Each week, students taking instrumental and vocal lessons work hard to prepare for their lessons through practicing and completing other assignments their teachers give to them. In addition to earning points for practicing, students are also able to earn points by attending concerts, listening to music at home, performing for friends and families, and for reading about musical subjects. In each studio, teachers add together points and let us all know who has earned the most points, which of their students who have earned “student of the week” status.

We would like to congratulate all of our students who have gone above and beyond what is required of them and have earned extra points learning more aobut music and what it means to be a musician.

This week, we’d especially like to congratulate the following students for their hard work. Congrats!

• Jessica Zimmer from the studio of Rajesh Gandhi
• Kristina Sanders from the studio of Verolyn Young
• Caroline Bishop from the studio of Carol Baskins
• Priya Narla from the studio of Cherith Newton

This years performing and visual arts extravaganza will be held April 20-22 in downtown Greenville. In addition to concerts and exhibitions by local artists, Artisphere includes Kidsphere, an opportunity for children to experience exotic cultures as they travel throughout the exhibits. Craft activities include projects from South Africa, Spain, and Egypt, as well as other countries. Kidsphere will not be held on April 20th. For more information about what to expect at this Artisphere, visit the overview page of the site For a schedule of local musical and visual artistic events that take place in locations other than downtown but are operating in conjunction with Artisphere, visit the schedule pages. Most of the activities are free, some are not. A few free performances you won’t want to miss include:

• the ADANDE African Drum & Dance performance at the Dow Amphitheater (Saturday at 12:30 p.m.)
• the Bob Jones University Symphonic Wind Band on Bob Jones Campus in Stratton Hall (Saturday 7:00 p.m.)
• the Chicora Voices performance featuring PCMS’ student Leyley Bagherof at the Pendleton Street Baptist Church (Saturday 2:00 p.m.)
• Brian Olsen’s Art in Action, in the Lower Falls Park at the Carolina First Amphitheater (Friday 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.; Saturday 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.)
• Alex Weiss and Different Drum in the Dow Amphitheater (Saturday 4:00 p.m.)

What better way to enhance your Imagine That! musician’s classroom experience and help keep them organized than by decking out their bedrooms with a closet that resembles a city building from Kast van een Huis?

The current issue of The Development, PCMS’ eNewsletter for families with children of all ages, is now available.  If you are not on our subscription list, you can subscribe by emailing us at musiclasts@gmail.com.

Enjoy!

If you’ve not already registered for summer classes, do so soon! Not only will you receive the ever-favored mini rainbo shaker when you register for summer by April 22nd, but you will be doing several things for your child to which we’re pretty sure nothing on that busy summer schedule can compare.

Did you know that:

• Even though summer is a busy time for many families, your children still deserve the very best – Kindermusik!
• Every child needs the one-on-one nurturing that goes hand in hand with the Kindermusik at-home materials. And this need doesn’t take a summer vacation!
• Children who forego their musical education during the summer months have not only not progressed musically, but have actually slipped back to where they were several months before classes ended in the Spring.
• Communicating to your children the value of music is best done by actively involving them in musical activity, which is why making Kindermusik a year-round part of life is important.
• Summer classes are a great way to introduce friends to Kindermusik. And don’t forget our Rewards program — when a friend enrolls on your recommendation, you both receive a discount!

Call the office today at 232-5010 to register for Summer classes (the schedule can be seen here) so that you can guarantee a summer of fun with music (and so that your child can join the other children receiving a mini rainbo shaker at the next class!).

Averie Brookie is a 5th grader at Mauldin Elementary and a member of the Beta Club, which is a group which requires a certain GPA to be a member.   In December of 2006, the Beta Club choir placed in the top 5 in a competition at Myrtle Beach.

In addition to her Beta Club accomplishments, Averie entered the Reflections Contest, a school-wide talent contest, with an original piano composition entitled “Skytown.”  She won first place for her school and received Honorable Mention on the district level.

Averie has been taking piano lessons at Piano Central since 2004.  She currently studies with Cherith Newton.

Congratulations to Avery for working hard and experiencing success!

If you know of a student to spotlight on our blog, email us the details at musiclasts@gmail.com!

We’ve updated the our online photo galleries with pictures from the Spring Family Music Celebration and from many of our spring classes. Take a peek and don’t forget that you can download any of the pictures and print them or email them to family and friends. It’s just one way we’d like to say, “Thank you!” for involving us in the lives of your children.

If you’ve not yet gone hunting for eggs in your sunny spring best, the weekend holds an event involving lots of eggs and a helicopter. On Saturday, April 7, at the Eastside High School football field will be the Greenville Egg Drop where 25,000 easter eggs will be dropped out of a helicopter. A variety of treasures are nestled in the eggs, including the chance to win a Nintendo Wii, an iPod, a Playstation or an Xbox. The event is for kids 12 and under and their families (and anyone else who wants to come) and will go from 10:00 am-12:00 pm with the eggs dropping at 11:00 am.

If you’re in the mood for something a little “more” you might want to make the trip to the Biltmore Estates on April 8th for the Biltmore Easter Egg Hunt, a hunt of “extraordinary proportions.” Held on the front lawn of Biltmore House, children ages 2-9 can participate in one of several hunts throughout the day with prizes, magic shows and visits from the Easter Rabbit. Children five and under may attend the egg hunt for free when accompanied by an estate pass holder or a ticketed adult. Visit the Biltmore website for more information.

And if staying home is your kind of thing, consider staging your own easter egg hunt at home.

Egg Hunt with Clues

• write clues that lead to one another, roll them up, and place inside plastic eggs.
• hide eggs in appropriate locations
• last egg should lead to the easter basket or some kind of grand easter prize