At 11:45 on the morning of 31 May, I finished my last teaching obligation for 2024-25 – it’s a good time to reflect on the year that was, and to take a bit of a peek at the year to come.
Today marks the first anniversary of the move into the new house. Guitar Shack 2.0 has become a comfortable new home, both for me personally (no more pumping water out of a crummy basement after every rainfall!) and for my professional endeavours – it gives me what the old place couldn’t: a large, beautiful teaching space, which I intend to utilize more next year. I’ll still keep some teaching at the BU School of Music, however – the institution has been unfailingly supportive of my endeavours over the last three decades; I still need the space it offers for group/ensemble instruction (my home studio isn’t quite _that_ large…); and I’d miss the sense of community that it offers. All said, I’ve found working out of my home to be very satisfying this past year, and I look forward to doing more of it in September.
…And speaking of September: slots in my schedule are filling. If you want quality instruction from one of Canada’s most accomplished Suzuki Guitar teachers, get in touch soon!
Also in the category of satisfying professional undertakings: in January of this year, I joined the Artists in Healthcare roster with the Manitoba Department of Health. I put in one 3-hour shift every Wednesday morning at the Brandon Regional Health Centre – an 80-minute set in the Cancercare Ward reception area, and the same in the Palliative Care ward in the Assiniboine Centre. The gig has its emotional baggage by times, but being able to use my musical abilities to reach people during some of their most vulnerable and emotionally-sensitive moments has been incredibly meaningful in ways no other professional engagement could ever be.
The month of March found me adjudicating at the Winnipeg Music Festival for the third time. The WMF, now under the direction of Dawn Bruch-Wiens and her administrative assistant Ainslie Milley (both mentored superbly into their positions by outgoing Executive Director, the unspeakably-amazing Joanne Mercier), promises to remain a well-run event for many years to come. It was an honour to be invited to adjudicate once again – it was equally-gratifying to see many of the students I’d adjudicated there perform at the AMAF Provincial Festival here in Brandon last weekend.
The time has come to enjoy a western Manitoba summer – bike-riding, training at the gym (it’s a five-minute walk away – I have no excuse to _not_ go, honestly), practicing, rehearsing with the band, and a weekend out of town in July for some more adjudicating. Let it be known that I’m still accepting bookings for weddings this summer – drop me a line, and we can make classical guitar a part of your special day!
Pick and Grin, guitar-types – enjoy your summer, and we’ll catch up in a month or so.
Paolo