Tag Archives: chicago

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 .

Online Piano Lessons Featured in Local News

Our online piano lessons have been fun and a great way to keep up momentum and stay connected in the shelter at home period.
Here is a clipping from Inside Publications about our online piano lessons. The story was printed in the online and printed versions of three local Chicago newspapers Inside-Booster, News Star, and Skyline.  You can find subscription information for each of the papers online at https://www.insideonline.com/

A few corrections for the record. Chicago Music Teachers Assn is typically referred to as CAMTA and it was the Music Teachers National Assn meeting that was scheduled to meet at the Marriott in March.

Thanks to mother Selina for the cute picture of Marley used in the story.

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Group Piano Teacher Training – Level 1- Chicago 2018

Robert Pace Curriculum Piano Teacher Training

Fri.-Mon.  Aug. 3-5, 2018

9:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

Group Piano Level 1

This course focuses on the concepts presented in the Robert Pace Level I books. Learn how to integrate theory right from the beginning, as well as how to develop all music skills simultaneously (ear training, sight reading, technique, improvisation, transposition, and theory) through the repertoire studies. Learn how to create a buoyant, creative atmosphere in each lesson. Learn how to facilitate good peer teaching and cooperative learning. Discover what it means to teach music concepts and how doing so will create an upward pattern of spiral learning, and develop independent learners who will become lifelong music participants. Level I curriculum concepts include: steps and skips, up, down, same, patterns, repetitions, sequences, parallel and contrasting question and answer phrases, 5 finger patterns, I and V7 chords, waltz style, alberti bass, broken chords, march, dorian, pentatonic, roving triads, passing tones, upper and lower neighbors, tetrachord scales, major and minor key signatures, parallel and contrary motion, down up phrasing, staccato vs. legato, and many more.

We will address good business guidelines including how to market and expand your student clientele, establish studio policies, and the importance of maintaining personal professional growth.

Presenter:  Julie Lovison

The Lake Shore Music Studio

1460 N. Sandburg Terrace

Chicago, IL  60610

312-335-8426

LSMSPiano@aol.com

Tuition: $295

Plus cost of materials:

Robert Pace Music For Piano, Creative Music, Theory Papers and Finger Builders

Teachers completing the course receive IPTF certificate and listing on LeeRobertsMusic website.

Registration Form

Location of LSMS in Relation to Great Chicago Fire

This map shows the current location of The Lake Shore Music Studio at Sandburg Village in relation to The Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871.

The pink area on this edited map indicates the area that was burned north of the river.

You can click on this link to see more of the map and read more about the Great Chicago Fire.

It’s fun to put yourself in history. Look around and imagine how much has changed.

The people escaping the flames on that early fall day could hardly imagine what the city would ultimately become.

Study the map and note that Clark Street north of North Avenue was called Green Bay Road. Where it intersects with Lincoln was called Little Fort Road.

Much of the “Gold Coast” area to the east including the Cardinal’s Residence was part of the Catholic Cemetery.

Did you know that Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of the slain President Abraham Lincoln was living in Chicago and escaped the fire with her son Robert by going to the lake?

Photo of destruction after the Chicago Fire

Madison and Wells Street after the Great Chicago Fire

Take a minute to listen to these two songs written shortly afterwards “Passing Through the Fire” and “Pity the Homeless.”

The song that might be the most popular is “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the old Town Tonight.”

This song was already well known but was adapted to commemorate the disaster.

Unfortunately its popularity was helpful in continuing the myth that the fire was caused by Mrs. O’Leary and her cow.  Mrs O’Leary was ultimately exonerated by the City Council in 1997.

Here are the lyrics from the popular Chicago version of the song.

“Late one night,
When we were all in bed,
Old Mother Leary
Left a lantern in the shed;
And when the cow kicked it over,
She winked her eye and said,
‘There’ll be a hot time
In the old town, tonight.’”

For you sports fans you might recognize this as one of the favorite songs used to rally on the soccer team.

Here’s a very funky honky tonk piano version on an out of tune piano.

Finally check out this cartoon from the 1940’s and see how the music is used to augment the action of the animation.

Listen closely to hear the “Carnival of Venice” theme.

It ends with a sing-along version of “The Hot Time..”  song.

Sing-A-Longs before and after the main movie feature were very popular in the movie theaters at the time.

 

 

Piano Tuner Plays Important Role in “Five Guys Named Moe.”

It takes more than actors, musicians and dancers to put on a great theatrical musical performance. There are also a number of technicians handling audio, lights and more.

I was delighted to see, that when crediting all of those who contributed to the production of “Five Guys Named Moe” at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park, the producers included the production’s piano tuner Kent Busse in the program.

I am sure the appreciation extends to the outstanding six piece jazz band that accompanied the “Moes.” J.P Floyd (trombone), Sam Hankins (trumpet), Jarrard Harris (reeds), Ben Johnson (drums), Chuck Webb (bass), led by Abdul Hamid Royal (music director/pianist).

When you sit down to play it’s nice to have the confidence of knowing that your instrument is in tune. In a combo of this size the musicians usually tune-up to the piano, so it all starts there.

It is a similar experience for the singers. They have a certain pitch in mind that they expect to hear as the first note is sung.  Singing in tune starts with an in-tune piano. In this production the Five Moes sing five part harmony. Typically each singer’s harmonic interval is derived from the first note. If that note is “off” everyone is off.

The harmonies of this doo-wop quintet comprised of Big Moe (Lorenzo Rush, Jr.), Little Moe (Darrin Ford), Eat Moe (James Earl Jones II), Four Eyed-Moe (Kelvin Rosten, Jr.) and No Moe (Eric A. Lewis) are spot on.

I think I’ll make Kent Busse the sixth Moe, “Hear Moe,” because what he hears will determine what the audience will hear.

3 pianos at Lakes Shore Music Studio

Kent has been the “official” piano tuner for The Lake Shore Music Studio for several years and recently tuned our piano at home. That is why I was particularly pleased to see him get some of the recognition he deserves and also give him a bit of recognition here as well.

According to Julie, Kent does a great job of keeping the LSMS pianos in shape as well as in tune. As you can imagine they get quite a workout from 50+ students per week aged 4 through 74+.

You can enjoy the fruits of Mr. Busse’s work by playing one of the many LSMS acoustic pianos or coming in to hear your kids play during their lesson.

Additionally you might check out “Five Guys Named Moe” which is a tribute to band leader and saxophonist Louis Jordan, one of the fathers of rock & roll, who popularized several blues/jazz standards like Caldonia and Choo Choo Ch’boogie.

Listen for the boogie piano accompaniment in the beginning of this video.

To read my entire review of “Five Guys Named Moe”.

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Guest Blogger : Reno Lovison is Julie’s husband and reviewer for Chicago Theater and Arts.