Memo for January 5, 2015 - Semester 1, Week 17 Dear PMA Parent or Student, Welcome back from Winter Break! We hope that your vacation was relaxing and fun, and that you are ready to jump back into all of your musical activities. Please read below to find out whats happening. Perhaps you were too busy this fall to take advantage of the group classes and performance classes offered here at PMA. If so, now would be a great time to start. Talk to your private teacher about when the most appropriate class meets and check it out this week. Have a great week! Saturday PMA Closure We had to make a last-minute decision to close PMA this past Sat., Jan. 3. We are very sorry that some families left their homes before the announcement was made, but the icy roads were much worse than expected in some parts of town. The safety of our students and faculty is the most important issue. We will use Sat., Jan. 24 as the official makeup day, since that day is part of Makeup or Advance Week and regular lessons and groups were not scheduled that day. If there is any question in the future, please check with us via phone, on the website, or on KDKA radio, TV, or the online storm center to see if we are open. Chamber Orchestra Begins Tonight Rehearsals begin tonight, Jan. 5, 2015, at 6:30pm at PMA East, 5700 Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill. Many of you already picked up your music, but those who didnt will receive their folders tonight. Please be in your seat and ready to play at 6:30. Parents please note: we are only allowed to park in the spaces on the right of the parking lot as you face the church. Dont park on the left since those spaces are for St. Edmunds School and they are not happy to share. There is lots of parking on Forbes Ave. and also some at the JCC. If you are interested in car-pooling or need any information at all, please go to the Chamber Orchestra page on our website, pghma, and look under Programs. New Parking at East As of Jan. 1, 2015, the parking situation at PMA East has changed slightly. The church has taken over five more parking spaces off of Darlington Rd., at the top of the driveway along the fence for evening hours. That means that those who come for lessons at 4pm or later can use those spaces. What will not change is the use of the large parking lot by the athletic field. PMA is not permitted to use any of those parking spaces, ever. The school has recently complained about finding us there, and we dont want anyone to be towed. Let the Music Flow Project Are you still working on your water drops? It seems like the students at PMA South are doing an amazing job - their bulletin board is full and has had to be extended. Remember that the project goes until the end of this semester and those who have practiced every day for the whole semester can look forward to their rubber ducky. Please let us know if you will be winning the rubber ducky! Group and Mus Ed in January All of our regular Group, Performance, and Music Education Classes are happening according to the regular schedule. Also, beginning this Sat., we will have our Choir rehearsals at PMA Carnegie at 10:15am on Saturdays. We are hoping that will be a more convenient time and that more students will join. Elise Henkleman, our choir director, has great choral skills and many fun ideas and is looking forward to sharing them with a bunch of children who like to sing! Concerto Workshop Jan. 17 & 18 We are very excited to once again offer a concerto workshop for our students and other young musicians from the community who are studying concerti. The workshop will take place at Wallace Memorial Presbyterian Church over two days this year and will include opportunities for piano students to play their Bk. 3 sonatinas with a professional string quartet; violin, viola, and cello students in Bk. 4, 5, or 6 to play their concerti in a group with the orchestra; and more advanced students of all instruments to perform a solo concerto with our professional chamber orchestra. Jack Kurutz will conduct the orchestra. Please ask your teacher if this is something you can do. The deadline for registration for the workshop is this Sat., Jan. 10, so you need to sign up ASAP! Makeup or Advance Week This year we have changed our schedule a little to allow for one week at the end of Semester 1 to offer makeup lessons for those who need one already. The week of Jan. 19 - 25 has been designated for that purpose. Those who dont need a makeup lesson can arrange with their private teacher to just start Semester 2 a week early and then finish the PMA year a week early. Please remember that only excused absences are made up. Check our handbook or call us if you have questions. Pre-Twinkle Camp for New Beginners Our next Pre-Twinkle Camp will take place at PMA East on Sat., Jan. 31, from 2:30 to 5:00pm. If you have a younger child who wants to begin lessons or know someone who does, please come to our one-day fun experience. We have found that this is the best way to start. You can find the brochure and registration form on our website under Getting Started. Winter Concert in February Our annual Winter Concert for group classes and the PMA Chamber Orchestra will take place at the Winchester-Thurston School on Sat., Feb. 21, 2015, at 4:00pm. The school is located at 555 Morewood Ave., at the corner of Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh 15213.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:18:43 +0000