All posts in “Vivaldi Goes to Venice”

August Newsletter – Back to School Edition

Vivaldi Students' Summer Adventures

Venice, Italy | Vivaldi Music Academy Summer 2016 | Piano and Violin

Our students and faculty travelled to Venice, Italy for a recital of a lifetime at the Santa Maria della Pieta also known as Vivaldi’s Church!

Our West U and Bellaire locations are reaching capacity fast! Stay ahead of the game and book your back-to-school lesson times before all the popular after school times are gone!

WEST U
713-858-9617

BELLAIRE
832-404-2299

Stay tuned for the October announcement of where Vivaldi Music Academy goes next summer!

Check out how some of our students also spent their summer vacations:

Summer Adventures

A cultural experience as Arianna and Sebastian attend the Vienna State Opera!

Fun Summer | Vivaldi Students

Keeping cool in the Texas heat, Anisa and Reva spent time with their family!

Max Summer Adventure

Max had a blast at Legoland!

Simran – Vivaldi Student

Simran is all smiles in the San Diego sun!

Franciska-Vivaldi Student

Franciska was in California! She was excited to meet Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland!

NEW Sunday Classes for Seasons! Check out our new website for our early childhood music classes.

Seasons-Hero-VMA

To accommodate our youngest students, new Sunday classes are being added to the schedule in August. Check out our brand new Seasons website
www.thevivaldiseasons.com
and sign up for a FREE PREVIEW!

#VivaldiKids

Back to School Tips for your Child's Music Education

the back to school season can be hectic! Sometimes simply getting back into the swing of things takes some preparation. Here are some easy tips to ease the transition:

Lock down your schedule
Most kids respond well to consistent schedules, so use a calendar to ensure everyone knows what activities are expected each day. This includes both lessons and practice times! Also, consider including a reward system to help make the connection to consistent practicing and hard work.

Set expectations for practicing
Make sure everyone is on the same page!

Stay organized
Come to music lessons with all the essentials! If your child is especially forgetful, consider creating a checklist and posting it on the door.

Befriend your child’s music teacher
Our teachers encourage parents to sit in on at least the few lessons, which will help ease the anxiety and also allows you to get a feel for their teaching style. Communication is key, for everyone involved!

Don’t forget the practice journal
A practice journal can be an incredibly valuable tool, when both student and teacher are using it effectively. Sit down with your child and review the journal each week.

Referral Rewards – VMA

Congratulations to our faculty members on their recent promotions!

Matthew Gutwald (Director of Piano Pedagogy) and Sam Perez (Director of Guitar Studies) share their philosophies on music education and why they enjoy teaching at Vivaldi Music Academy.

Matthew Gutwald
DIRECTOR OF PIANO PEDAGOGY

On the first day of school, my 3rd grade teacher would play piano for our class to wake us up. I remember getting home from school that same and telling my parents that I wanted to learn how to play the piano. My grandparents gifted me the family piano, and I have not stopped playing since. Lessons and practice have taken me so many places I never thought I would get to experience. When I was given the privilege to perform at Carnegie Hall, I had truly achieved my dreams.

I absolutely love teaching piano because it is such a versatile instrument. Students are able to explore, experiment, create, and imagine infinite styles, sounds, and melodies. My philosophy for teaching piano is to build strong, well rounded fundamentals and habits that can be used universally for any genre of music that interest the students. Being trained as a classical pianist, I strive to expose my students and their families to music that they may not have heard, ranging from Bach to Prokofiev. My favorite thing about this job is the fact that every lesson is different. I get to be outrageous and make people laugh while they learn, build rapport, and see people grow and progress into artistic musicians.

Matt_WebPic600
Sam600

Sam Perez
DIRECTOR OF GUITAR STUDIES

My relationship with guitar began with my wonderful parents. When I was 8 years old my parents surprised me with a guitar from a Sears catalog. From that day on, my life has been an amazing adventure taking me to places I never thought possible. My perspective as a teacher is that the guitar is a very unique instrument, it is challenging and rewarding at the same time. Playing the guitar teaches children to think differently. I enjoy teaching kids to play the “classical” way because there are many developmental benefits. While harvesting fine motor skills, my students have learned to play anything from Taylor Swift to Bach. I emphasize sustainable playing by teaching students and parents that having healthy habits in our musical education will positively influence the rest of our lives. My favorite thing about my job is seeing people young and old grow in confidence as their skills develop on a weekly basis.

REFER A FRIEND

Refer a friend & receive a FREE LESSON! Or refer a friend for Vivaldi Seasons and receive $10 off and your friend will receive a FREE REGISTRATION (up to $45 value)

Vivaldi Seasons – Han

Our Vivaldi family is growing!
Welcome to our new staff and a new baby!

