L'Orchestre des Portes Rouges concert in NYC with Stephen Simon, conductor

Our Maestro Classics music director, Stephen Simon, conducted L'Orchestre des Portes Rouges on Friday, April 15, 2011 at Church of the Resurrection, 119 East 74th Street, NYC. David Enlow, organ faculty at Juilliard, was the soloist in a program of Mozart Church Sonatas and the Poulenc Organ Concerto, as well as a Mozart symphony. The acoustics in this beautiful Renwick-style church are glorious, and the newly installed organ with pipes nestled in all corners of the building was stunning. None of the musicians had ever performed in the space before and their delight promises to make it one of New York's special concert venues in the future.

On a personal note, it was wonderful to see so many old New York friends as well as friends and relatives from out-of-town welcoming us back to the musical scene in Manhattan.

Photos will follow

The Third Year at the Midwest Homeschool Conference

Time to get back on the blog. I am embarrassed to see that I have not been on for 12 months, since just before our second venture into the homeschool world of the Midwest. Why? A beautiful new website www.maestroclassics.com has taken a year to build and a new CD has been born. But, on to today.

Quickly, the Midwest Homeschool Conference. I gave two talks and abandoned the Powerpoint presentation, explaining that Maestro Classics is all about listening. At the booth and after talks, it was great to meet all the folks who listen and love our CDs. Twice as many families purchased CDs in 2010 as in 2009, and this year in 2011 it seemed that the word is really out, and the number tripled. Maestro Classics has been discovered by the Midwest homeschool community!

Many parents approached our Maestro Classics booth saying,

"My friend told me that I absolutely have to come and listen to your CDs."

"I just want to tell everyone here that these are wonderful CDs. We purchased the entire set two years ago and my son has already worn out 2 of the CDs!"

Another memorable comment came from the family who said that their car was broken into and all their Maestro Classics CDs were stolen;they wanted to replace them all.

Classical music and kids. There are still some families who are skeptical. Do they know enough to introduce it to their children? Isn't it that deadly stuff you put on when you want your child to go to sleep, or perhaps help them concentrate on their homework, not too interesting so you don't really need to listen? Just come and listen to Maestro Classics CDs, I always say. The conductor explains the music. You can not only hear the London Philharmonic Orchestra, you may also head the Russian Trio Voronezh playing folk instruments, the Maestro Classics Dixieland Band, a jazz trio, or even Joe Stump, the head of the heavy metal department at Berklee College of music. Are these CDs classical music for kids? some people ask. I prefer to say "Good music for kids....and their parents." Plus, on every CD, the conductor talks about the music, you learn a little history of the composer and the times from me, and there is always the "Play/Sing/Dance-Along" track at the end, preceded by my famous, "Stand up and smile!"

Since I wrote a year ago, we have a new CD: My Name is Handel: The Story of Water Music. It is the most beautiful to date. More on that later.

At the moment, I need to get to Church of the Resurrection on East 74th St. in NYC where our music director and my husband, conductor Stephen Simon, is having a rehearsal for the April 15th concert for organ and orchestra and I want to go and listen to the fabulous organist, David Enlow.

News from Cincinnati

As we decided to return to the Midwest Homeschool Conference in Cincinnati this year, I looked at my colleague Annie Dean and said, "Either we sold CDs to everyone who was interested in classical music last year and we will not sell another CD or everyone who purchased CDs last year will have told their friends and it will be wonderful. GREAT NEWS! It was the latter and we were flooded with families saying, "I bought one CD last year and am coming back to buy ALL the others," and "I heard about you from a friend who said I had to stop by the booth and listen."

For two and a half days, we had 3 and 4 headsets going with people waiting in line to listen to the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Yadu the narrator. Twice as many CDs went out the door as the year before, setting a new homeschool record for us.

I love going to the shows and meeting the actual people who will enjoy our CDs hour after hour. The smiles that come across faces as they put on the noise-canceling headsets and are transported to a different world are marvelous - peace and joy are the only way that I can describe them.

One new aspect to the booth were the new wireless headsets by Sennheiser. Wonderful sound and no wires! Many asked if we were selling them... no, but certainly recommending them.

BTW - The Tortoise and the Hare won a Parents' Choice GOLD, the most coveted award in the children's toy/media business. While all of our CDs have won Parents' Choice awards, this is our second GOLD. (4 SILVER as well.)

Museum Store Association Conference

On the road again! My first trip to Austin, TX in 30 years; have not been here since husband/conductor Stephen Simon conducted the Austin Symphony years ago.

As always, fun to watch people's faces as they put on the wireless Sennheiser headphones and they are transported to a different world. Many big smiles!

While selling to retailers sends many more CDs out the door, I miss the homeschool parents who come and listen and talk and then gently take their new CDs and you know that they are going to entertain the whole family on the drive home.

Back to NYC tomorrow, to DC at the end of the week, and then off to Japan for 3 weeks.

Return to Midwest Homeschool Convention

IF YOU ARE IN CINCINNATI, COME SEE ME AT OUR BOOTH 1222 and/or
COME TO ONE OF MY TALKS ON FRIDAY AT 2 pm OR SATURDAY AT 3 pm.

