Welcome back - 2010

Regular lessons resume Jan. 4th! Happy New Year!

Important dates -updated 5/24/09

May 23 (Sat) - May 25 (Mon) - ALL students

• No lessons due to Memorial Day weekend

May 29 (Fri) - May 30 (Sat) - BYC students

• No lessons due to BYC concerts
  

June 1 (Mon) - BYC students

• No regular lessons
• 4 - 6pm rehearsal for voice students in June 4 recital

June 2 (Tues) - BYC students

• 3:30 - 4:30 run-through for all piano students
  

June 4 (Thurs) - BYC students

• No regular lessons
• 4 - 6 pm rehearsal for voice students in June 5 recital
• 7:30 pm recital

June 4 (Thurs) - Private students

• No regular lessons
  

June 5 (Fri) - BYC students

• 7 pm recital

June 6 (Sat) - BYC students

• last Saturday lessons

June 7 (Sun.) - Private students

• Recital, 6 pm
  

June 23 (Tues.) - All students

• Last day of school year lessons (Mon. - Fri. regular times)

June 24 (Wed.) - July 6 (Mon.) - All Students

• Summer break, no lessons, limited email and phone availability

July 7 - Sept. 4 - ALL Students

• Summer lessons generally available Tuesday - Friday

Sept. 8 (Tues.) - Private students definitely, possibly BYC students

• Fall schedule begins
  

If you can't find the schedule to send me

Click here to download it

Fall lessons

After August 15, I will begin to contact returning students to schedule lesson times. Once I have scheduled them as much as is possible, I will begin contacting new students about lesson times for the fall. Year-round adult students will retain their times.

Updates

Apologies for the long silence, induced by computer difficulties over the last several months.

I have the following time slots remaining for lessons on July 18:

2:00
2:45
3:30

I will resume regular teaching July 29 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for those who would like summer lessons. I will consider Thursday lessons if that allows me to eliminate one of the other days.

I will be making updates to the rest of the web site throughout August. One major change is that I am no longer offering 30 minute lessons for new students, and I am encouraging all my current students to move to 45 minute lessons if they have not already done so. To make that transition easier I will be raising the rates on ONLY my 30 minute lessons. The rates for 45 minute and 1 hour lessons will remain the same as in 07-08. This change will be effective September 8, 2008.

Enjoy July and leave an email if you would like a lesson Friday, July 18.

Thanks,

Denise

Rhythm and tempo

Rhythm does not equal speed. Speed is a set rate at which the beats go by, like going 60 mph on the freeway. You drive a certain speed, your car is going to get from here to there in a certain amount of time, no less, no more. Speed = tempo.

So you're going to go 60 miles in one hour. But how many exits will you pass in one hour? Well, that depends on how they are spaced on that road. Maybe on this road you have four exits one mile apart, then two exits two miles apart, and then an exit every half-mile for four more miles:

Start__x__x__x__x____x____x_x_x_x_x_x_x_x_x
Start 1 min.x 1 min.x1 min.x1 min.x2 min.x2 min.x.5 min.x.5 min...etc...

So you will pass 14 exits in 12 minutes. But what if you don't have 12 minutes to get there? let's suppose nobody else is on the road and you are a fabulous driver with a high performance car, and you decide to go 120 miles an hour.

You will still have the EXACT same spacing:

Four exits one mile apart, then two exits two miles apart, and then an exit every half-mile for four more miles:

Start__x__x__x__x____x____x_x_x_x_x_x_x_x_x
Start .5 min.x .5 min.x.5 min.x.5 min.x1 min.x1 min.x.25 min.x.25 min...etc...

But now you pass them in six minutes, not 12. But the exits (rhythm) did not change! You just went at a faster speed (tempo), and so you went through those exits in six minutes instead of 12. The relationship/spacing/rhythm was constant. The speed changed.

Available lesson times

Mondays 10 until 4:15

Tuesdays 10 until 4pm

Wednesdays 10 until 4:15 pm

Wednesdays after 5:45 pm

Thursdays 3:45-4:30

Fridays 4:30 - 5

Fridays 6-6:30

Congratulations students!

My students did extremely well in today's recital!!! Good job, and get ready to do it all again in another 3-4 months :)

Important date changes

The recital will be Feb. 3 at 2 pm.

I will be away Jan. 19-22.

