Sharing Holiday Music

Students enjoy singing and playing holiday songs together in their lesson.



For many years, we have eagerly anticipated attending our good friends’ annual Christmas party. It was a much appreciated opportunity to catch up with friends from years past. The dazzling tree, ablaze with over 1,000 lights and more than 600 traditional glass ornaments was always a spectacle. A highlight of the evening was to see who could find the special ornament using only a few scant clues.

Midway into the evening, after everyone had their fill of goodies from the buffet table, and settled in with a relaxing beverage, we would launch into a sing along, accompanied by me on the piano. This is a tradition that adds a good deal of emotional connection and merriment to the festive holiday evening.

Last fall, Reno and I had some people over to our house to sing songs from musicals, a genre of music we and a few of our friends particularly share a passion for.

Occasionally, a teenage or pre-teen student will tell me about a party they attended where they spontaneously sat down and began to play the piano or instigated a sing along of favorite pop songs.

In the studio, we send the message to students that they can use their musical gifts to add to the fun of a party by encouraging a sing along and contributing live music. I let them know that the holiday season is a perfect time to try this, as the songs are so familiar to so many, and they will have participants of all ages willing to join the fun.

Here are some things we teach students to allow them to be ready to jump in and accompany no matter what their level of skill or readiness is. (It’s not a recital, it’s an opportunity to have fun!)

Keep going! In a familiar song, the singers will continue to sing if you get lost, and you can jump back in when you find your place or a familiar passage again.

For a traditional introduction that sets up both the key and tempo, play the last phrase of the song first. Then give a head nod to indicate when to begin singing.

Practice singing along to see if you really know the song well enough all the way through at the tempo you start at.

A song can be transposed by the pianist to find a comfortable key to sing in or play with other instruments which might need a particular key.

If you haven’t mastered two hands together, play one hand and invite a friend to play the other part with you. Even if you stumble along, it will be fun to try.

If the song has chords written above the notes, just play the right hand melody and the chord with your left hand. Or just play the chord and let the singers carry the tune if it is very familiar.

Play by ear (if you can) and fill in the left hand chords according to the formula we learn for which chords to use.

Finally, confidence comes from experience. Jump in and don’t worry about being perfect.

When our students start this activity at a young age, they are old “hands” at it by the time they are teenagers and adults. As their playing skills have reached more advanced
stages their confidence and poise for playing with or for a crowd has grown up with them and doesn’t have to play catch up.


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Mozart Birthday Celebration

My husband Reno and I celebrated the 267th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Friday, January 27th, 2023 at Lighthouse ArtSpace which included a sneak peek of their newest experiential exhibit – –  Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius.

WXRT Radio personality Terri Hemmert hosted the birthday bash with live music by The Ryan Center Ensemble featuring vocalist William Clay Thompson singing an aria from Don Giovanni with Chris Reynolds on Piano, followed by a chamber quartet from The Music of the Baroque performing the ever popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Divertimento in D Major.

Before the doors opened to the public we had an exclusive opportunity to chat with the production’s musical director, Maestro Constantine Orbelian. A recording of the interview can be heard at http://ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com . Note that the opening and closing of the podcast features snippets of a Mozart piano duet Edith and I performed at our LSMS Recital this past Spring.

[Embedded here for your convenience. You can also look for it where ever you prefer to listen to podcast. Simply search Chicago Broadcasting Network Podcast.]

Previous ArtSpace presentations have featured the works of visual artists such as Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo. Mozart Immersive is the first to feature a musician. The producers assembled an expert creative team to craft dream-like 18th century inspired imagery to augment the music of Mozart recorded under the baton of four-time Grammy Nominated Maestro Orbelian, by the Lithuanian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra  where he is chief conductor.

The cutting-edge multi-media production is a retrospective of the life of Mozart integrating the composer’s music and video re-enactments alongside digital animation.

Mozart Immersive will have its world premiere March 10, 2023 at the Lighthouse ArtSpace (just one block away from our studio ) at Clark Street and Germania Place. What a great way for our students to get more familiar with the life and music of Mozart.

Julie Lovison, Director of The Lake Shore Music Studio and Constantine Orbelian, Principal Conductor of New York City Opera& Music Director of Mozart Immersive - Chicago 2023.

Julie Lovison & Maestro Orbelian

Julie Lovison, Director The Lake Shore Music Studio celebrated Mozart’s 267th Birthday with Maestro Constantine Orbelian, Principal Conductor of the New York City Opera & Music Director of Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius.

Image projections from Mozart Immersive: Soul of a Genius .
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Online Student Recital January 2020

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Julie Talks About Online Piano Lessons

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Student Recital | Part Two June 2020

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Recital Hall

The official Lake Shore Music Studio – Chicago online Recital Hall where we share periodic LIVE performances.

Student Summer Music Video Project

September 20, 2020 1:30 PM CST

Note: This countdown timer might display improperly on iPhone.

VIDEO WILL APPEAR BELOW

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