I left the 80+ degree heat of New York City yesterday to arrive in the cool weather of Cincinnati. Last year we came to the Midwest Homeschool Convention and were so captivated by the wonderful families that we met that we knew we would return again this year. The show opened last evening and I was delighted to meet so many parents and children who were interested in new listening experiences. From the 5-year-old boy who would have spent the entire evening with the headset on to the 14-year-old who knew Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake but had to admit that he had never heard a version played on electric guitar (a 4-minute version on track 3 of the same CD that has the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing the original score), once again we found that the parents here are in sync with our belief that the greatest education happens when parents and children can experience things together.

I have been busy with new technology at the booth, working with Sennheiser's new Bluetooth wireless headphones. People visiting the booth love them. Come try them out. (You may put them on your Christmas list for next year.)

Today, Friday at 2 PM at Millennium Pavilion, in my talk titled "A Musical Adventure: Creating Maestro Classics" I will talk about the creation of the Maestro Classics series - from the Kennedy Center to London's Abbey Road Studios to Carnegie Hall to orchestras nationally. Tomorrow, Saturday at 3 PM, I will be on my soapbox at the Millennium Pavilion talking about the importance of listening in an increasingly visual world - "You, Music, and Your Child: Ten Ways to Introduce Music into Your Children's Lives."

As the sun rises this AM, I trust that today will bring a host of new experiences that will continue to make this my favorite show.

Marvelous Simon Sinfonietta opening concert and now back to DC

Being married to the Maestro brings many treats. Wonderful soloists sit at the breakfast table overlooking the sea, talking about concerts and travels far and wide. The delight of sitting in on rehearsals which always feels as if the orchestra is playing a concert just for me. Once again hearing the parts of the music before it is put back together into the whole at the performance. When the first downbeat arrives, I again realize how special the Maestro's brand of music making is. Pure joy flows from him to the musicians and out into the audience.

Breakfast at Pie in the Sky under clear skies brings friends congratulating him on another great evening and thanking us for bringing this kind of music to a very special scientific and artistic community in Cape Cod, MA. If you do not know Falmouth/Woods Hole for its Oceanographic Institution (Titanic exploration), the Marine Biological Laboratory (53 Nobel prize winners), or Sea Education Association (the best-know semester-at-sea program in the country), perhaps you know it for its award-winning children's book illustrators (Molly Bang, Salley Mavor) or writers (Daniel Robb). It is a very special place and now we have added great classical music to the mix (simonsinfonietta.org).

At what age should my child begin an instrument?

This is never a simple question with a simple answer. For a very musical child in a musical family, Suzuki violin might be right for a 3-year-old. For most children the age may be 5 or 6 may be more appropriate.

Exposure is very important. If you have friends whose children play, ask if you can their child would be willing to play for your child. (Many a child has taken up an instrument because an older friend or relative plays it.)

Your local symphony orchestra may have a "Petting Zoo" with instruments that children can try before a children's concert. If a child has never heard a clarinet, how would they know that they might fall in love with it.

If you do not have a piano, you might consider putting an electronic keyboard in the child's room. Those with musical samples where the keys go down as the music plays are particularly appealing to children, and you will often see them trying to pick out the tunes themselves or with the sample.

Consider leaving a trumpet mouthpiece around for your child to try to make a sound on. Some can do it easily; for others, it may take longer, but it may give them a sense of accomplishment.

Join a Kindermusik or parent-child music class where your child may have the opportunity to play mallet instruments and drums.

Remember: finding the right teacher is not always easy. For some lucky parents, they know a warm, friendly teacher who loves children and wants to share their own love of music. For others, it may take some searching.

How do you know it is the right teacher? It reminds me of my dog guru who, when we were ready to get a puppy, said, "Go visit the breeders. If you don't like them, you won't like their dogs." If you visit the teacher and don't like him/her, your child probably will not either.

Rule #1: Ask if you can come and meet the teacher to determine whether your child will be a good fit for the teacher.

Rule #2: Request a trial lesson. If your child comes home unhappy, things will probably not get better over time. (If they will not agree to this, I probably is not the right teacher.)

Rule #3: Remember that the first teacher does not have to be a world-class virtuoso; they have to love children.

Rule #4: The teacher must have a sense of humor.

Rule #5: The teacher must love children.

Rule #6: The teacher must love children.

Rule #7: The teacher must love children.

You want your child to love music. Perhaps they will be part of the audience when they grow up or perhaps they will play string quartets with fellow scientists on Thursday nights. Perhaps they will play in the college orchestra. Perhaps they will play in the town band when they are teenagers. Perhaps they will play simple carols for family Christmas parties when they are 9. And for a very, very few, perhaps they will discover that music is a passion and want to make it their vocation. But that is the rare exception. Most will simply have discovered world of sound that is filled with beauty and will reconnect with it throughout the rest of their lives.

There will be times when your children do not feel like practicing. Many years ago, the great violinist Izhak Perlman, was asked by a radio interviewer whether his children all played instruments. When he said yes, she blithely quipped, "Well, they must like to practice." To which Perlman said with a twinkle, "No one likes to practice!" Every day of practice is like working on a long-term project: little by little great progress is made. It is never smooth sledding the whole way. So,

Rule #8-100: You are there to be the cheerleader, the appreciative audience, the warm pillow when a performance goes poorly, the one who says, "You are doing a great job. Stick with it."

No adult ever regrets having stuck with an instrument, but countless parents over the years have said to me, "I wish my parents had not let me quit."