Golden Key Paino School’s December 2024 Newsletter

Dear Golden Key Piano School Community,

As we close out the calendar year, we are excited to share news of what we were up to last month and what this coming month has to offer.

1. Annual Duet Recital

Kindly register for the upcoming annual duet recital. The annual duet recital is set up for 22nd December 2024.

The rehearsal will happen on 8th December 2024 in the morning and 16th December in the evening. You can register for the rehearsal here.

Please note that to attend the recital, you only need to pay once for the rehearsal.

As we are all preparing for the duet recital, by now you should have a duet partner and a piece assigned for you by your teacher.

It is a good idea for the parents to have the duet partner’s contact info and stay in touch for practicing and later for rehearsal.

Practicing duet is motivating for those students who need some motivation. It is much more fun to have a piano peer and practice with than to do it alone.

Thank you in advance for your time coordinating the practices and making it work.

2. Holiday Offer

We are offering a free 20 minute consultation session with our headteacher Katrin Arefy to our new and prospecting students.

The session can be on Zoom here or on the phone at (510)665-5466.

During the session you are welcome to play your recent pieces and/or discuss your needs to find the most compatible teacher.

Please book your consultation here or reply to this email with your most convenient time.

3. Give The Gift of Music To Your Loved Ones

Consider giving the gift of an amazing musical experience to your loved ones this holiday season.

We offer gift certificates for piano lessons that can be delivered to you either digitally or in print.

Reply to this email and order your certificate today!

4. New York School Recital

We are taking this opportunity to congratulate all our students in Manhattan Piano Academy, our New York branch, for a successful duet recital on 24th November 2024. It was amazing to see where our beginner students start and where our advanced students end up being after years of hard work, persistence and ups and downs. Keep up the good work you all!

5. Master class with Temirzhan Yerzhanov

We are excited to have Teacher Temirzhan Yerzhanov back this year for another master class for our advanced students. Space is limited. If you are in advanced level and interested to join the class this February please discuss with your teacher and get started on preparing one piece.

Here are some information:

Date: Sunday February 23rd 2025 at 9am

Duration: 2 hours Location: Kassman Piano

Fee for participants: $90

Fee for observers: $15

Duration of the class: 2-3 hours. Each participant takes a 30-min lesson.

Sign up and pay here

About Teacher Temirzhan: Named ‘Best Performer of Year’ by San Francisco Classical Voice, pianist and conductor Temirzhan Yerzhanov launched his career by winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the International Robert Schumann Piano Competition in Zwickau, Germany, and went on performing in 14 countries including at New York Carnegie Hall Auditorium Stern, Berlin Konzerthaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Wigmore Hall, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Dresden Sempergalerie, Paris Salle Pleyel, St. Petersburg Grand Philharmonic Hall, just to name a few notable venues.

As a conductor he performed with Kazakh Philharmonic Orchestra, Google Orchestra, Capital Philharmonia Brasilia, Kazakh National Opera, Astana Opera, Orchestra Gradus ad Parnassum, and Ópera Cultura where currently he is a Music Director. A graduate from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory he’s been a faculty member of his alma mater before immigrating to the USA.

His students won top prizes at such competitions as The Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, The Tchaikovsky in Moscow, The Vianna da Motta in Macau, The Alessandro Casagrande in Terni, The AXA in Dublin, The Lev Vlasenko in Brisbane, competitions in Porto and Epinal, the US Open Music Competition in Oakland; American Protégé Competition in New York. He has given master classes at the Western Washington University, Bellingham; Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil; Yantai University, China; California State University, Sacramento; Kazakh National Conservatory, Almaty.

6. Calendar Reminder

Please note that the school will be closed on 24th and 25th December 2024 and then from 29th December 2024 to January 4th 2025 for winter break. For those classes fall on these dates, your lessons balance out as there were 5 weeks in November/December hence you don’t need makeup classes.

Here is the school calendar for reference in case you need it for future reference.

7. Follow Our Blog

We update our blog with a new post every week, where we post useful insights, advice, and more.

Check the blog here:

The Joy of Learning Together: The Benefits of Taking Piano Lessons with Your Child