“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”
― Plato, The Republic
Music: the language of the soul. It calms us, excites us, comforts us, and encourages us.
At Casa, we encourage the love of music within our children by offering them the chances to partake not just in music and dance activities, but we also provide the space for music teachers to give individual lessons to our children in their chosen instruments. Each year, the children participating in these lessons perform for their peers and parents during the Music Night for their section (Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary).
This month we asked our music teachers to share a bit about themselves, what they do at Casa, and how they feel about giving music lessons here.
Yiannis Giagourtas:
Teaching and playing the classical guitar is my love, my passion and my profession.
I have been teaching classical guitar at the Casa Bilingual Montessori School since 2015. My students started learning the guitar at the age of four. During my lessons they learn about the sound and the technique, they learn how to read notes and rhythms, develop their chamber music skills and have fun by playing all the pieces with me. Through the guitar lessons the students develop apart from their music skills, their patience, persistence and discipline. Learning an instrument takes time and requires practice at home. In the beginning the students practise both with me and at home along with their parents’ encouragement.
After years of experience I am very happy to hear from parents that their children can practise now at home without even being reminded by them.
Every year Casa organises two music evenings where the students can have performance experience and at the same time show their skills and progress to their families and friends. Therefore, I am very proud to see their progress also on stage and their enthusiasm for more music and concerts!
My guitar lessons at the Casa would not be possible without the collaboration of the school, the trust and the support of the parents and of course the love and effort of the children!
Misha Nuis:
For me as a guitar and music teacher it is very nice working at Casa. It is special that the children do not have traditional classes. For me this is easy because it means that I can also teach guitar in the morning. I can plan these lessons myself and I manage to stay flexible, which is useful when there are changes in the daily schedule. I sometimes have to look for free space because I am not the only music teacher and there is a lot of consultation between colleagues and/or parents. I therefore look forward to having my own music classroom! Parents of Casa children are very involved and interested, which is good because they think along and the communication is good. The children learn at Casa that they are responsible for the things they (want to) do. This helps to raise the children's awareness about what it means to go to music lessons; what is involved and what do I give up for it? The moment that the students are allowed to shine on stage during our annual music evenings, gives a lot of satisfaction ... And pride!
Manon van de Kempe:
Hi, my name is Manon and I enjoy teaching individual lessons for the violin at Casa. For me this is a special place to teach. I like the atmosphere and I am enthusiastic about the vision of the school. In violin lessons we always work from music. First we sing the songs so that the students themselves can use their listening skills to find the notes on the violin. They learn to master the instrument in a playful way, because I think the most important thing is that the pupils enjoy making music. As a teacher at Casa I have plenty of room to work in my own way and I am very grateful for that!
