 We always begin each new year with new goals or resolutions. The past couple of years, we really have just been trying to survive and "keep normal" as much as possible. And, have you counted how many times you have said, "I'm over it!" in a week? We all are. This pandemic just keeps throwing us curve balls- once we feel like we are reaching some sort of "normal", another wave comes through. It's nice to be making history, but I think I've had enough. So, I'm going to make some goals that force me to think further than just a few weeks out. Are you ready? Ha, me too.
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Some of you know that my parents have a home in Agia Anna, Evia, Greece (where my father grew up), and we love going every couple of years. All was just amazing.! We enjoyed time with my parents and getting sun, sleep, and beach. But our amazing three-week trip in Greece came to a screeching halt a few days early because of the spreading wild fires. The fires had been happening most of the week. Up till Wednesday, we were not really affected. But Wednesday late night, we had gone out for drinks with some friends at a nearby bar, and ash was falling from the sky. Thursday morning, around 7:15am, Planes were flying non-stop and it woke me up. I got my mom up and we watched for a while, but then we went back to sleep. The air was real cloudy and smoky, but again, the fires were far off. After lunch that day, they had evacuated the "camping" area. My dad and Brian went up to the village and filled the car with gas and got more gas for the boat- all "just in case". We had put passports & money in a ziplock bag and packed up a couple of things, but when my Dad and Brian came back, they had told us that they went to look at the fires and they were nowhere close- 30 minutes plus from the village. No one was worried at all. We packed up and went to the beach to enjoy the evening. It was still smoky out, but the kids enjoyed a night of kayaking and playing with the jellyfish. (they don't sting)  Our friends had come down and they were going to stay at the beach that evening. So, they ran (drove, really) up to the village to grab their stuff while we changed for dinner. By this time, it's Thursday evening around 10ish, our normal dinner time. They came back and we went out for dinner. At dinner, the lights in the beach village began to flicker on and off. Right as they brought our food, we lost all power at the beach. We packed up our food (and carafe of wine...still not super worried) and walked back to the house where his parents and my parents were watching the flames get closer and closer. Their family made the decision to get in the car and drive to Monduthi, a neighboring village through back roads. That was not an option for us. Not only did we not know the back roads, but we didn't want to be stuck on the mountain with the fires. We also had my aunt, uncle, and 3 cousins we needed to factor in. Around 11:30pm, the fires came down so fast. We grabbed blankets, towels, masks, and our "go" bags and ran to the beach. My Dad and Brian ran back up to move the car out from under the house to the beach, where everyone had parked their cars. My dad did try to run back to the house again because he had left money there, but Brian pretty much pinned him down and didn't let him go. It was too late. Flames were everywhere, winds were blowing, it had to be at least 130 degrees, and flames were flying and landing all around us. We huddle together under 2 blankets and just prayed. Explosions were happening all around us. The fires never made it to the beach- if they had, I don't want to think about what would have happened to all of those cars parked. We could not get to the boat because the ocean was super rough. Also, because it wasn't just the 6 of us, it was 12 (!!), there's no way the boat would have held us all. I think the fires started to wind down around 4 am....a few times Brian and my dad tried to go check on the house, but they couldn't get very far. By 5ish, my parents went back to the house which was still standing and basically okay inside. It did smell of smoke, but they both collapsed on the sofas. We went up around 6:15am, and tried to sleep a bit as well. At least we were out of the ash and winds. We had no power, no water. Fast forward to about Friday 1pm- my parents left while we slept to check things out. There was a police officer in the village that said roads were open to Halkida (the capital of the island) and Athens if we left asap. My grandparents home was still standing, but about a 1/3 of the village was wiped out. We collectively decided to pack our things and get in the cars and try to head out.  7 of us in a Toyota Rav4, and 5 in a little Ford. Many roads were closed and it took us about 7 hours to get to Athens- through traffic, back roads, and even a ferry. Once we got close to my cousins home in Athens, they were in one car to their house, and we went on to the airport. Friday 9:30pm: We got out COVID tests done, and somehow persuaded both of my parents to leave with us. My siblings got us 6 tickets to leave Saturday morning. Friday 11:30pm: We got hotel rooms to take a shower and lay down for a bit. Saturday 6am: we headed back to the airport and got on a plane. The Pandemic has taught us so many things about what is important to us. This situation has taken it a step further for me. I am grateful for every single day we have on this earth. You never know when it will be your last. I'm also trying to make more time for the important things in my life- my husband, my kids, my family. We also could not have gotten through this without the amazing support we had in Dallas helping us through this- getting us flights back home, looking at road closures, and literally just being supportive and praying. My cell phone became our life line to getting out. Something was pulling me to be in Greece this summer. I needed to get away and unwind with my family. But, I think the real reason was one so much bigger than I will ever understand.  