True Muse Music & Performing Arts

Introduction: TRUE MUSE MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS is a company dedicated to bringing music into the lives of as many people, young and old, as possible. We perform and educate. The True Muse Studio is located in Skokie, IL, and we are also available for online instruction. We help our students find their inner muse, their own voice, no matter what style they are interested in. We learn how to read music, music theory, how to practice - in a relaxed, creative and focused atmosphere. METHODS LINDA SOLOTAIRE has been teaching burgeoning artists for decades and is a member of the Music Teachers National Association. She teaches all ages and specializes in engaging very young (starting at 5 years) beginning piano students, and serious vocal students from 13 years old and up. PIANO: For very young beginning students, I typically start with Alfred's *Little Mozarts* series - the children love Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear - and spend equal time exploring the piano and working in their workbooks. Most children progress quickly though the books - getting excited as each milestone is reached. I start children a little older with the Faber & Faber's *Piano Adventures* pedagogy. Once the student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I introduce supplemental materials that may include solo repertoire, Hanon exercises, scales & arpeggios, etc - depending on the students needs and interests. I use the the *Journey Through the Classics* books for almost all my students, as well. Adults, and older beginners begin with *Piano Adventures* for Older Beginners or Adults. I believe teaching theory in tandem with technique is crucial, and have found that my students do best when they understand the theoretical underpinnings of a new work they are learning. VOICE: The voice is my principal instrument and I prefer to take on only serious students no younger than 13. A first lesson always begins with a discussion about how the voice works, how do we sing, and what makes up all the parts of the body engaged in that practice. We learn proper breathing techniques, and do physical exercises to relax the body and mind so that we can perform at our best. I use various vocal exercises, and especially like the *Hear It, Sing It, Exploring Modal Jazz* book by Judy Niemack. Students bring 3 or 4 songs that they are interested in learning - after listening to them together, we choose one to begin with. Students work from the music, and with recordings. I believe in authentic interpretation, and use my background in acting to help students find themselves in the work they are doing. We do not seek to emulate our favorite singers, but rather to discover our own voice. * * * Linda Solotaire is the owner of True Muse Music & Performing Arts, she is also a vocalist, bandleader, curator and teaching artist. Linda was classically trained in music and theatre, and began her career as an actress in the late 1970s in New York. As a vocal artist, she has been most deeply influenced by Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Abbey Lincoln, Sheila Jordan, and Judy Garland. While the Great American Songbook is at the heart of her repertoire, she strives to infuse her straight-ahead jazz sets with more obscure, contemporary and original songs. Linda studied dance, voice, music, and acting from an early age, beginning with the violin at 7. She was a student of William Hickey’s at HB Studios in NYC and studied voice with Typhanie Monique and Carol Loverde in Chicago, among others. Linda received my BA from Columbia College Chicago. With a background in theory, classical, and 20th-century music, she has enjoyed roles in musical theater and in-studio session work, and collaborated on original works with artists including conductor/composer Carmen Helena Téllez, playwright/composer Thomas Weber, new music composer Christopher Preissing, NON:op Opera Company, Small Fish Radio, Local Infinities creators Meghan Strell & Charlie Levin, and poet/composer Everette Howe.