Music Academy of North Carolina is proud to announce that Peter Shanahan will be joining the music faculty as a flute instructor. Peter regularly performs as a freelance musician with the Charleston, Winston-Salem, Western Piedmont, Salisbury, and Greensboro Symphonies, as well as with the Carolina Chamber Symphony and Southwest Florida Symphony. His students have placed at the highest levels of local and state-wide competitions and have attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

As a performer and teaching artist with the Open Dream Ensemble, he has performed hundreds of concerts and many teaching residencies across the Southeast. In the Open Dream Ensemble, Peter performs as a flutist, singer, and actor in creative, original works of theater for children and adults and can be seen in the first educational web series for kids: The Adventures of the Open Dream Ensemble.

Peter received his Master of Music from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His past teachers include Tadeu Coelho, Philip Dunigan, and Thomas Robertello.

Music: The Book

(via Care2 blog)

“If music be the food of life, play on.” ~ Shakespeare

According to The NAMM Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing active participation in music-making across the lifespan, music has a positive effect on the social, emotional and physical well-being of individuals. The emerging scientific data about music’s relationship to brainpower and wellness is positively encouraging!

Music can be truly mind-altering:

1. Playing a musical instrument can reverse stress at the molecular level.
2. Making music can help reduce job burnout and improve your mood.
3. Playing music increases human growth hormones.

Music is fun and beneficial for children:

1. Music positively affects the development of cognitive skills in children.
2. Music builds confidence and self-discipline.
3. Playing music can increase productivity and help connect socially with peers.

Music is fun and beneficial for adults and seniors:

1. Playing music stimulates the brain and helps fight memory loss.
2. Music reduces stress and lowers blood pressure.
3. Playing music can ward off depression and loneliness.

3 things you many not know about the benefits of making music:

1. Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school.
2. Self-esteem is improved in the students who are given piano instruction.
3. The world’s top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, Netherlands and Japan stand atop worldwide science achievement and have strong commitment to music education.

Possibly, even more remarkable than all those glowing accolades, is how music feeds creativity and the soul. Music is a new book by photographer and filmmaker, Andrew Zuckerman. In this highly entertaining trailer for the book (via SwissMiss), hear what musicians across the disciplines feel about making music.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ear-candy-play-music-feed-the-soul-with-video.html#ixzz15Ibl4MzU

Welcome to The Music Academy!

Brent Davis, saxophone instructor, graduated cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts degree in Performance. He has also completed a Master in Music Performance degree at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Brent is an active MENC, NCMEA, CDBA and American Federation of Musicians member. A recipient of the 2002 Fischoff National Competition Bronze Medal, Brent has performed with the John Phillip Sousa National Honors Band, U.S. Navy Saxophone Symposium, UNCG Wind Ensemble, UNCG Miles Davis Jazz Ensemble, Greensboro Community Concert Band, and is the founder of the Greensboro Saxophone Quartet. Currently a full-time band teacher at Mendenhall Middle School, Brent performs regularly with his Jazz Combo and “Big Bump and the Stun Guns”, an R&B/Blues Group.

Jack Dougherty, guitar instructor, holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance, cum laude, from The University of North Carolina - Greensboro. He was a featured artist at the Chatham County Guitar Festival, and teaches a weekly guitar class for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Hillsborough, NC. Jack has performed with local bands, and as a solo performer throughout the Triad area, as well as in Greenville, NC.

Happy Halloween!