Opus Music School February 2022 Newsletter
Opus March Madness Submissions Open Sunday 2/27- Sunday 3/6
It's almost time for our Opus March Madness Music Contest to begin! This contest is free and open to all active Opus students to participate with the grand prize of a day at a theme park of your choice! Not only is this contest super fun, but recording yourself performing is a great way to develop and grow as a musician. All participants will win a prize including a limited run edition of the 2022 March Madness Brag Badge!
Submissions open on our website starting Sunday, 2/26 and the deadline to submit is Sunday, 3/6/22. Videos must be under 5 minutes long but beyond that, the sky is the limit for this competition! You can perform any song of your choice, decorate your backdrop and dress to impress however you'd like!
After submissions close on 3/6, we'll be sharing all the entries on our website and Youtube channel so people can check out our student's serious talents and vote for their favorite performance! Each week the videos with the most votes will progress onto the next round until we have our 1st place grand champion!
2022 March Madness Music Contest Dates:
2/27 to 3/6: Video submissions accepted on Opus Music School website
3/8 to 3/13: Round 1 of voting
3/15 to 3/20: Semifinals voting round (top 6)
3/22 to 3/27: Final voting round (top 3)
There's still time to work with your teacher in your upcoming lessons to get your performance in tip-top shape. We know all of our talented students are sure to bring some stellar performances to the contest this year- It's going to be hard to pick a favorite!
There's Still Time to Register for the Opus Summer Tour
Have you ever dreamed that you might one day get to perform at one of the world's most famous concert halls? Well you can make that dream come true this July- There's still time to register for the Opus Summer Tour where we'll be heading to New York City to perform at the one and only, Carnegie Hall!
This once in a lifetime opportunity is open to students of any skill level and there's no audition required! Any student who meets the following requirements is invited to sign up and join us for this incredible trip:
Active current student of Opus Music School
Age 5 and up
Currently vaccinated or will be fully vaccinated at least 30 days prior to the concert date
Any level or any instrument (except drums due to the large amount of equipment needed to travel)
Continuous lessons at Opus Music School from now until the concert date
Head to our website www.opusmusicschool.com/summer for more information or reserve your spot on the Carnegie Hall stage with us this summer! We hope to see you there for this show-stopping trip with your Opus friends!
New Opus Brag Badge featuring Toni the Turtle!
Our next Opus Brag Badge for Toni the Turtle started going out to eligible students! This commemorative enamel pin features our friend Toni the Turtle who jams out on the piano!
Piano Student, Madeline Do (6),
showing off her Toni the Turtle badge after her piano lesson.
Toni is a non-binary turtle who is a technical music genius, a bit shy but very lovable. They love being the keyboardist in our underwater band, Rocktopus!
To take home this pin, as with all of our badges, students are asked at various milestones by their teacher to perform their "Show Off Skill" to demonstrate what they've learned. Whether it's a scale, sight reading a new piece or even memorizing the music they've been working on- our rockstar students have no trouble sharing their musical abilities!
Toni the Turtle is the talented keyboardist and resident music theory genius of the Rocktopus band!
If you've been taking lessons at Opus since November 2021, you're close to earning your first Brag Badge! Your teacher will be testing you in one of your next lessons, so make sure you've been practicing all you've learned so you'll be ready for your Show Off Skill.
The longer you are a student at Opus Music School, and the more you participate in events, the more collectible Brag Badges you can collect! Many of our performance pins are one-time runs only so are limited edition! Can you guess which of our Opus friends will be featured on our next Brag Badge?
Welcome Back, Mr. Francis!
We're so happy to announce that as of this month, our very own rockstar guitar and drum teacher, Mr. Francis, has returned to the US and is back to teach in-person at Opus Music School!
Mr. Francis has been part of the Opus team since before the pandemic and had returned to his home country of Brazil while we were still offering exclusively online lessons. Unfortunately due to travel restrictions, Mr. Francis was not able to return to his home in the US for several months so he had been teaching all of his students online even after Opus reopened for in-person lessons. His students didn’t mind waiting to come back in-person if it meant they could still keep their favorite music teacher!
