Early Influences

Today I can no longer recall the names of most of my college professors, but I can name every one of my teachers from elementary school.  Teachers, especially those in grade-school, often leave an impression on young minds as positive and everlasting as any, as did Herman Hollingsworth who showed me how to pluck the ukelele and strum the guitar four decades ago.  If my memory of playing Elton John's Crocodile Rock with Mr. Hollingsworth, as vivid as it were yesterday, is any indication, then my children are very likely to remember the two very talented music teachers from our neighborhood school pictured below.  Holly Kennedy and Jeff Hiner teach vocals and instrumentals, respectively.

Mrs. Kennedy plays piano and organ.  She graduated Messiah College, attended Kodaly Musical Training Institute, and studied post-graduate at Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford.  She not only taught my son to sing, but also encouraged him to try out for several county events to expand his interest in chorus.

My son received his first saxophone lessons from Mr. Hiner, a graduate of Maryland's Towson University.  Mr. Hiner plays tuba and guitar, including bass guitar and double bass, and once performed with Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, although his students probably don't know it.

Recently I discovered that Mrs. Kennedy and Mr. Hiner have something special in common.  When asked to pick their most memorable musical performance, each cited a performance in a foreign country.  She recalled playing harpsichord in the Czech Republic during a tour of an historic castle at the turn of the century.  He answered playing guitar accompanying his daughter's children's choir in Tallinn, Estonia. 

In preparation for this blog post, when asked to give a fun fact about herself that the students were unlikely to know, Mrs. Kennedy replied, as follows.

Dear Mr. Owen,

What a great idea to create a journal for Skyler!  He loves music and singing.  I was so happy to hear that he auditioned for Children’s Chorus.

I have not told Skyler this info before.  My nickname for him is “Mini Mike”.  Since I met Skyler in Kindergarten, he has reminded me so much of the pictures of my stepson, Mike, when he was a child.  It’s been fun for my husband to find “Mini Mike” in the concerts .   Besides their physical similarities, they both enjoy music and are good students. Mike is now an adult.  He is an engineer but plays and arranges music on the side.  He is married  and has three children of his own –  yet another fun fact is that I’m a grandmother.

It’s been a pleasure to have Skyler as a music students.  I look forward to hearing how he continues to develop his musical talents.

Sincerely,
Holly Kennedy

 

First Post

In music, the word atonal refers to a piece of music that is not written or played in one key.  It is analogous to the artist to whom this blog is dedicated, a talented individual whose knowledge, interests, and skills are rarely written or played in one key.  Not only is he a talented musician, but he is an accomplished athlete, voracious reader, and budding mathematician.  He can swim half a mile and run twice as far, and this month he was awarded a black belt in karate.  His favorite authors include Rick Riordan, J. R. R. Tolkien, Daniel Handler, and J. K. Rowling whose Harry Potter series he finished in the fourth grade.  He can recite more than 100 digits of Pi from memory and doesn't mind doing it in a restaurant or a Science Center.  And, although he his prefers egg sandwiches with cheese because they taste better that way, he is eager to eat his broccoli too because it is highly nutritional.

Sky began his musical adventures in elementary school

where he learned to play recorder and saxophone.

Pictured here is fourth-grade chorus.