A Japanese Music Lesson

Sally Nguyen in Osaka, 2012

Mitchell Conservatorium piano student, Sally Nguyen enjoyed her visit to Japan, made during the school holidays. Her host family kindly took her to a koto class, where she was able to hear this special instrument being played by an ensemble of keen students.

If we tell you that a koto is a little like a zither, you may still be wondering about it, because you won't see many zithers in Bathurst, either.

But this amateur Youtube video, made by another student from another school during a trip to Japan, might be worth watching, and better than any verbal description we could supply.



Many Australian composers have become fascinated with the music of our Asian neighbours and have incorporated some of the music in their writing. Peter Sculthorpe has even written pieces for piano called Koto Music I and II. The Australian Music Centre has a short sample here. You will notice that the performer is playing inside the piano, not on the keys.

If you would like to try this, please ask the piano owner's permission first: it can damage the strings.

Talented Artist and Musician

Emily Calder with her daughter Ellianna

Emily Calder is a versatile artist and musician. Since the age of four, she has been working her way down through the string section of the orchestra. Emily began exploring violin via the Suzuki Method. Her first teacher was former Bathurst resident, Janice Donaldson.

At the age of thirteen, she began lessons with Mitchell Conservatorium's Nicholas Newell, who introduced her to the viola when she was fifteen.

She is currently studying cello with Mitchell Conservatorium's Sybbi Georgiou.

Emily has the University of Queensland's Diploma of Music Teaching, which is a tertiary accreditation for teaching instrumental music, and is currently working towards the Bachelor of Music degree, awarded by the University of New England.

Emily enjoys many different styles of music, and is as happy playing gypsy violin as she is in performing the great classical violin repertoire.

At Mitchell Conservatorium Emily teaches violin and also directs two string ensembles for primary school students.

Mitchell Young Strings

On Wednesday afternoon, she enjoys teaching Mitchell Young Strings to play various stringed instruments. On Thursday, she leads Fiddlesticks, which is a NSW government assisted ensemble for students from Department of Education primary schools. Thanks to their support, lessons only cost $2 per session.

She teaches the students in these two groups the basics of playing an instrument in the violin family in an ensemble, and also uses her knowledge of conducting to show them the ropes in that area also. Emily enjoyed being part of Jerry Nowak's conducting classes when the world-renowned director and musical arranger visited Australia last year.

Pastel by Emily Calder

Emily is also a visual artist. She favours working with pastels, which she finds challenging and rewarding.

You can hear Emily playing Summer, from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and a movement from Mozart's Violin Cocnerto No 5 in A Major in a free concert on Sunday, 20th May at 4 PM in The Orchard Room at Mitchell Conservatorium, West Wing, Bathurst Court House in Russell St. Emily will be accompanied by pianist, David McKay. Her brother, Jared Killey will perform some beautiful classical guitar music.

Great ideas for encouraging your child to play

Here are six tips for successful music practice from Jammin' with you, the New York Music blog.

1. A place to play with no distractions

2. Practise every day          It makes playing music more fun.

Practising is not fun when you do it irregularly.

3. Play early

 Playing before school often works well and beats playing just before you go to bed and are really tired, or after a hard day at school. Become a morning person and you won't miss the best part of the day!

4. Keep your instrument ready to play.

Don't put it away in a case. Keep the piano smiling: lid open! One reason I can't play the cello is that mine was in a soft case with lots of straps to undo. I didn't have a stand for it and rarely got it out of the case!

5. Reward success: stickers, trip to the park, be creative!

6. Praise good playing.

Don't jump every time your child plays a wrong note. Occasionally point out a note that has been played wrongly several times. (A good tip for us teachers!)

If you head over to Jammin' with you you'll see I have my own way of putting their advice. It's worth reading what they said there - and it looks so cool, too!

A music lesson from Einstein

Reader's Digest has published Jerome Weidman's 1955 story about the evening he spent with Einstein.

Weidman has just had dinner in the home of a distinguished New York philanthropist, and discovers that there is to be a chamber music concert following, which he is going to have to endure.

I fixed my face in what I hoped was an expression of intelligent appreciation, closed my ears from the inside, and submerged myself in my own completely irrelevant thoughts.

After a while, becoming aware that the people around me were applauding, I concluded it was safe to unplug my ears. At once I heard a gentle but surprisingly penetrating voice on my right: “You are fond of Bach?”