Amanda Rodriguez

I am so incredibly happy to join the Vivaldi Team! I’m excited to be around such talented individuals!
– Amanda

Gina Val Verde

I’m excited to join such a talented and creative staff, it’s great to be surrounded by like-minded people!
– Gina

April-Cantu

I’m so happy to be a part of the Vivaldi team and looking forward to meeting everyone! Let’s rock N’ roll!
– April

Colin and Family

Congratulations to our wonderful piano/guitar teacher, Dr. Colin Davis and his wife, Jenny, on their little bundle of joy, Adeline!

Causely – VMA

This August, you can help build a school for children in developing nations by checkin gin on Facebook at Vivaldi Music Academy! We’ve partnered with Causely and buildOn to help fight poverty  by providing access to education. Remember to add #bricks4schools when you check-in! For more information about this month’s charity, visit buildon.org For every check-in the Academy donates a portion to this month’s charity.

Roco Partnership

Vivaldi Music Academy is happy to announce our partnership with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Upcoming Events

Winter Recitals – Rice University
Dec 11th and Dec 17th (2016) & Jan 8th and Jan 14th (2017)

Faculty Recital – Houston Baptist University
January 28th, 2017

Venice Edition – July Newsletter

Milo M – Vivaldi’s Church
Matthew Gutwald – Vivaldi’s Church

Check out our hashtag
#VivaldiGoestoVenice
on social media for a glimpse of our Venetian debut!

VIVALDI GOES TO VENICE

Congratulations to our students and faculty on their Venetian debut!

Students and faculty arrived on June 23rd for a recital of a lifetime by water bus (vaporetto), water taxi, train and on foot through the canals and streets of Venice at the Santa Maria della Pieta (Vivaldi’s church). The Pieta hosted a gathering of family and friends to celebrate an early evening of music, music education and our namesake Antonio Vivaldi. Tourists and locals joined the audience to enjoy our students’ performances along with faculty performances that included pieces from an Italian favorite, Cinema Paradiso.

Alex in Venice
Vivaldi’s Church – performance

Vivaldi, the famous Venetian composer and master of violin, wrote countless compositions during his time as a music educator at the Santa Maria della Pieta from 1703-1740. While rising to the rank of concertmaster, Vivaldi directed the children’s choir and all-girls orchestra through the church’s orphanage at the time, the Ospedale della Pieta. Established in the fourteenth century, the Ospedale now operates as the Instituto Provinciale Per L’Infanzia, a charitable institution that provides education and assists children and mothers in need. All proceeds from our recital benefited this charity for children and women.

VivaldiSeasonsLogo

NEW class times for Early Childhood Development Music Classes – Vivaldi Seasons

Our popular early childhood music classes are filling up quick – so we have added new class times! We are brimming with new ideas and can’t wait to share our new classes with you developed by our very own faculty. Our Seasons program and classes will focus on overall musicianship, introduction to instruments and serve as the best music preparatory program for your child to enter into private instruction.

Winter

ages 4 – 6

Thursday at 5pm – BELLAIRE

Summer

ages 2-3

Monday at 10 am – West U

Vivaldi Music Academy is proud to announce our partnership with River Oaks Chamber Orchestra!

Hero – Mock up
ROCO-OG

ROCO is a professional chamber orchestra of 40 select musicians from Houston and all over the world, creating and collaborating together in a way unlike any other chamber orchestra in the country. ROCO instills a culture of creative collaborations that result in varied programming and a range of interpretations. Yet it is always presented in the unique ROCO style, approachable, conversational, and personal. Benefits for Vivaldi students and families will be announced in the fall…stay tuned!

Screen Shot 2016-08-24 at 3.10.09 PM

REFER A FRIEND

& RECEIVE A FREE LESSON!
or refer a friend for
Vivaldi Seasons, receive $10 off!
and your friend will receive
FREE REGISTRATION
(up to $45 value)

Upcoming Events

Summer Recess 2016
Saturday, July 2nd – Tuesday, July 5th
(classes and lessons resume Wednesday July 6th 2016)

Vivaldi Goes to Venice

Hey June! – June Newsletter

1000 Students!

We are proud to welcome our 1000th enrolled student, Caroline E! She received ONE YEAR OF FREE LESSONS. Thanks to all of our Vivaldi families for their dedication and support. You guys rock!

1000 Students- Bellaire location

Summer Recess 2016

Saturday, July 2nd –

Tuesday, July 5th (classes and lessons resume Wednesday July 6th 2016)

Venice, Italy
Venice Italy Invitations
Santa Maria Della Pieta

Vivaldi Goes to Venice!

