JUNE 2024
NEWSLETTER
HELLO SUMMER!
What a fantastic school year! It's hard to believe it's summer vacation time already!
Please let us know, as soon as you can, the 2 dates you'd like to cancel this summer for no charge.
Also a reminder that if your child is taking off for a month or more this summer, with plans to return in the Fall, if you don't want to reserve their current day/time, we may not have any availability in the Fall.
If you do want to keep your day/time/teacher, you can reserve your spot for $75 for 4 consecutive lessons. Please let us know by June 7th if you want to keep your lesson day/time/teacher for the Fall. If we don't hear back from you by June 7th we will assume you do not wish to reserve your day/time/teacher.
Please send an email to: admin@denverama.org to let us know.
NOT GOING ANYWHERE!
DAMA is not moving to a different location after all. The reason we were going to move was because it would be difficult to expand our academy in order to add new students because the parking situation is less than ideal. Many afternoons the entire parking lot is completely full.
At the 11th hour, literally the morning the new lease was to be signed, the owners of our current space informed us that clients can park in the spaces up against the rail in the Marriott Hotel parking lot. There are stairs into our parking lot and it's not far at all. So.... we started construction on 2 new teaching rooms on Saturday 5/25 and they should be complete by this weekend.
Erik Hebert is the contractor with Vivre Construction. He and his crew have done an amazing job! They're fast. They do quality work. They are conscientious and respectful and they beat the cost of every other contractor that bid on the job (by a lot!!) He came highly recommended to me and I highly recommend him as well. Here is his contact info in case you need any work done:
Erik Hebert
Managing Member
Vivre Commercial
Vivre Residential
Home and Handy
303.656.7622
OUR GROWING ACADEMY
The teaching room that Abby currently uses will be converted into our percussion room for drum lessons.
Abby will take over the larger new room which will have the Kawai moved into it for piano and voice lessons.
The smaller new teaching room will be used for other instruments such as violin, guitar, flute, trumpet and other instruments as requested.
The plan is to fill those rooms and build 2 more teaching rooms...provided the parking situation works out.
What about our recitals? Recitals will be located at a venue with a stage and a nice piano. There are several churches and schools in the area that are a good fit. The location will be close by. We will decide as we get closer to the date of the next recital.
Win a new iPad!
We sincerely appreciate your referrals! It is the best compliment ever! It is why we have been able to grow to 56 students! To show our appreciation, we have put together a contest. Now that we offer more instruments, it will be easier than ever to refer your friends.
This summer, between June 1st - August 31st, anyone who refers a new student to DAMA will receive their choice of a $25 Gift card to either Target, Amazon or Starbucks.
On August 31st, whoever has referred the most new students will win a new iPad worth $349!
Gift cards will be awarded after the new student has registered and taken their first lesson.
Please TELL YOUR FRIENDS and help us fill those new teaching rooms! THANK YOU!
Our Spring Recital Was a Record Breaker!
Thank you so much for making our Spring Recital a priority during this very busy time of year. The students all did a GREAT job! We have had ten recitals so far and this recital broke a record for the longest recital yet. Both groups were 90 minutes long! That means that our students are getting more advanced and their songs are lasting longer.
Our first recital had about 18 students and it lasted about 30 minutes because nearly every student had just started lessons within 6 months and beginner songs aren't very long. It was adorable! We still have several students who were there and remember it.
We honored 2 students at the recitals. Helen Alexander is the only student, so far, who has been awarded Student of the Month 3 times!! Helen will celebrate 5 years of lessons in August. She started taking lessons when she was only 4 1/2 years old! Elsa Phillips was also honored for taking lessons for 5 years as of May. She now works on some super challenging pieces. Both ladies have come a long way in 5 years! Congratulations!!
We also want to thank all the DAMA students for preparing your songs and showing courage to perform for us. Everyone enjoyed your performances.
Mark your Calendar
Summer Session Begins
June 1 - August 18th
There are no raffles or awards until September.
Students may cancel 2 lessons at no charge.
(Please let your child's teacher know the dates as soon as possible.)
JULY 4th Holiday
DAMA is closed
NO LESSONS
End of Summer Pizza Party/Concert
August 11
Time TBD
Referral Contest Winner Announced
August 31
iPad Awarded
The person who gave the most referrals between June 1 - August 30 wins!
WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!
HAZEL ALLEN -Vocal Student
KADEN REDDY - Piano Student
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
MAY 2024
Our Exceptional Student of the Month for May 2024 is Rose Das. Rose has been taking lessons at DAMA since August 2023. She and her family moved to Denver from Orlando, Florida last summer. Rose had taken piano lessons in Florida for 2 years. You've probably seen her name before because Rose consistently earns our 20 Club Award which means she practices over 20 hours every month! Rose also completes every theory worksheet and she challenges herself to learn very complicated piano pieces. Check out the video to learn more about Rose and to hear her play.
CONGRATULATIONS ROSE!
