Return to in person lessons

28 Aug 20

Finally the news has arrived that I have been waiting for! I can finally welcome my students back to my teaching room. This last week I have been preparing and emailing my piano students, to let them know what safety measures I will have in place. Its a new phase for everyone, as I enter into a routine to keep everyone safe and happy, and most importantly - relaxed and in a good place to learn. 

Zoom has been a friend to us teachers and group leaders during the pandemic, there are some things that simply are not possible and we have to think creatively (which is what we are good at after all!)  It worked better than I thought it would and I am ever ready to return to it if needs be. 

I am also leaving an online option available for people who don't feel ready to return to in person lessons, and this is of course fine. 

Gradually music is opening up again, but I feel it is with baby steps. I feel we must tread with care and responsibility while enjoying what these new freedoms have to offer. 

That said, I am so looking forward to this new stage. My music room is primed and ready to recieve!! 

Helen's lockdown performance - Live at The Vale

07 Jul 20

This blog is a little late coming... however its been a strange time for many of us, staying and working at home, teaching via zoom and as it turns out, performing on facebook live. In April I was approached by The Vale Live (an arts centre based in Mossley and home to some of the most creative minds in the UK) to put together a solo live performance online. The date chosen was the 3rd of May, which was significant as this would have been my wedding day, now postponed until next year.

The performance presented a somewhat unique opportunity to me as I knew I'd be playing to a much wider audience from varied backgrounds. This gave me the freedom to choose repetoire that I might not normally put togther in the same performance.I crafted a carefully considered set of music from Chopin to contemporary, I also played original music, Cuban music, Bulgarian music and improvisations. The performance on facebook live had an amazing reception, with so many viewers and heartwarming comments flooding in as the performance went on. By the third day the facebook video had almost 3000 views! Unfortunately I can only put the youtube video here with not so many views, but this seemed a good option to be able to share it on for example my website blog. Enjoy! 

 

Helen Curtis Music in 2020!

05 Jan 20

Phew, well that was a fantastic festive 2 weeks!  From family time around the piano on Christmas Eve to proudly watching my sister (and other half of Sätteli) cracking out a fantastic DJ set on New Years Eve. Now, rested and restocked I am ready to stir life back in to music making, teaching and planning  ahead for coming adventures in 2020. 

I have designed a new Helen Curtis Music business card, which at least to me is very exciting. I feel it conveys clearly what I do and lists in a quirky way everything here on my website.... Sätteli, Orixá Bloco, Georgian Song, Piano and percussion tuition, workshops, Charanga Del Norte and accompaniment. 

This year I want to celebrate creativity and growth. This creativity comes from and is essential to all conscious beings, and I am proud to be able to set up opportunities in music making in my local area Hebden Bridge, as well as beyond. I can afford to be proud about 2019 and I am excited about what this year 2020 will bring.... check the events page for opportunities, workshops and performances !

National Trust Footfall Film featuring Sätteli

11 Nov 19

I am really pleased to be able to share this wonderful film and record of the event  "Footfall' which was created to pay homage to the people of Calderdale who fought to save the beautiful area 'Hardcastle Crags' aka 'Little Switzerland' . It was a perfect event for Sätteli to be involved with. 

 

 

Charanga Del Norte recording project, Listers Lanterns and Bury Pride!

04 Nov 19

It's been a busy half term alright! Friday afternoon began with a full band rehearsal with the fabulous Charanga Del Norte, I was singing coro's with Guillermo Davies 'El Iyawo'. It was such a pleasure to be playing with this incredibly talented bunch of musicians, come from London and the North. Saturday and Sunday we were creating a live band recording in All Hallows church in Leeds. Bringing to life the sounds of 60's New York and Havana charanga sound, and recorded by Barkley McKay and with Nestor Torres (Cachao Master Sessions) as project mentor. It is a collaberation between Charanga Del Norte and New York based Orquesta Broadway. Fabulous. 

The end of the week saw Orixá Bloco with a double whammy weekender! Friday night performing at our second consecutive parade at Lister's Lanterns, in Bradford, with Cecil Green Arts. It was a beautiful parade, and the band had a fab time. Then on Saturday we performed for a fundraiser for next years Bury Pride! The band smashed each gig, and the energy was brilliant, everyone played with all the energy they had, and really performed well. It must have been good because we've had an invite to play again at Lister's Lanterns next year and Bury Pride too- which as an original native of Bury, is quite exciting! 

Why practice?

02 Oct 19

I am especially enjoying teaching the piano at the moment. I have lovely students who challenge and inspire me. The progress I see in them is extremely satisfying, and sometimes when I listen to them play, I remind myself that I've had the privilige of guiding this journey. This is what a piano teacher is of course, a guide. Ultimately the effort comes from the student, and the time that they put in. It's like any relationship, if you want to get to know something, you have to spend time with it. Playing an instrument is so much more than can be described (by me at least!) it touches your senses in every way. It tests your patience, it teaches you about yourself. Speaking for myself I feel so lucky to be based in this beautiful Calder Valley. I sit at the piano in my music room which I absolutely love, I look out the window at the hill that rises up on to the moors and I simply play. I don't drift mindlessly, I sit and I focus and listen with my ears and with my body and my touch. I remind myself what my teachers have said, and I try to bring the best out the music. Sometimes I think I must be really lazy... to just sit and play is such a joy, and a way of gently disengaging with more mundane aspects of life! When I feel I have finished, I feel happy and my mind feels full. I feel as if I have progressed and achieved a little more, I feel like whatever music I have been learning, I know now better than I did before, and for this part of the day, I have brought joy. I hope to pass this on to my students, this complete absorbtion - similar in ways to meditation. Music is so multi-faceted and it continues to draw me in.