We are excited for our Italian debut in the beautiful city of Venice on June 23rd! Vivaldi, the famous Venetian composer and master of violin, wrote countless compositions during his time as a music educator at the Santa Maria della Pieta from 1703-1740. While rising to the rank of concertmaster, Vivaldi directed the children’s choir and all-girls orchestra through the church’s orphanage at the time, the Ospedale della Pieta. Established in the fourteenth century, the Ospedale now operates as the Instituto Provinciale Per L’Infanzia, a charitable institution that provides education and assists children and mothers in need. All proceeds from our recital will benefit this charity for children and women.

Follow us on social media at #vivaldigoestoVenice

Venice, Italy – Stock Image

Summer Music Lessons - Reserve your prime time spot for the fall today!

  1. We LOVE our summer lessons. There are many advantages to taking summer music lessons, and here are just a few:
  2. Fun and Motivating – Summer is the perfect time to break from the routine and help students learn music of their choice whether it’s a song they heard on the radio or a challenging classical piece.
  3. Greater Focus– Without the worries of homework, sports games and practices, and other school-time activities, students can devote time and attention to their summer music lessons and practice. Better focus leads to better practice!
  4.  Time for Something New – Many of our students show interest in learning an additional instrument during the school year. Summer is the best time to try out a new instrument or two!
  5. No Backtracking – When students take a full summer break from their instruments, it only means one thing – time to backtrack in the Fall! Everyone knows that saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” This is true in all disciplines including learning how to play an instrument. Our students use their summer music lessons to keep making progress.
Summer of Music – Houston Music Lessons
VivaldiSeasonsLogo
Con pap y mam aprendiendo a tocar los tambores

Join our brand new early childhood music program developed by our very own faculty! The classes are fun-filled musical adventures with plenty of singing, dancing, and introduction to early music concepts for ages 1-5. Signing up is easy – call us at West U 713-858-9617 or Bellaire 832-404-2299

Refer a Friend

Screen Shot 2016-08-24 at 3.10.09 PM

Refer a friend & receive a FREE lesson! Or refer a friend for Vivaldi Seasons, receive $10 off!

and your friend will receive FREE REGISTRATION (up to $45 value).

Upcoming Events

Summer Recitals at the MATCH – June 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th

Vivaldi Music Academy Recital  in Venice Italy at the Santa Maria della Pieta, Thursday June 23rd

Vivaldi Summer Adventures!

The students at Vivaldi Music Academy kicked off the summer with a trip to Venice, Italy! The students and teachers were able to travel across the world for Vivaldi’s summer music recital and perform at the Santa Maria della Pieta…also known as Vivaldi’s Church! We are so proud of our students and can’t wait to see where we will go next summer. Stay tuned for our October announcement! #vivaldigoestoVenice #vivaldikids #wherewillVivaldigonext

Venice, Italy | Vivaldi Music Academy Summer 2016 | Piano and Violin

Phenomenal performances from our students who arrived at the Santa Maria Della Pieta by boat (vaporetto) and on foot through the canals and streets of Venice. From left to right, first row: Milo Montesi, Matthew Fisk, Syon Doshi, Natalya Pavlovic, Alex Vilela, Alex Pavlovic. From left to right, second row: Julia Nguyen, Sehaj Doshi, Kapil Anand, and Katia De Jong.

Venice | Violin student Alex

Focus and smiles from Alex Pavlovic as he performs Bach’s Minuet

AlexV in Venice Italy

A smiling crowd including local Venetians and tourists wandered into the recital to enjoy Alex Vilela’s piano performance as a respite from the Venetian summer.

Milo | Venice Italy

Milo Montesi filled the rafters of the Santa Maria della Pieta with his melodious tunes.

Many Vivaldi Music Academy students also went out and had adventures of their own!

Summer Adventure | VMA

With sand between her toes, a cool breeze and ocean waves our student Franciska, had so much fun at a beach in California!  

Photographs by Rinku – Simran

Simran strikes a pose beach-side in San Diego!

Max Summer Adventure

Brick by brick and note by note, Max G had a blast filling his summer adventures with piano lessons and hanging out with a Legoland Pirate!

Summer Adventures

In pure Viennese style, international travelers and violin students Adriana and Sebastian enjoy a cultural experience at the Vienna State Opera House in Austria!

Pavlovic Fam

Silly times in Porec, Croatia for Alex and Natalya!

Some of our students even had a wonderful staycation!

Fun Summer | Vivaldi Students

Reva and Anisa beat the Texas heat at a pool party with family and friends. And Anisa made a splash starting violin lessons over the summer in addition to her piano lessons! Way to go!

We are so glad that all of our students took on wonderful adventures this summer! We know that summer adventures are coming to an end as everyone is heading back to school but, we want you guys to know that the fun doesn’t have to stop there! Spots are filling up fast as everyone is heading back to school, call us today to book music lessons for the school year!