To Prospective Students:

August 16, 2020
Dear new students and families,

Wildwood’s Fall Semester begins August 31, 2020, with our beautiful, new space on Zoom. I spent the month of July designing and setting up a warm yet teched-out space for singing, poetry, and piano lessons. There are clear audio and video, multiple cameras, and screen-sharing of a wide variety of materials to help students enjoy a dynamic, supportive, learning environment with what they need at their fingertips.

With students ranging from 5 to 75, Wildwood has long offered an extensive, online resource library from which its students benefit on a weekly basis, but now more than ever. Since online lessons have begun, I’ve uploaded hundred of new audio and video tracks and our song-page catalogue has tripled, all to insure everyone has the support they need to grow.

We know music will help us get through this challenging and frightening time, so please don’t hesitate to email or text if you or your child are looking for something constructive and meaningful to do.

Welcome, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Alyssa Morhardt-Goldstein
Founder, Educator, Artistic Director

 

Spring Semester 2020:

March 22, 2020
Dear friends,

Wildwood’s Spring Semester begins March 29th with FaceTime/Skype lessons in full swing, as every one of us works to protect our community and the world by staying home. I’m overjoyed to have you all in this strange time, and hope we can grow together even though apart.

See you all soon!

Sincerely,
Alyssa Morhardt-Goldstein
Founder, Educator, Artistic Director

A Message To Wildwood Students:

March 14, 2020
Dear students and families,

I hope everyone has gotten a chance to settle in after this crazy week. I've reached out to various colleagues for advice, monitored the COVID-19 situation as it has developed, and have planned and re-planned regarding our following, two weeks of lessons. As all SB area schools have made the call to moved online, we will follow suit until after spring break. Lessons at the MAW will reconvene for our Spring Series, beginning April 5th, or continue online as the situation dictates.

For the next two weeks, we'll utilize a combination of Skype/Facetime lessons and Wildwood's extensive resources library to learn and practice. Plus, of course, I have special goodies in store to put smiles on our faces. Just as with your schools, nothing beats face-to-face classes, but online lessons are a worthwhile suppliment and great opportunity to learn new skills and strengthen those that need extra attention.

Skype / Facetime Lessons:

Consistency is key. Prop your phone, tablet, or computer up where we can see each other, and off we go.

  • Young Students: Parents, please be present for the duration of our lessons. A handful of you have asked how to become better at-home teachers for piano and singing, and this is the perfect opportunity to learn those tools to help your musicians progress.

  • Teen + Adult Students: Please make sure your camera is set so I can see you from the waist up. This is a great opportunity for you to create a routine of practice that easily translates to home, to learn about and start utilizing the great resources at your disposal, and to get a much needed break from online homework or email inboxes.

Wildwood Resources Library & Student Portal:

Over the years, I've built an extensive resources library on my website complete with listening pages, things to read, histories, tracks to sing along with, and more. These are absolutely perfect for this moment, and I'm excited to get your feedback as you use them. I have also created custom, Student Portal pages for each one of you!

  • Piano Students: Guess what! I have a full blog with videos, pictures, histories, and lyrics of the songs everyone is gearing up to play for their spring recital! Click Here and browse the books, and additional songs will be added to this album within the next couple days.

  • Voice Students: Guys, grab your flamingos and pineapples, because I have melody and accompaniment tracks of books literally full of songs all ready for your practice. There's even a sing-along album for your vocal exercises. I got you. (Any songs you're currently singing that you don't see listed yet will be up within a couple of days.) Click Here

  • Poetry Students: Click Here for your poetry resources page, and I'll send along pdfs of our weekly poems and all audio or videos of the poets reading their work. Spoiler: We may be discussing the world of online submissions and online publishing!

Special Online Goodie #1:

You asked and I listened: Here's a link to 10 songs to sing/rhymes to chant for that 20sec hand-wash. And, of course, I whipped up an album to help everyone learn these germ-killing pieces. I hope this makes things easier and more enjoyable.

Most importantly, though, singing, making music, and writing poetry gives us ways to express ourselves, process what we're feeling, and heal ourselves and those around us in trying or confusing times. They create joy, give our minds something constructive to think about, and encourage us to keep moving forward.

As Nietzsche says, "Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Please contact me with any questions you may have, and I look forward to seeing all your digital faces in the coming weeks.


All Best,
Alyssa