Published in the April 29 – May 12, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Mark Fenichel
Mark Fenichel
Kavita, 11, and Sandhya, 12, Sundaram perform at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose at their annual showcase and recognition concert held every fall.
Photo by A Thousand Pixels Photography
Think about the first language you learned as a child. Now think about how you learned it. As a baby you started speaking and even though you spoke the language incorrectly, you were allowed to make mistakes and the more you made the more everyone smiled at you. You were allowed to play with word choices and did this all day, every day. Now imagine if learning music took this approach.
This was an approach toward teaching music that Majhon Phillips grasped and began to pass onto her piano and voice students more than 11 years ago. After all, if you’re a musician, you know music indeed is a language and playing or jamming with one another is really speaking the language of music to one another. The better you speak the language of music, the better you are as a musician.This was an approach toward teaching music that Majhon Phillips grasped and began to pass onto her piano and voice students more than 11 years ago.
After all, if you’re a musician, you know music indeed is a language and playing or jamming with one another is really speaking the language of music to one another. The better you speak the language of music, the better you are as a musician.
When Majhon was in 7th grade (12 years old) she went directly to college and by 16 she was a junior in the Conservatory of Music at Southeast Missouri State University. By the time she graduated she was teaching 50 students.
By 2010 she had earned her masters degree and moved to Champagne, Ill. to work on her Ph.D. Her musical accompanist in college became her husband and his work in high tech brought the two to Silicon Valley. In 2013 they settled in Morgan Hill where Majhon began Music as Language, a school for all ages to learn the ins and outs of music and live music performance.
At Music as Language they understand that not everyone wants to be a professional musician, so they offer programs for everyone’s needs but all programs are goal driven.
The artist package is designed for a student wanting to learn the basics of music but also how to use music as a personal growth and development tool. They help you have fun with music but also incorporate life skills such as goal setting, learning techniques, communication, listening abilities and on stage confidence.
The entertainer package is for a student who loves the stage and is eager to perform. This package offers the ability to learn how to collaborate with others and create recordings and memories to share with family and friends.
The performer package takes the goals of the entertainer and expands upon it by learning to complete musical examinations and compete against others. This student takes learning music seriously and sees it as a major component of their future life.
Majhon’s school now has 43 students and an additional teacher and she is looking for more students and in the process of finding two more teachers to handle her rapid growth. On May 30 at Theatre On San Pedro Square in San Jose she will present a benefit concert for the Audrie Potts Foundation.
Invited student performers will play with a professional band and invited student assistants to work with coordinating lights, sound organization and crowd interaction. For tickets and more information contact her at [email protected]
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On another note… Mama Mia’s Mediterranean Italian Cuisine will officially kick off their live music series on the patio every Thursday beginning May 7 with Ray & Mike, May 14 John Garcia, May 21 Johnny Reason, and Wishful Thinking May 28.
Got a music tip? E-mail me at [email protected].
