The Two Year Mark, Part 2

Last week, I spent my entire blog reflecting on the need to chase and share beauty with others during this current pandemic, including the celebration of the full-time piano studio turning two years old. A good, true, and beautiful thing, indeed!

Now, I'm making part two of this series a comparison of what goals I had listed at the one year mark, just to see what has and hasn't been accomplished. And then I'll write down my goals for the coming year.

In short, this blog post is the nuts and bolts review of what's been happening in the studio. For myself, I know that if I don't write my goals out, they are more than likely not going to happen, so here we go!

Last year's goals for 2019 into 2020:

1. Create summer camp curriculum as a supplement to piano lessons during June and July

This did and did not happen, in a way. Although I was unable to create a studio camp over the summer, I was hired to create a summer camp for toddlers for a local Parks and Rec group and got to channel my most Leslie Knope self!

2. Continue to grow my Skype studio to provide flexibility for those families with unique schooling schedules

Who knew that in 2020, my entire studio would move to online lessons to accommodate the coronavirus. Huge kudos to my piano families for their flexibility in these difficult times. I've thankfully been able to keep the studio open and running through the use of Skype, FaceTime, and Zoom.

3. Continue compositional work for both secular and sacred music

This past year, I had the opportunity to debut the full Aeneid Series, and am currently working on formal recordings for distribution, hopefully this summer!

I do plan to spend part of the month of May on my brewing compositional idea: The Iowa Series, a solo piano work.

4. Continue to educate myself so I can be at my best in teaching each lesson to its full potential

I'm so pleased to say that I've submitted my request for piano certification with the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and I will be working with them over the next few weeks to ensure that all my projects are up to their level of expertise.

All in all, this past year has been nothing short of success, and this success would not be possible without the support of my piano families, so thank you!

For this coming year, my goals are fairly similar:

1. Complete and obtain my MTNA piano teaching certification.

2. Grow my studio from 43 full time student and 4 part time students to 50 full time students.

3. Continue work on The Iowa Series.

4. Complete recording and distribute The Aeneid Series.

5. Transition back to in-person teaching when allowed.

6. Have 5 students participate in piano competitions.

The pandemic has given me some great time to rest and reflect on where I'm at and where I'd like to go. So I'm thrilled to be able to set these goals in motion and get started on the studio's best year yet!