How to Win Student of the Month
• Focus during lessons
• Follow directions
• Have a good attitude
• Practice and come to lessons prepared
• Show initiative to learn and improve
• Attend at least 4 lessons in one month
• Be ready to perform the song you are working on
Are you doing everything right but you didn't get chosen for Student of the Month? Keep in mind there are over 60 students enrolled in DAMA and students who are chosen have worked exceptionally hard or have showed exceptional initiative. It's a difficult decision to make and sometimes it comes down to whether students who have been working on a piece are ready to perform it yet or if they had to cancel lessons during the month. It is not about who is the most talented or who has the most potential. It is about honoring the student who stood out because of their work ethic, attitude and initiative. Be sure to talk with your teacher if you have questions or concerns.
Congratulations to Rose Das
Rose broke a DAMA record by earning 65 tickets in 1 month! That is 32.5 hours of practicing!
GREAT JOB ROSE!!
MAY PRACTICE DERBY WINNERS:
1ST PLACE: Helen Alexander (28 tickets)
2ND PLACE TIE: Brendan Kwong (25 tickets)
Elea Grant
3RD PLACE TIE: Fiona Stewart (23 tickets)
Simon Woods
WAY TO GO!!
PRACTICE TICKET RAFFLE
30 minutes = 1 ticket
15 minutes = 1 ticket for kids younger than 8.
1 ticket for attending a lesson
1st ticket =
$25 EMILIO ELSAN
2nd ticket=
$15 SIMON WOODS
3rd ticket =
$5 CHARLIE MEYER
Thank you to Erik for picking the raffle tickets this month.
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
Kaya Nash 6/6
Gus Jasper 6/7
Lukas Nash 6/20
Hazel Allen 6/21
Amelia Hoffman 6/25
Ya know that big exciting news I told you about at the recital? Well...PSYCH! We are not moving to a bigger location. Oops! Sorry about that!
I've heard back from so many parents who are happy that we aren't relocating and that makes me happy too!
I'm also really excited that we can now offer music to more students in our area. I understand that, even though piano is the most popular instrument for private lessons in the entire world (this fact is a proven statistic, not just my opinion) it's not everyone's cup of tea. With more teaching rooms in our studio, we can offer drums, guitar, strings and wind instruments too.
Studies have proven that learning a musical instrument affects cognitive development and changes the wiring in the brain in a really positive way. In fact, I've read so many fascinating articles about studies that prove this, that I decided to create a free report. (See link below).
It's a chicken and the egg question:
Does learning music make kids smarter or do smart kids learn to make music? Hmmmmmm...
Regardless of the answer to that question, you all should pat yourselves on the back for giving your child an advantage in life by signing them up for music lessons. Yes, music connects us and it moves us and drives us and brings us joy, but perhaps the most important reason to learn to play music is that it is so good for the developing brain (and gives kids a break from the screens).
It's interesting to me that a majority of the students I interview for Student of the Month videos say they like math. Studies show there is a correlation between being good at music and math and science. But I think they like math because they are good at it and that's why they like it. We tend to enjoy things we are good at.
Growing up, I enjoyed math too, until it got hard. College Algebra almost broke me. I worked really hard and got an "A" but I don't think that that "A" was necessarily because of my music brain. If anything, the contribution that music made to that "A" was the discipline I developed from practicing the piano. I practiced Algebra problems an entire summer to earn that "A". It was not easy and I did not enjoy it.
Just like learning a super challenging part of a piece of music isn't easy or enjoyable (for the most part). The sense of accomplishment after conquering something so difficult feels amazing and it makes you remember it decades after the fact...apparently.
I talk a lot about how learning to play an instrument helps kids but it is also great for adults to keep the mind sharp. I work with some retired adults who enjoy having a hobby that also exercises the parts of the brain that affect fine motor skills, coordination and memory which is so important as we age.
Another thing to consider is that learning an instrument is great for self confidence and it helps us to express ourselves and soothes our bruised egos. I remember in middle school (we called it junior high back then) my besties turned on me and, for whatever reason, decided they no longer liked me (because that is girls in middle school for you) anyway, I felt devastated and lonely and you know what helped me get through those tough times -actually, all the tough times in my life? You guessed it. Playing the piano.
If I'm angry I play my "mad" song. I pound the keys and it's loud, obnoxious and rhythmically incorrect. But if I can channel that energy into my music, it takes the edge off. Once the edge is off, I play a slow beautiful melody that forces me to calm down. If I'm sad and I need to cry it out but I can't, I play a slow beautiful melody, perhaps one that I composed, and here comes the waterworks. If I'm happy and feeling confident, I play something physically demanding and out of my comfort zone. If I totally bomb, I don't care because I'm happy. Gosh, I'm confessing a lot of stuff this month. TMI?
I'm on a mission! I want to bring more opportunities for people in our area to learn to play music or to take it back up if they quit. You all have been so helpful by spreading the word and by posting 5 star reviews on Google for DAMA. It means the world to me!! Each review helps us get closer to the top of the search engine list, which is my goal.
Since I can't thank you enough for your referrals, I would at least like to give you a token of my appreciation in the form of a gift card. Please shoot me an email if you refer someone to us, just in case they forget to tell me. When you go shopping at Target, or relaxing at Starbucks (using your gift cards) pay attention to what type of music is playing. I guarantee they have carefully chosen it based on the experience they want you to have. Music is everywhere and I'm excited to bring more of it to Denver Academy of Musical Arts.
Best,
From Ms. Michele's Bench
PS- My "mad" song is Maple Leaf Rag.
