FIDDLESTICKS!: May 2012

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Awesome Bass!

I thought I would share this clip today along with next week's strings schedule. Remember to STAY HOME Monday :)

For all of the orchestra bass players - even if you just watch a few minutes, I think he is great! He starts bowing after about 2 minutes or so. Worth watching!

May 15: Period 3 - 30, Period 4, 10
May 16: Period 3 - 20
May 17: Period 3 - 20
May 18: Period 1 - 10, Period 3 - 30

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

May is Underway!

The new issue of Strings magazine arrived today and as I flipped through I was captured by a photo of Ann Marie Calhoun. (Actually it was her shoes - what a surprise.) When I investigated her online I discovered that she worked on the soundtrack for the Sherlock Holmes movie, along with Tina Guo and several other great musicians. The video is kind of fun, so I'm posting it to remind you of the great things that can happen when you pursue your musical dreams - hanging out with Robert Downey Jr., for instance :).

Also this month, there's an article about an eighteen-year-old cellist, relatively unknown but promising, who had his cello replaced by one worth over 6 million dollars by an "unnamed wealthy patroness. So there you go: practice, be good, and good things can happen to you!

Things you may not know about Mr. Bernier:

He began playing fiddle at the age of eleven and after earning his Bachelor of Music in Music Education at the University of Saskatchewan he went on to become the 1990 Grand Master Fiddler. Mr. Bernier began teaching full time as a private music teacher and also went on to teach students at music camps across Canada and the United States.

His dedication to music education, particularly in Saskatchewan, is evident in his lifetime of accomplishments which are really too numerous to fit into this sidebar – you’ll have to google him to find out (he even won the 2003 SCMA Humanitarian Award !)

Did you know that Mr. Bernier actually writes and arranges music in addition to teaching here at Rivier? Very cool.

His students have also gone on to accomplish great things such as: Winning the Royal Conservatory Silver Medal Award for the highest exam marks in the province; Touring with the National Youth Orchestra; and recording their own CDs. So pay attention in class!

Most important of all, Mr. Bernier has set up the ONLY strings program in Saskatchewan available to middle and high school students – and you can get academic credit for it. Wow!