Mr. Francis is back and ready to continue sharing his musical skills with any aspiring rockstars, both in-person or online Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Opus. To book a trial lesson with Mr. Francis you can head to our website to self book or reach out to our office by phone/text at (626)- 961-2625 or email us atinfo@opusmusicschool.com. We're so happy to have Mr. Francis back home and we know his students, both current and future, are so thankful you've made it home!
Save the Date- Opus Spring Recital!
Performing for an audience is one of the most beneficial things for music students of any age or skill level which is why we try to give our students as many opportunities as possible to hit the stage and share their talents. One of our favorite events every year has always been our annual recital, so we couldn't be more excited to announce that in Spring 2022 we'll be putting on our first Opus general recital since January 2020!
Our recitals are open to all active Opus students, no matter your level or instrument, and there's no audition required to perform. We highly encourage all of our students to perform in our school recitals as it's a great way to grow as a musician and share your talents! Even if you're not sure what to perform or if you're not sure if you're ready- your teacher can help you select a song or piece to perform and work with you in your lessons to make sure you feel prepared and confident when you hit the stage!
We'll be providing more information about the recital in the coming months. Until then, it's never too early to start practicing!
Valentine's Lobby Contest Winner!
Over the past week, we've been spreading some Valentine's day festivity in our lobby! Not only have we had it decked out with lovely Valentine's decor, but students have had the chance to take a look at our Hershey's Kiss jar and submit their guess of how many candies were inside for a chance to win the whole jar of chocolates!
The contest has officially come to and end and everyone did a great job estimating how many treats were inside the jar- Our winning student was only 1 away from the exact number of candies! Congratulations to Ms. Migiwa's student, Charmaine L. (11) who came up with the closest guess of 115 with the exact count being 116! Way to go, Charmaine and great job to all of our students who participated!
February Student of the Month!
Student Name: Elliot Y.
Age: 6
Instrument: Guitar and Piano
Teacher's Names: Mr. Steve and Mr. Spurgeon
1. What do you like the most about taking music lessons at Opus Music School?
Music lessons at Opus are very fun!
2. What do you like the most about your teacher?
Mr. Steve is the best guitar teacher! He encourages me to keep trying. He also explains to me how I can get better practicing at home.
3. What is your favorite piece to play and why?
Ode to Joy. I had fun learning the song with my piano teacher Mr. Spurgeon before and got to perform the piece at Opus Music Festival last Summer. I am excited that I get to learn the piece again with guitar.
4. What challenges have you faced when learning music and how did you overcome it?
My biggest challenge is reading the notes quickly. My guitar teacher, Mr. Steve, helps me through each piece, and I practice almost everyday.
5. What is your goal with music?
I have fun performing on stage. I want to get better and to perform in front of more people or become a music teacher in the future.
6. What makes you unique? What are some of your other interests?
I enjoy playing basketball, soccer, chess, and I figured out how to solve a Rubik's cube!
Congratulations, Elliot! You're a rockstar student and we love to hear that you might one day share your talents with music students of your own!
Alexander G.
Alexander S.
Amarrie V.
Angel L.
Annalise S.
Ariel S.
Arya L.
Christopher V.
Coufax W.
Derek H.
Farris P.
Isaac D.
Isaiah P.
Jayden L.
Joseph T.
Joseph T.
Kamila R.
Katie M.
Kerrie T.
Liannah E.
Marcos P.
Melody N.
Ramus L.
Regina S.
Rowen G.
Sofia E.
Steven P.
Timothy W.
Valentina P.
Yannie K.
Yaretzi P.
Opus March Madness Submissions Open
Sunday, February 27th, 2022 to Sunday March, 6th, 2022
Spring Break - School CLOSED
Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 to Friday, April 8th, 2022
Easter Sunday - School CLOSED
Sunday, April 17th, 2022
Next Performance Opportunity - TBA
Sunday, May 1, 2022 (Tentative)
Memorial Day - School CLOSED
Monday, May 30th, 2022
Summer Break - School CLOSED
Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 to Tuesday, July 5th, 2022
Opus Summer Tour at Carnegie Hall, New York City
Tuesday, July 12th, 2022
Check our Instagram page @opusmusicschool for more updates!
View full calendar: www.opusmusicschool.com/calendar