Winter vacation dates

I am not teaching Saturday, Dec. 15, and Friday, Dec. 21 is my last day of teaching in 2007. I expect to resume all lessons on Wed., Jan. 2. If you will not be at a lesson in those first few days of January, please remember that you need to provide a full weeks' notice to skip the week and 24 hours' notice to reschedule.

I am also away January 19-21 for Martin Luther King Fr. weekend. I may additionally be out of town on January 18. I will let you know as soon as I do.

Open times as of today

I currently have available time in my home studio on Thursdays until 4 pm. The 4:30 time is no longer available.

Beginning in February, I will be offering the following additional times:
Mondays until 4:15
Tuesdays until 4pm
Wednesdays until 4:30 pm
Wednesdays at 5:30 pm.

Next recital

All students are invited to participate in my studio recital at 1pm, Sunday, February 10. I think I successfully avoid school vacations as well as Superbowl Sunday with that date. I can accommodate about 28 performers and guests. Once I reach that number, I will determine if a second performance at 2:30 or 3 is needed. If it is, the first to sign up for the 1pm recital will have the first opportunity to move to the later time if that is more convenient.

Thanks for a successful Halloween Recital!

Everyone did a great job and played beautifully! I am so pleased at how everyone is progressing in their piano studies.

I will plan another small, informal recital in late January or early February for all who are able to participate, though it is quite a challenge trying to find a weekend that works! It will likely be another Sunday at 7.

My Letter to the Editor, Classical Singer magazine

This (which I've copied and pasted below as well) is what I sent in to Classical Singer magazine in response to an article that suggested that a typical NYC audition experience might leave you with stories of "getting lost in the ghetto". If you have a subscription to Classical Singer, you can read the original article here (a new window will open so you won't lose this page).

Dear Editor:

I was pleased to read Joanie Brittingham's article, "Make Your Summer Sizzle." It's great to see articles by and for singers who are on the younger side of the spectrum. I wish I had spent my summers so wisely when I was in my twenties! But I have to admit that I was taken aback by the reference to getting "lost in the ghetto".

I can't think of anyplace in New York City where the housing near a possible audition location is even affordable to middle-class families, let alone being a "ghetto" area. The days of New York City being a relatively dangerous place are over. According to the F.B.I's "Crime in the United States 2005", the violent crime rate per 100,000 people was 673.1, in contrast to the 745.6 per 100,000 rate in Waco, TX, where Ms. Brittingham is pursuing a graduate degree. In fact, New York City was just named "The Safest Large City in America."

More importantly, using the term "ghetto" in such a casual way assumes that classical musicians are a certain type of people, with nothing in common with inhabitants of the "ghetto". Reri Grist grew up in the projects of Spanish Harlem, and both Denyce Graves and Leontyne Price came from segregated neighborhoods in South Philadelphia and Mississippi, respectively. As someone who now makes part of her living teaching the youth of Brooklyn (Beverly Sills' hometown), I can personally assure you that the gifts of musical talent and a drive to succeed don't discriminate on the basis of neighborhood, race, or how much money one's parents have. The fact is, someone from "the ghetto" probably wins a vocal competition much more frequently than a competitor gets lost in a "ghetto" on the way!

When I was in my early 20's getting my Masters' Degree at Baylor University, my life experiences left me with misconceptions similar to Ms. Brittingham's, so I can't entirely blame her. I am, however, disappointed that the editorial staff let this one go.

Sincerely,

Denise Ivanoff

Student success!

I have a nine-year-old voice student who was just promoted from Preparatory to Junior division at the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA). Congratulations Lilly!

Time to start thinking about lesson times!

Just a reminder of how I prioritize lesson times:

First group -- Committing to a date/time prior to Labor Day and paying for September

First choice -- Students who took summer lessons, regardless of whether they are retaining the same time

Second choice -- Students who did not take summer lessons and wish to continue with their previous day and time (assuming that a student who took summer lessons did not take it).

Third choice -- Students who wish to continue with me, did not take summer lessons, but require a change of day and/or time.

Fourth choice -- Students who are referred from continuing students.

Second group: Students committing to a date and time, and paying ON OR AFTER Labor Day

Students will be accommodated based on remaining available lesson times at time of payment of one month of lessons.

No new students without a referral will be guaranteed an assigned slot before Labor Day unless and until all continuing and referred students have been successfully placed in a slot.

Now accepting credit cards

I can now accept credit card payments via PayPal! Please let me know if you would like this option, and I will send you email invoices in the future.