Psalm Pselebration

Calgary Lutheran Chorale

The Calgary Lutheran Chorale will be presenting "Psalm Pselebration" this Sunday, April 11 at 7pm.  The concert will be at Hope Lutheran Church, 3527 Boulton Rd.  I will be performing the solo Laudate Dominum from Mozart's Vesperes Solomneles.  Admission is free.

Ask Judy - Advice for the terminally ill and their families - Obit Magazine

Ask Judy - Advice for the terminally ill and their families - Obit Magazine

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Kiwanis Music Festival

I'd just like to jump on the Kiwanis band-wagon, so to speak...


Calgary Herald: The Kiwanis Music Festival


This music festival is a tremendous experience for both the participant and audience member. Through the coming years, I intend to encourage more of my music students to take part. It is important for those studying music to have goals of performance and the Kiwanis festival provides just that. It also allows the opportunity to listen to repertoire one might not otherwise be exposed too. The festival runs until March 20th and I encourage Calgarians to show their support by being part of the audience.

Success in music... success in life!

Proposals to alter Fine Arts curriculum likely to lessen its value

I recently found this article in the Edmonton Journal. Ultimately I cannot agree with it's author more. While the province suggests that diversifying the fine arts school curriculum is an excellent idea, I believe that the end result not yield an individual well versed in all fine arts. Rather, the student would have some idea what art, drama and music were about, but would have no real aptitude in any of these. As the author stated so aptly: "Practising an art requires a certain degree of repetition, commitment, and inflexibility. The sense of pride, accomplishment, and confidence that any young student has when they achieve is remarkable, and is key when they are developing attributes of discipline, dedication, and perseverance."

Many sources clearly indicate that those who are successful in music are successful in life - hence the motto on a recent Yamaha poster. Einstein was an amazing violinist and often played while he was developing his ideas. A very high percentage of medical doctors studied music to an advance level and could have just as easily chosen to pursue music instead of medicine. Parents of my own students have remarked on how their children have improved in school subsequent to beginning music lessons.

To summarize, learning about fine art is not the same as actually learning it. The diversification does not encourage the development of a particular art form. I would suggest that schools would be serving young Canadians more by giving a concise seminar to those students interested in the arts. The seminar could give examples of each discipline essentially providing the student with a frame of reference to choose what they want to pursue in more depth. While I will be the first to admit a very strong relationship between music, drama and art, I must advocate that within the school system they remain separate in order to allow student to make a commitment to a particular area of fine arts.

Recent Changes

I have added a new page with lesson information. This page includes my rates, background and my approach to teaching piano and voice. I will shortly be updating two other pages I have created for wedding and funeral solos. I am particularly interested in providing my services as a soloist for funerals.

A bar along the right side of this page has links to my YouTube videos as well.

I have also recently created a profile on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lbellmusic

Yours in Song,

Leith

My New Blog

This blog is to help me, Leith Bell, and my business Bell Music keep in touch with the people living in Calgary, Albertans, Canadians and perhaps people all over the world. My hope it to share my passion for teaching piano and voice, and for performing. I'll post commentary related to music education, music performance and the important role music has to a greater or lesser extent for absolutely everyone. I hope my comments will generate discussions and perhaps inspiration as well.

Yours in Song,

Leith