Knightlizard Music

You are invited to an Uncaged Musicians Halloween Party! WHO? All Uncaged Musicians Students and friends and family! No prior musical experience necessary. All ages welcome! WHAT? A Halloween Party on Zoom! Teacher Elizabeth Erickson and her Uncaged Musicians students will share music and stories. All musicians in attendance can share a favorite Halloween-y extended technique/sound effect. Everyone is encouraged but not required to share costumes, pets, pumpkins, favorite dec...orations, and/or Halloween jokes! Everything must be appropriate for all ages (we will have toddlers and preschoolers in attendance). Ask ahead of time if you are unsure! WHEN? Tuesday October 27th, 2:45-4:15pm PST (Students -- this is in place of our usual large group Tuesday classes: Story Club, Musicianship, and Proseminar. Older students please try come at 2:45 if possible rather than your usual start time! If you will be attending and need to arrive late or leave early due to prior commitments let me know and I will plan accordingly.) WEAR? Costumes are optional but encouraged! Costumes can be on humans, willing pets (keep it safe), and/or musical instruments, cases, music stands, dolls, skeletons... WHERE? On Zoom! (Students -- make a flashing neon sign in your calendars to help you remember this is NOT your usual login info!) Zoom link, meeting ID, and passcode have been sent to students via email and posted in our private Uncaged Musicians group; students, please share Halloween Party Zoom info privately with your friends and family. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Enjoying this playlist today https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IjZ3ITSelAhkaYemTOGGz

Congratulations to all of the Black Violin Foundation Inc 2020 Musical Innovation Grant recipients . Introducing:: Gabrielle Stanback @madviolinist05 . These... young musicians have showcased their technical expertise, passion, and desire for innovation and creativity in their craft. . . Black Violin Foundation’s inaugural program provided scholarships of up to $2,500 to young musicians who were interested in continuing their music education. These musicians were from all over the United States and came from very diverse musical backgrounds. They included violinist, bassist, singers, and even a harpist. This Musical Innovation Grant will allow these phenomenal youth to foster their musical creativity while perfecting their craft. Programs ranged from summer music programs, private lessons, as well as college courses. These young musicians are now part of a music community known as BV youth. Make sure to go to www.blackviolinfoundation.org to donate so we can keep supporting the next generation of talented youth!

Wow, check out this gorgeous new viola! Andrew Carruthers actually lives in our area and made my beloved violin a few years ago. If you're in the market for an advanced/pro level instrument, definitely put his shop on your list!

Black lives matter. Black families matter. Black musicians matter. Elizabeth Erickson, KnightLizard Music studio, and Uncaged Musicians classes are strongly committed to protesting racism and police brutality and working towards social justice and the deep systemic change that requires.... Decolonizing our studio, which has previously been a long-term goal producing incremental change, is now receiving the majority of our efforts and will see improvement more swiftly as a result. Decolonization by its very nature produces an environment that more effectively serves each individual, which is particularly crucial for our BIPOC students, LGBTQ+ students, neuro-diverse students, and students with disabilities. Because of this priority in combination with our pandemic-induced online study, current students may experience format changes more frequently than usual, always preserving their right to direct their personal study and collaborate on their vision for group study which is an integral part of decolonization. Our usual annual interview is happening in private lessons this week and includes questions that will help dial in what is working best and should be preserved and where there is ambivalence and therefore a perfect area for targeted innovation. To allow for optimal focus on decolonization, we do not plan to accept new students until fall. To join our waiting list, fill out the registration form on our website: www.uncagedmusicians.com/Registration or visit the MusicLink Foundation to apply for a need-based scholarship: www.musiclinkfoundation.org Prospective students please reach out with any questions prior to registration. Because we may be changing structure more frequently than usual this summer it is likely that our public website and Facebook page will sometimes temporarily lag behind in order to prioritize keeping the areas current students use (private online portal and private Facebook group) up to date. Your understanding and patience are appreciated! I'd like to end with a quote from Shinichi Suzuki. This brilliant pedagogue created the Suzuki method in the aftermath of World War II and believed deeply in music's potential to preserve our humanity. He also tried to emphasize that each teacher continue the work he started and adapt their approach to suit their students, a belief that is at the core of my own philosophy. "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens.* If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline, and endurance. They get a beautiful heart." - Shinichi Suzuki * I would replace the word "citizens" with "humans"

(Thanks to one of our studio parents for sending this video)

"Dr. Suzuki developed this International method and philosophy as a response to the hate and destruction from World War II. The ultimate goal of this music education is world peace, love toward all fellow humans, an understanding that our musical education will give us the grit, resources, and character necessary to change the world for the better. We have direct and indirect goals for our children while we walk this Suzuki parenting path. Playing an instrument at a high level is the by-product of this method. Creating 'noble human beings' who will strive to make our world more full of love, more enriched by honoring all of humanity: this is is our true calling, our end game."

This is a great way for musicians of any age/level to contribute to the protests for social justice! Make a video, add #TakeTwoKnees, and share. I also highly recommend running a search for this hashtag; prepare to be blown away by the talent, vulnerability, and intensity of the participating musicians. If you are able, please also contribute financially (see comments for suggestions). Elizabeth Erickson, the KnightLizard Music studio, and our Uncaged Musicians classes wholeheartedly support #BlackLivesMatter.

This is brilliant! A great addition to the more conventional methods of language preservation. (Article is from a few years ago, but I just came across it today.)

I am really looking forward to this!

Current students and their parents/guardians are invited to join our new Uncaged Musicians private facebook group!

Yup. We're all finding the timedaymonth a little harder to keep track of lately! Fun fact for my students: you can have My Music Staff (aka your student portal) automatically text or email you a reminder for your class or lesson! You can toggle reminders on and off in your portal, but if you're feeling overwhelmed by the space time continuum I am more than happy to set this up for you. I'm in our portal every day and it's super easy for me to do!