This month, we are excited to highlight two adult students.
David and Kathleen both study with Mr. Thomas Welander, on ukulele and mandolin, respectively. They often perform duets together at our Adult Soirées, where adult students can share their progress in a supportive, low pressure environment.
They have also started performing for the elderly in local retirement communities… What a great way to give back and share the joy of music!
Here is a little bit more about David and Kathleen:
How long have you taken lessons?
3 years.
What do you love about playing mandolin/ukulele?
Kathleen: The challenges are my favorite part of learning mandolin because it makes me “stretch” my boundaries.
David: The most fun I have playing ukulele is for enjoyment with family and friends. That’s what I love… The community aspects of making music together.
What’s it like to work together on duets? Are there any challenges?
K: Duets are challenging because we have different skill levels to consider when blending together. This is great for our communication as a married couple because it teaches us new ways to problem solve together.
D: Duets are also great for learning patience. You have to be patient to work something out in a song for a performance, but once you do it is amazing the responses you get from the audience. I’d say “Rose of my Heart” has become our signature song when playing at retirement communities for that very reason… it took a lot of hard work to learn, but now all that patience paid off!
What do you like about Flourish?
K: My teacher! Thomas is our favorite part of coming to Flourish because of his patience. We also LOVE the adult performance opportunity. That is unheard of at other studios, or they put adults in K-12 recitals which seems inappropriate. Having that adult peer feedback is really important and adds to the community aspect of learning. We know we’re not in this alone when we get to see other adults perform and that makes us feel all the more included.
D: I like the instrument variety at those performances. There are SO many adults learning SO many different instruments here at Flourish and that’s GREAT!