Ford Barker Piano Studio

Toronto Summer Music Festival

Monday, June 20, 2022 by Ford Barker | Current Events

The Toronto Summer Music Festival, which this season is aptly named Inspirations, will take place from July 7-30. Artistic director Jonathan Crow, who is also the Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, typically lines up a series of high octane musical talent. The ticket prices are very affordable. They start at $20 with discounts for those over 65 and under 35 years of age.

Concert going is a vital part of our musical life and education. Recordings and online performances cannot adequately replace the live performance and this has been sadly missing from our diet for far too long. This Festival offers an opportunity to bring this back into balance.

One aspect of this festival that I enjoy is that it utilises smaller sized venues. This allows for a more direct connection between the performer and the audience. In my experience, this is where the most powerful musical experiences are likely to occur. In addition, a few of the events will take place at Koerner Hall, a concert venue known for its acoustics.

Website Launch

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 by Ford Barker | Studio News

New_Website_Launch_fbp.jpgIt gives me pleasure to announce our new website is now live. This redesign symbolises the post pandemic world we have woken up to. It's a different world.

My Music Staff is the host of this site. We have been using this music studio management software for well over one year. I adopted this software originally to facilitate online lessons and I fell in love. It is very well designed and the web hosting feature is no exception.  

I am not alone in this sentiment. My Music Staff is a Canadian company located in Burlington, Ontario and has grown rapidly. It is now used internationally and very popular. In fact, during our recent AGM meeting of the Central Toronto Branch of ORMTA (Ontario Music Teachers' Association) we decided to conduct a Teacher Workshop on My Music Staff in the coming year.

Website Highlights

  • A slick and elegant appearance.
  • Both the Student Portal Log In (which is accessible on the side panel of every page) and Registration Form are seamlessly integrated.
  • The Site is equipped with a Blog which will be utilised for microblogging topics relevant to piano lessons such as practice tips.
  • Studio News updates and other Blog Posts are delivered directly to your Student Portal.
  • The site is integrated with Cloudflare for enhanced security.