A new year. Yay! Say "Good riddance" to 2020! Greet the new year with open arms and good intentions. My list of good intentions includes updating this page more frequently. Shall I start today?
The past 9 months have been... well, claustrophobic, to say the least. I just want to open my doors, greet my piano students in person, invite my neighbors in for tea, go shopping. To say I have become inured to social isolation is perhaps taking it too far; yet I fear the backlash when the OK is finally sounded. What, go outside? Remove my mask? But the potential germs! Toni, get a grip! Get the vaccine! Go outside!
My piano lessons have continued, somewhat unabated, even through the pandemic. I moved everything to Zoom in March, and much to my delight, most students have stuck with me! I developed a Facebook page for my students' eyes and ears only. They performed a successful Spring Recital, a Halloween Recital, and a Beethoven Birthday Bash all on Facebook, and I was quite pleased. It's not the venue we want, but it's what is available in this time of quarantine. I am proud of what all my students, young and old alike, have been able to accomplish over these months of internet lessons. But I do look forward to the day we can return to in-person lessons.
In the meantime, we persevere. We continue to meet weekly for lessons, and we continue to practice between lessons. We learn to read notes, count beats, and maintain steady tempo. We find our place on the page, we circle trouble spots, and we review, review, review. In that regard, the pandemic has not changed things. In fact, we have learned a lot of independence as a result of social distancing. We have learned confidence in our own ability to carry on, to move through a piece of music, and to perform, even if only for our immediate family.
May 2021 open many doors for creative expression. The concert hall awaits...
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