Someone asked me yesterday how long I’d been teaching and without thinking about I answered “Almost two years.” It suddenly struck me that I that I had let my two year anniversary go by without so much as a mentioning.
So, to honor my two year (and one week) extra-versary, here’s an update on some of the things I’ve been up to:
Fasnacht 2013
What’s better than a three-day-long festival complete with parades down confetti-strewn streets, traditional drum and pipe music, elaborate costumes, and cheese pie? Nothing, it turns out. Except maybe this:
[youtube FQlgA68z_L4]
Fasnacht, the annual Swiss version of Carnival, has haunted my bucket list for years and I’m happy to have finally crossed it off in February. I heard a lot about it growing up, so to finally stand in the city square of Basel and take it all in is something I’ll never forget.
In addition to the highlights of the festival (I did mention the cheese pie, right?) we spent some excellent quality time with our amazing Swiss family and friends and got to run off and do a few touristy things to boot. An unforgettable trip all around and though I could go into too much detail now, I think I’ll save it for a future post.
Contributing to the ZOEN blog
Remember that piece I wrote about online music lessons and the brave new world that approacheth? Well, turns out someone over at the ZOEN read it and asked me if I’d like to try writing something for their blog. Not one to turn down a chance to get more internet-attention, I finished a short post for them while I was in Switzerland.
It reminds me a bit of earlier posts (which I consider a good thing) and seemed to get a pretty good reception so far. Apparently the community team at the ZOEN liked it; they asked me if I’d like to make regular contributions—and I do. Read the full post here.
Studio approaching full capacity
When I first launched Ivoryman Music, I had only two financial goals: 1. Don’t starve to death and 2. Earn enough money to keep this as my fulltime job. In just two remarkably short years, I’ve reached a point where not only am I merely surviving, I’ve taken on just about as many students as I will be able to at one time. How’d that happen anyway?
I’m not completely booked yet; I still have a few openings at the main studio in the early afternoon and one or two evening slots as well. My online schedule, however, is just begging to be filled with a few courageous souls.
Fun this Summer
I’ve got some exciting things in the ol’ brain for this summer, some of which I can’t even divulge at the moment due to the fact that these ideas aren’t fully baked yet. One thing I will mention is Juggling Camp.
This summer, I want to host a half-day camp for students ages 8 and up and teach them how to juggle. It’s a little different from the usual piano and rock band camps, not to mention it’s a skill that helps develop other skills like timing and hand-eye coordination. Provided there’s enough interest and the space proves be adequate, this is something that’s definitely going to happen.
Well, that about does it. Here’s to the first two years and hopefully many more to come!
Leave a Reply