What a performance! Tyler Chrusciel showed off his amazing guitar skills at Jameson’s on February 10th.
As a student of Jeff Burak’s, Tyler has evolved as a player over the years learning many different facets of guitar playing. Over last summer, Tyler started bringing in music he wanted to learn, mostly songs he had seen performed on You Tube. Most of the songs are common rock/pop songs but played in fingerstyle complemented with tapping of the guitar body.
In preparation for this year’s FMTA Festival & Piano Competition at Augustana College in March, the West Music Quad Cities store will be holding a Master Class and Clinic this Saturday, February 20th, for our area’s talented pianists competing in the festival!
This year, our guest clinician is Dr. Tammie Walker, Professor of Piano at Western Illinois University. An active soloist, collaborative artist, and clinician, Dr. Walker will be listening to and critiquing 12 pianists of all playing levels – from 3rd grade students to high school seniors!
The clinic will be held in the Piano Showroom at the West Music Quad Cities store in Moline from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a lunch break from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
As a special token of our appreciation for the students’ hard work, we will be awarding all of our participants a $300 coupon towards the purchase of a new acoustic piano or Roland digital piano! The master class will be free and open to the public, so make sure to stop by and watch these very talented musicians!
Solo and ensemble contest is right around the corner for most of us. Are you ready? Here are a few tips on preparing for contest:
MUSIC. You will need to have a clean, original copy of the music with all measures numbered for the judge. This must be an original, published copy. Using a photo copy could result in a reduction in your score or disqualification. Allow plenty of time to order your copies. Your music store may be out of your particular solo and have to order it from the publisher. Depending on the publisher, this process can take from a few days to several weeks. When ordering the music, bring as much information to the store as possible. There may be several different versions of your solo published. You will want to order the one you have been practicing.
The public is invited, so don't miss this! ClavFest Marion begins Saturday, October 17, at 9:30.
Students of Shriley Hanneman, Wendy Davis, Kelly Loveless, Terry Lage, and Kimberly Thornton will have over 100 of their students playing in recitals at 9:30 and 11 am, 1:30 , 3, and 4 PM.
These piano students take their piano pieces and play them using really cool sounds, FX, and accompaniment backgrounds. Ensembles will sound like an entire orchestra.
West Music Cedar Falls is proud to present three brand new Weekend Warrior Bands. Performing live:
Jameson's Public House in Waterloo.
Phone: 319-233-0701
310 East 4th Street Waterloo, IA www.jamesonspublichouse.com/
Weekend Warriors is a program at West Music that brings musicians together to form bands under the direction of a coach. It's a great way for beginning musicians or those returning to music to get the chance to play in a band.
We will start the evening with a special performance from "The Sleepy Bones Allison Trio," whose lead guitar player, Paul, is 6 years old and will be performing a selection of blues songs on guitar.
Coach Nathan Dalziel will start the show with his band The Headliners a jazz group of young musicians from ages of 8 to 14. Members of the band include Angelle Waltz on vocals, Robbie Young on keyboard, Alex Roelfsema on saxophone, Emily Bingham on trombone, Julie Doyle on bass guitar, and A'Daris Washington on drums. Expect a foot-tapping good time from this group!
Extra Credit Project is a band of former Weekend Warriors who have been gigging regularly since their time with West Music. You can find out more about Extra Credit Project at their Facebook Fan Page, and more about becoming a Weekend Warrior yourself at Weekend Warriors.
This is the band Chicago with their song "Beginnings."
In 1967, Chicago musicians Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera formed a group with one dream: to integrate all the musical diversity from their beloved city and weave a new sound, a rock 'n' roll band with horns. Their dream turned into 20 Top Ten singles, 12 Top Ten albums (five of which were #1), and sales of more than 120 million records.
Think you can't rock if you work at a desk?? WRONG!
The FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands is a partnership between NAMM (the trade association of the international music products industry), FORTUNE Magazine, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Broadway Center is a safe place for teens to go in Iowa City.
James Mims, the director of the Broadway Center, is truly interested in the welfare and future of at-risk kids. Among other activities, he has put together a music lesson program free of charge to those who wish to participate.
The program is growing, and local top-notch musicians are donating their time and talents to teach lessons there. The instruments are donated and students can use them during lessons and come there to practice their instrument on a daily basis.
To raise awareness and reinforce the statement that music saves lives, West Music in Coralville will be hosting the Music on Broadway Gala on August 13th from 6-8PM. Well-known musicians who teach lessons at the Broadway Center will perform at West Music in Coralville and the students of the Broadway Center will assist in ushering and collecting donated instruments.
The public is encouraged to bring instruments to donate.
Weekend Warriors is a program that was originated in Sacramento, California in 1993 by Skips Music, and was then adapted by NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants). It's a program designed with Baby Boomer age musicians in mind who used to be in bands in high school and college and want to form a band again and perform in front of an audience.
Since that time, the program has evolved into quite a large event with people of all ages--from preteens to senior citizens--coming together to form bands and perform at local venues.
West Music Staff Blogs 
The public is invited, so don't miss this! ClavFest Marion begins Saturday, October 17, at 9:30. 
West Music Cedar Falls is proud to present three brand new Weekend Warrior Bands. Performing live:
Coach Nathan Dalziel will start the show with his band The Headliners a jazz group of young musicians from ages of 8 to 14. Members of the band include Angelle Waltz on vocals, Robbie Young on keyboard, Alex Roelfsema on saxophone, Emily Bingham on trombone, Julie Doyle on bass guitar, and A'Daris Washington on drums. Expect a foot-tapping good time from this group!
The Broadway Center is a safe place for teens to go in Iowa City.