I knew as much about Bach as I know about nuclear fission. But I did know one of the most famous faces in the world, with the renowned shock of untidy white hair and the ever-present pipe between the teeth. I was sitting next to Albert Einstein.

When he tells the famous scientist that he is tone deaf, and knows nothing about music, Einstein takes him upstairs away from the concert and shows Mr Weidman that he has a greater appreciation of music than he realises, by patiently leading him from the popular music he is familiar with into classical instrumental music. Then, Einstein dramatically announces

“Now, young man, we are ready for Bach!”
As we returned to our seats in the drawing room, the players were tuning up for a new selection. Einstein smiled and gave me a reassuring pat on the knee.

“Just allow yourself to listen,” he whispered. “That is all.”

It wasn’t really all, of course. Without the effort he had just poured out for a total stranger I would never have heard, as I did that night for the first time in my life, Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze.” I have heard it many times since. I don’t think I shall ever tire of it. Because I never listen to it alone. I am sitting beside a small, round man with a shock of untidy white hair, a dead pipe clamped between his teeth, and eyes that contain in their extraordinary warmth all the wonder of the world.

I wonder if you also feel that you are not able to enjoy music, because you are "tone deaf?" Part of Einstein's method in helping Weidman to appreciate the music was to get him to sing what he had just been listening to. The young man discovered that he was able, at least to some degree, to reproduce what he had been hearing.

Mitchell Conservatorium can't resurrect Einstein to help you to explore the wonderful world of music, but we can provide you with other enthusiastic guides who can help you, too to develop a love of music through making music yourself.

You can find out more from our website or by speaking to one of our friendly staff during office hours on 6331 6622.

Music is for everyone

I have endeavoured to make the children and teenagers clearly realise that music is not a mere pastime, not just a "garnish" to life, a kind of entertainment which one can take or leave at will, but an important entity of life itself ... And when I speak of music I always have in mind the great art of music and not music simplified specially for children.

I've been reading some great comments from Dimitri Kabalevsky, who was a twentieth century Russian composer and music educator. He was a strong advocate of helping everyone to enjoy music, which he believed

teaches mutual understanding, includes humanitarian ideas and helps mankind safeguard peace.

In 1974, he came to Australia to an international music conference which was held in Perth. At the conference he conducted a fanfare he had written for the occasion and also talked about his hopes for the future of music.

Here are a few of his reflections on the power of music:

Music has the amazing capacity to become a true friend, capable of sharing not only our joy, but also our grief, taking a part of it on.

All over the world live and work a great number of musicians and amateurs of music, including a very great number of young people, who deeply understand what is real life and what is real art. And they will determine the future of the art of music.

Kabalevsky spent a lot of his time writing music for children. He believed that the way to introduce music to people is to help them to enjoy songs, marches and dances, which he saw as the three foundations of all music.

Songs, dances and marches are the most democratic, the most popular and mass genres of music. There are millions of people in the world who have never heard professional music and know nothing of musical notation. But you would hardly find a single person who has never sung a song, never danced or never marched in a procession or to the roll of a primitive drum.

Here is a beautiful recording of Dominique Kim, from San Diego, playing the first movement of Kabalevsky's 3rd piano sonata.



You can find out more about Kabalevsky from Australian musicologist, David Forrest's website, which also includes information about his book, from which these quotes come.

The power of music

This video shows the amazing power of music for older folk. One reason that it makes people come alive is the way it brings back memories of happy times enjoying music from our past.

It makes sense to get those happy experiences happening now, so that you do have something to recall later.

Some of the most enjoyable things we can do musically are to sing and play music with others. Do you have memories of singing with friends, playing in a musical group or even listening to music together?

Are you doing any of this currently? Mitchell Conservatorium provides many opportunities for music-making in Bathurst and Forbes, including Mitchell Young Voices, various chamber music ensembles and we also have The Allegri Singers and Bathurst City and RSL Band which meet at the Con each week.

Please ring Mitchell Conservatorium during office hours on 6331 6622 for more information.

Me and my cello

This has to be one of the cleverest classical music videos. The music is beautiful and the video of a man and his cello is funny and holds your interest (I hope ...) right through.



We have some great cello teachers at Mitchell Conservatorium - not currently involving sky-diving lessons.

Please ring 6331 6622 during business hours to begin your cello experience.