MSU Community Music School
November/December 2009
E-Newsletter
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Bring a Friend Month: Nov. 16-Dec. 19 
You love the
classes and sense of community that CMS provides, so why not share it with a
friend?
From November
16-December 19, CMS is opening all classes, lessons and ensembles to the
friends of CMS students and therapy clients.
The following
programs have designated special dates and activities for Bring a Friend Month.
- Early Childhood Music--November 16-21
- Preparatory Choir--December 1
- CMS Singers--December 2
- MSU Children's Choir--December 8.
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Bookfair at Barnes & Noble on Nov. 22
 The MSU Community
Music School
and Barnes & Noble are collaborating on a bookfair November 22
at the Downtown East Lansing store. Live musical performances will be ongoing
from 1 to 5 p.m. Performances will include: the MSU Suzuki Program, CMS Flute Ensemble
with Kate Prouty, and a drum circle led by Cindy Edgerton. Up to 20% of bookfair sales will go to CMS.
You can support
CMS by mentioning the "MSU Community Music
School" when you make your purchase at
Barnes & Noble in East Lansing or at any store across the United
States on November 22. Participation does
not cost anything, but participants must mention the bookfair at the time of
purchase.
Please come out, get a start on holiday shopping,
and support CMS on November 22.
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Meet Fred and Naomi Freiheit
 Fred Freiheit
first picked up the euphonium in the fourth grade and played through high
school. Now, 60 years later, Fred is playing his euphonium again in the Community Music School's
New Horizons Band.
"I can't imagine
playing anything else," said Fred. "It's a good instrument. It's got a good
tone."
Fred learned
about the international New Horizons Music program from friends in Texas, and joined the
CMS NHB after seeing an ad for it in a weekly newspaper. Since then, Fred has
been an active member of the band. Fred's wife
Naomi is also a part of the CMS New Horizons Band, volunteering her time as the band librarian.
"She discovered
how much fun I was having and wanted in on it. Naomi's not very musical, so she
works as the librarian," said Freiheit.
As the librarian for the NHB, Naomi
stores and organizes music and keeps things in order.
"It's been a
pleasant experience from the beginning," said Fred of the NHB.
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 Suzuki faculty give free concert at Turner-Dodge House
Three members of
the CMS Suzuki Faculty are reaching out to the Lansing community and sharing their music
with a performance at the Turner-Dodge House on December 13.
Sue Garber,
violin, Anne Kearney-Looman,
viola, and Paul Rebeck, cello, will perform works by Hadyn, Mozart, Schubert,
and Dohnanyi along with some light holiday pieces. The concert will begin at
5:30 p.m. Concertgoers may also enjoy free tours of the Turner-Dodge House.
The Turner-Dodge House is located at 100 E. North Street in Lansing's Old Town. For more information on the concert, please call CMS at 355-7661.
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College of Music and CMS faculty member Derek Polischuk teaches piano students and teachers
"Being a piano teacher is a huge responsibility, and I
don't take a moment of it lightly," said Derek Polischuk, MSU College of
Music Assistant Professor of Piano and Director of Piano Pedagogy.
In addition to teaching piano at the College of Music
and CMS, Polischuk takes his belief in the responsibilities of piano teachers one
step further and educates future piano instructors. The CMS Group Piano class
is one of his College
of Music piano pedagogy
students' classrooms. In the class, young, enthusiastic, talented College of Music students join CMS students, ages
7-9 years old, in all activities as assistants. Everyone is involved in a
learning process.
The Group Piano class is a collaboration between CMS and the
College of Music and the expression of a shared a commitment
to comprehensive teacher-training and music education for local youth.
 "Music education is something that should be made
available to everyone because the study of music helps you have a frame of
reference through which to view beauty in the world. Everyone should have a
chance to recognize beauty," said Polischuk.
Throughout his years studying music, Polishuck says he has had exceptional
teachers and mentors. One includes renowned American Pianist Daniel Pollack.
Studying under Pollack opened Polischuk to a philosophy that inspired him to
teach.
"I learned from [Pollack] that a piano teacher must hold extremely high
expectations, while at the same time being one of the most caring influences in
a young person's life," said Polischuk.
Polischuk passes this philosophy along to his piano pedagogy
students in classrooms both at the College
of Music and CMS.
Check out Dr. Polischuk's piano pedagogy blog. It includes
some video and photos of Group Piano class.
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 CMS gifts for the holidays
CMS offers gift
certificates in any amount that are good toward any CMS program. If you
would like to purchase a gift certificate, please stop by or call the main
office at 355-7661. Music education or therapy sessions make a wonderful gift.
Another holiday
gift option is a CD or DVD. MSU Children's Choir CDs and their newest DVD, Songs for the Season, are available for
purchase through shop.msu.edu.
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Please consider making a gift to CMS
Support from individuals in the community helps CMS offer quality music
programs, classes, lessons, and music therapy taught by dedicated and gifted
faculty. Your support allows CMS to offer financial aid to those in need of
assistance.
You can give online by clicking on the
link below. If you chose to give
a gift in honor or memory of someone, a card will be sent to the honoree or
next of kin. Gifts to the Michigan State University Community Music School are tax deductible.
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News and noteworthy happenings at CMS
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When the Community Music School
is closed due to inclement weather, announcements will be posted on the CMS website, outgoing telephone
message, and with school closing lists on local radio and television stations.
Please remember that CMS closes independently of area schools, including East
Lansing Public Schools. Students with questions about whether or not CMS is
closed should check the CMS website or call the office.
- It is now easier to direct donations to the CMS folk program, which now has its own gift allocation code. Please contact Amanda Darche at 355-7661, ext. 16 for more information.
- CMS is on Facebook. Click here to become a fan.
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Upcoming events
November
- 12 Suzuki Recital, 5 and 5:45 p.m.
- 15 All-School Recital, 3 p.m.
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20 Fall Choir Concert
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22 Barnes & Noble Bookfair, Performances 1 - 5 p.m
- 23 Labor Day Make-up Lessons
- 26
- 29 CMS Office Closed
- 30 - December 5 Early Childhood Music Conferences
December
- 5 Home for the Holidays at the Wharton Center
- 6 All-School Recital, 3 p.m.
- 10 Suzuki Strings Carol
Gathering/Potluck, 5:30 p.m.
- 13 CMS Faculty Recital at Turner Dodge
House, 5 p.m.
- 13 NHB & NHB 2 Concert
- 21
- Jan. 3 Winter Break
- 24-27
CMS Office Closed
- 31 - Jan. 3 CMS Office Closed
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MSU Community Music School
841-B Timberlane Street
East Lansing, MI 48823
Telephone: (517) 355-7661 Fax: (517) 355-3292
www.cms.msu.edu
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