CMC Notes Newsletter – November 2025 - Classical Music Conservatory

CMC Notes Newsletter - November 2025

In this issue

1. Important Upcoming Dates

2. Winter Recitals: Info

3. Winter Recitals: Schedule

4. RCM Exams: Important Dates

5. Teachers Upcoming Gigs & Releases

6. Featured Student

7. Featured Teacher

Important Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, November 4th: RCM Exam registration deadline for the December 2025/January 2026 session!

Saturday, November 15th: Winter recital sign-up forms DUE TODAY!!!

Saturday, November 15th: Musical Preludes – Parent / Caregiver Observation Day!

Click HERE for our private lessons 2025-2026 CMC School Year Calendar!

Click HERE for our Musical Preludes 2025-2026 Calendar!

Winter Recitals: Info!

CMC hosts 2 days of winter recitals for our private lesson students. We encourage all our students to perform, but participation is optional! We want this to be a positive experience for our students with a supportive, low-pressure atmosphere.

Our recital sign up form has been emailed out! Let us know if you didn’t receive it. The sign-up form is due November 15th.

WHY PARTICIPATE:

It’s an opportunity to perform for an audience in a supportive environment 🙂
Develop a musical goal to work toward and achieve!
Show your friends and family what you have learned so far!

PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT

For our ONLINE recital strings, voice and wind students, if piano accompaniment is required, you will need to use a track.

For our IN-PERSON recital strings, voice and wind students, CMC pays for a piano accompanist to be at our recitals, but if you would like rehearsal time beforehand (which we highly recommend), you are responsible to pay for a minimum increment of 15 minutes of rehearsal time.

Unsure if you or your child will need piano accompaniment? Speak with their teacher who will be happy to discuss with you!

Winter Recitals: Schedule!

Our recitals are optional but highly recommended; it’s an opportunity to perform for an audience in a supportive environment, and to develop a musical goal to work towards and achieve.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

ONLINE via Zoom

10am: all instruments & voice for any teacher

IN-PERSON at Roncesvalles United Church:

Piano recital time slots will be assigned to students of specific teachers in October.

1pm: piano recital
2pm: piano recital
3pm: piano recital
4pm: piano recital
5pm: piano recital
6pm: piano recital

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14

IN-PERSON at Roncesvalles United Church:
12:30pm: cello recital (students of all cello teachers)
2pm: violin/viola recital (students of all violin & viola teachers)
3pm: violin/viola recital (students of all violin & viola teachers)
4pm: voice/winds recital (students of all voice & wind teachers)
5pm: adult recital (all instruments & voice for students 18+)
6pm: guitar/ukulele/bass/drum recital (students of all guitar/ukulele/bass/teachers)
7pm: guitar/ukulele/bass recital (students of all guitar/ukulele/bass teachers)

NOTE:

Students taking more than one lesson, or siblings, can sign up for the same time slot. All non-piano instruments must be on Dec. 14 (for example, if one sibling takes piano and one takes guitar, please sign them both up for a guitar recital, since there will only be a piano set up on Dec. 7, with no mics or amps…etc, and no guitar teacher to tune your instrument!

RCM Exams: Important Dates

Here are the important dates for the upcoming December 2025/January 2026 RCM Exams Session:

November 4, 2025: Registration Deadline
December 12 & 13, 2025: Theory Examinations
January 19-31, 2026: Practical Examinations

Want to learn more about RCM Exams? See our RCM Exams page and/or email us at cmc@cmccanada.com for more info!

Teachers Upcoming Gigs & Releases!

Arie

Arie has an upcoming show:

Liquid Architecture – solo acoustic viola set

Improvised acoustic music in a beautiful resonant space – also with solo sets from violinist Sonia Leung & clarinettist Zack Goldstein.

St. Matthews Clubhouse, 450 Broadview Ave.

Nov 22nd, doors 7:30PM, show at 8:00PM

$10

Enjoy!!!

Featured Student!

Assata (Piano)

1. How old were you when you first started music?

I was 5 years old.

2. Why did you choose the instrument you currently play?

Because I wanted to and my sister played it too.

3. What do you like most about your music teacher?

She is kind and happy and she likes my cat.

4. Do you have a favourite piece to play?

I like to play I’m a little tea pot.

5. If you could play any other instrument, what would it be?

Violin

6. What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to play with my cat.

7. Who are some of your musical inspirations?

I love musicals like Matilda and Annie.

8. What do you like most about CMC?

I like that I learn to play piano.

9. Anything else you want to add?

I like playing piano with my teacher.

If you are interested in being featured in our CMC Notes, please email us at cmc@cmccanada.com!

Featured Teacher!

Chris Pruden (Piano)

1. How old were you when you first started music?

5 years old.
The story was that I hated piano when I was younger and my mom told me I could decide if I wanted to quit once I got the Grade 5 RCM like her. I wanted to get there and quit immediately to spite her but I ended up loving piano and am incredibly thankful that she put me through it.

2. Why did you want to make music your career?

I think it makes me feel special 🙂
It also feels endlessly challenging and gratifying, while allowing me to connect with a lot of different people. It’s definitely not the most stable career and can be a bit scary, but I find I love music more and more every year and am so excited about it all the time.

3. Which groups are you currently playing with, if any?

I’m in quite a few bands! Tara Kannangara, Zinnia, Blue Season, Parade, Hope Street, Adversarial Networks, Ronley Teper’s Lipliners, Sammy Jackson, Circuito, Moonbliss, Tullstars, Language Arts, Future Machines, SwöwS

I also have my own band Little Jim, and a solo piano project under my own name.

4. What do you enjoy most about teaching?

Finding ways to allow students to connect with or express themselves through music.
I recently had a student reveal that he’d been composing pieces on musescore for fun (he never told me about it) and I found that super inspiring. All my students at CMC are awesome tbh.

5. Some students have challenges with consistent practicing. What advice would you give them?

I try to give students space to be themselves and find things in the material they are working on to connect with. I personally don’t enjoy practicing out of guilt/shame/fear and don’t want to make any of my students feel that way either. When students feel safe to be themselves they usually can find something they are passionate about and practicing or searching for things becomes a lot more effortless and even FUN.

This John Cleese video has been a big inspiration on my own practice lately, and embracing the aspect of “play” as an important component of practice that is often devalued or not taken as seriously
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5oIIPO62g

6. What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love biking, movies/tv, videogames (Hades, Overwatch, Overcooked lately), reading.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Japan is high on the list!

8. Anything else you want to add?

😀

If you are interested in being featured in our CMC Notes, please email us at cmc@cmccanada.com!

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