Free Rock School concert this Saturday

Are you ready to rock?

Paul and Timothy Santora are pumped for this Saturday’s Rock School Blowout. These brothers from Pinellas Point will get the chance to rock the stage together.

“They’ve taken music lessons for a while, but they weren’t pushing them to the next level,” said their mom, Yvette Sequino. “I can’t believe how they’ve just exploded in the past six months.”

They’ve been making the trek from Pinellas Point every week to the Patel Conservatory to not only improve their own skills, but also learn the nuances of playing in a group. Paul, 13, is the lead singer and plays guitar, and Timothy, 9, plays drums. Their band also includes Nathan Miller, 14, on guitar.

At this weekend’s blowout, they’ll perform The Beatles’ Day Tripper and Fire by Jimmy Hendrix.

“It’s cool to learn a bunch of new songs,” says Timothy. “Paul [Stoddart] is awesome. He pushes you, but he’s funny.”

Led by Rock School instructors Lee Ahlin and Paul Stoddart, nine bands from the Patel Conservatory Rock School program will perform modern and classic rock tunes from artists such as Cream, Green Day and the Rolling Stones.

The concert is this Sat., Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. and will be outside on the Riverwalk at the Straz Center. Admission is free and open to the public. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

So bring your blankets and enjoy a great afternoon overlooking the Hillsborough River with live music that will, in the words of Jack Black, “blow your mind!”

Youth chorus takes on Glee!

Got Glee fever? A group of local middle schoolers have come together for their own Glee experience.

Students in the Patel Conservatory Youth Chorus will get the chance to strut their stuff Glee-style this weekend.

“It’s really fun,” said Ellie Bass, a seventh grade student in the class, “We’ve worked really hard to bring it together, and now we get to perform it.”

Ellie joined the Patel Conservatory this summer, trying a couple of different camps, including rock and roll camp. She enjoyed it so much, she signed up for the Youth Chorus, a new class in the Patel Conservatory music program.

“We’ve learned different vocal warm-ups, songs and dances,” said Ellie.

“The goal of the class is to give students performing arts experience by being a student outreach group,” said instructor Liz Stewart.

The group will perform various songs, including the girls’ sing-off from an episode of the popular television show Glee, this Saturday at Novemberfest at Nativity Church.

Their line-up also includes What a Wonderful World and Dust in the Wind.

“I’m trying to expose them to many styles of singing and performance styles,” said Stewart. “They’re working on their craft and learning how to prepare a show.”

By performing at local events like Novemberfest throughout the year, students gain valuable performance experience and serve the community at the same time.

The group may perform at the Florida State Fair and the Strawberry Festival.

“Performing at a carnival or state fair plants the seed for their talent,” said Stewart. “They learn to embrace being in front of an audience so they have no fear.”

She points out that that many high school choral programs can be quite competitive. Participating in a class like show chorus can help middle schoolers gain experience and be more prepared for a high school program.

Stewart has taught performing arts in the Tampa area for several years, and has been the choral director at Riverview High School for the past six years. Many of her former students are now professional performers.

“It’s easy to learn from her [Stewart] because she’s really experienced and she makes it fun,” said Ellie.

You can check out the Patel Conservatory Youth Chorus this Saturday at noon at Nativity Church in Brandon.

Or check out the class for yourself, every Monday at 6 p.m., and you can be part of the fun!

Learn to play the blues!

A group of middle school band players enjoyed workshops with local jazz musicians today.

The group started the day with the field trip series performance of Blues, Bop and Hip Hop. The audience enjoyed listening to popular jazz pieces and learned about the history of jazz music. 

Inverness Middle School students get tips at a workshop.

Following the performance, the musicians led students from the Inverness Middle School band through workshops where they learned how to improve their own playing skills.

“There are three things unique to blues music,” explained Ron Delp, a pianist and leader of the Ron Delp Trio, a jazz band based in St. Petersburg. “While most music is written in 8 bars, blues is 12 bars long.”

He continued to explain what a blues scale is, and dominant chords. Most students had never played the blues before.

Students broke into three groups, brass, rhythm and winds, and learned a new blues piece, and then came together and performed it as a group.

Students get tips from pianist Ron Delp

They also performed pieces they’re currently working on at school and received invaluable feedback from the professional musicians, including Delp. Other musicians were Patel Conservatory Jazz Instructor Tom Ziegelhofer, Jim Burge of the Ken Loomer Big Band and the Jazz Cellar Underground Orchestra, and Mike Ruven and Jeff Henson of the Ron Delp Trio.

It was amazing to see the students’ progression and improvement in the short amount of time they spent with the musicians. Even small tips like learning how to hold the instrument correctly made a big difference.

“I had a great time,” said Ziegelhofer. “I didn’t know what to expect with the different age groups we had, but they picked it up pretty well.”

If you know of a group interested in spending a Day at the Center to learn more about the Performing Arts, or, to learn more about music classes including private lessons or our Jazz Ensemble, call 222-1002 or visit www.patelconservatory.org.