Here's my crazy story on my blue piano. One night, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a Steinway & Sons post about a special Boston upright that was designed my Alicia Keys. I was stunned and all googlie eyes at this piano!! It was simply stunning. Well, it was simply stunning. I found myself thinking about it for a while- like a year. When you think about things for that long...well, maybe you need to do something about it? So, keep in mind, we are in the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. But, things are going really well at the studio. By February, a lot of our students are moving away from virtual lessons and starting to come back into the studio. But we were starting to be out of room. The smartest thing for me to do is to add another piano room. The only place we really had room to use was my office, and I was not really excited about that. In the past, I had taught where I worked and I would look over at my pile on my desk and think about the work I needed to do while I was teaching. I liked the separation of leaving my office to go into another space to teach. I wasn't sure how I was going to make this work, but knew I would be willing to if it was a cool piano. So, I thought, maybe a Steinway upright? This would be all mine. How cool would that be? But, as beautiful as those were, I couldn't get the Alicia Keys piano out of my mind. I think I wanted something with a little more pop! After talking with the guys at Steinway Hall- Dallas, they had a guy who painted pianos for them. He's not just a normal painter, like he really knew what he was doing to paint a piano. So, I got to work on picking out colors and putting things in motion. Once I got swatches, I took them to my office to check out the color scheme:  So, I anticipated having this piano by the beginning of April. We began moving things around at the studio. Ms. Gayle needed to have a space to work at in the front of the studio rather than in my office where I would be teaching.  The feeling of seeing the Steinway delivery truck in the parking lot was so amazing!! It seems absolutely crazy that I am this excited about a blue piano. But, we have learned a lot from this pandemic. We appreciate the little things. This piano is so fun to play and it puts off such a fun energy with my students. They absolutely LOVE playing it!! Their faces light up! I'm so thrilled with this new addition and very grateful for being able to buy a blue piano. I'm in love and I'm beyond blessed! for a little more on the colors and the "pop", check out the video below. I didn't have much of a voice when I filmed this, but I was so excited!!  We are wanting to encourage our students to listen to different and important musical works. Your Assignment: Listen to the link below, share with your family, and add comments to let us know what you think! This one is Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words: Spring Song Time Period: Romantic, 1844 Originally written for solo piano, here is a lovely version with clarinet playing the melody. The second link is a solo piano version. Can you imagine lots of birds, butterflies, bees, & flowers swaying in the breeze?
 This week, we are recognizing these students for 5 & 6 years of music study! Congratulations! Special awards will be given in May! Navir
Ryan
Anna
Kaira
Savannah
Christine
Ezekiel
Ada
Eva
Ignacio
Myles
Reenie
Kaivan
and also these students: EvanLiviaSydneyLukeNikoAriaIzabellaJoshuaLola We are wanting to encourage our students to listen to different and important musical works. Your Assignment: Listen to the link below, share with your family, and add comments to let us know what you think! This one is J.S. Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor Time Period: Baroque Used in scary movies sometimes! One slow, dramatic melody in the Toccata, followed by many fast melodies. Then, in the Fugue, organized, overlapping melodies (starting at 2:41)  This week, we are recognizing these students for 7 & 8 years of music study! Congratulations! Special awards will be given in May! McKenna
Anna
Juliette
Mischa
Sohumnot pictured
-Stathia Orwig So, you've got your child in music lessons and now, you've got to figure out practice. Why? Well, they can't learn to play an instrument only by attending lessons. Practice is a must. I know, it's hard to fit in. I get it. I struggle with my kids every day, every week, and they are older! So, here are some pointers on how to get in practice.
 Once practice becomes part of the schedule, then it just gets easier and even more fun! Of course, we as teachers are always rewarding our students for practice with music bucks, contests, music ball, and honor roll. But the real fun, honestly, comes when they are confident & learning more repertoire! For more fun practice pointers, check out an past blog from the Old Pro. Happy practicing!! Let us know what works for you!   We are wanting to encourage our students to listen to different and important musical works. Your Assignment: Listen to the link below, share with your family, and add comments to let us know what you think! This one is Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro". Time Period: Romantic Era, 1918 This stage performance opens with Gianni Schicchi shouting, in resistance to the idea of his daughter marrying her love. Then his daughter pleads with him. -Stathia Orwig So, if you follow us on social media, you've probably already seen this. For those of you who have not- you're in for a real surprise! Music SO Simple was in the Richardson Community Impact!!! Basically, out of the blue, a reporter emailed the studio asking to set up an interview with me. After the interview was a hit, he came in to take pictures of the studio and me teaching, Little Miss Sophia, my student who I was teaching the evening he came in felt like a star!! The article was about MSS, how we started, and how we were adapting to the coronavirus pandemic: Music SO Simple was named after a philosophy that owner Stathia Orwig uses when teaching music gets overwhelming.
Sophia signed a copy of the article that is now hanging in our studio. Please feel free to share the article with family and friends!! Thank you all for sharing your love of learning music and MSS!! We couldn't do this without you!!
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MUSIC SO SIMPLE
469.778.2121
info@musicsosimple.com
1144 Plano Road, suite 142, richardson, texas 75081