Financial aid applications due Dec. 6

Did you know that the Patel Conservatory offers financial assistance? Perhaps those music, voice or dance lessons aren’t out of your reach after all.

We offer two types of assistance: merit-based scholarships and need-based financial assistance. About 10 percent of our students attend classes on scholarships. 

“We feel so strongly that performing arts education has so many benefits, for people of all ages, that we offer financial assistance. We don’t want finances to prevent anyone from attending the high-quality, unique arts classes that we provide,” said Wendy Leigh, vice president of education at the Straz Center. “While aid is based on our funding availability, we make every effort to assist as many students as possible.”

Applications for financial aid for our spring 2011 classes are due no later than Monday, Dec. 6. (Spring classes begin in January.) So don’t delay!

Financial aid applications can be found online at www.patelconservatory.org (go to the "Outreach Tab", then "Access Arts") or call 813.222.1002.

Students get top awards at YAGP

contributed by Peter Stark, dance department chair

Hannah Beach

Our Next Generation Ballet new artist dancers and PCYB dance students won many awards at the international Youth America Grand Prix semi-final event this past weekend.

The Grand Prix award for best overall dancer went to St. Petersburg native, Hannah Beach. Additionally, we won four 1^st place, three 2^nd place, two 3^rd place, and outstanding teacher awards. Click here for the full results:

Megan and the Patel Conservatory production team were also amazing in hosting over 300 for the associated master classes on Sunday.

Congratulations to all our students who competed for an outstanding showing from the Patel Conservatory.

Giving the chance to dance

Since kids in underserved communities don't have the resources to come to the Patel Conservatory, we strive to bring our programs to them through educational outreaches. Ballet instructor Amanda Roa recently began teaching a dance class at RCMA’s Wimauma Academy, an elementary school in Ruskin that serves predominantly hispanic children of migrant workers. The class was featured in the St. Petersburg Times.

Roa shares what her experience has been like for the past few weeks...

“I really wanted to do the dance outreach at RCMA [Redlands Christian Migrant Association] because the few outreaches I taught at the school last year made me realize how much I connect personally with the mission of the RCMA organization.

Times photographer O'Rourke

Most of my closest friends are immigrants and my husband's family immigrated from Dominican Republic when he was young. Ironically, I feel right at home at Wimauma Academy.

What most inspired me about this dance outreach is that I have the tremendous gift and responsibility of teaching most of the students dance for the first time. The students at this school have no (or little) exposure to formal dance (ballet, modern, jazz, etc.) except through these classes that occur once a week through Patel.

I teach a class of kindergarten through 3rd graders with the school music teacher, the amazing Ms. Hebe Tello. We start the class with a ballet warm-up for about 45 minutes to an hour. This is critical because if the students gain some tenants of ballet technique (posture, flexibility, coordination, body placement, isolation of different body parts, basic terminology, musicality, etc.), they can use those tools to do anything in the future with dance.

For the rest of the class, they are learning some choreography that they’ll perform for the school holiday show in December. The holiday performance showcases the talent of every student at the academy, so we’re excited to be working up to this goal with the group we have.  I also like to intersperse movement games to give them a mental break and to explore different ways to approach dancing and moving.

The main challenge up to this point has been simply introducing the students to what dance is, how you behave in a dance class, and keeping them engaged, because they are all doing something very new. But I’ve already seen some big improvements in the students. There are a few specific students in the class that have shown a huge transformation with their coordination, strength, posture and flexibility.

Though as an educator, I understand that children and young adults are sponges, sometimes I am still amazed at what they can accomplish if they just have the right resources and decide to commit.

I am very honored and blessed to be able to share my degree, my experience and my passion for dance with them.”

Students get a glimpse of an up and coming star

Students visiting the Patel Conservatory for a panel discussion yesterday got treated to a special performance.

Ethan Fuller

Ballet student Ethan Fuller was training on the third floor with Peter Stark, and agreed to perform.

Fuller recently auditioned for Billy Elliot on Broadway. The floppy-haired, well-spoken 12-year-old shared his experience with the students and then showed off his audition piece that won over Broadway execs.

“I was in New York for a summer intensive and I was asked to audition for the show,” explained Fuller, totally comfortable in front of an impromptu audience.

He was studying with Complexions Contemporary Ballet when spotted by a top New York choreographer. “It was really cool. They kept on bringing me back to run scenes and introduce me to people.”

Fuller has been dancing since he was seven years old, focusing on contemporary ballet. He currently lives in Cocoa Beach and drives to the Patel Conservatory three times a week to train with Stark.

For the role of Billy, he was asked to sing, act and learn tap and acro routines. He also got to meet the main choreographer of the show, who choreographed the movie and the London production. While Fuller hasn’t been hired yet, his future on Broadway looks promising.

“It’d be cool just to live in New York,” he said.

Fuller wowed the group with his expressive movement and exceptional talent.

Thanks, Ethan, for sharing. Extraordinary moments happen here at the Patel on the road to success.