January 2025 Newsletter
In This Month’s Newsletter
African American Spirituals
Fun and Important Dates
Upcoming Recitals and Concerts
Welcome Our New Students
Student of the Month
Spotlight on Michael Prunean
Did You Know?
Inspirations
Music Playdates in the Parks
Join Choir!
Did You Read Your Newsletter Contest?
Referral Program
African American Spirituals
African American spirituals are a powerful and beautiful part of American music and cultural history. These songs, born from the experiences of enslaved African Americans, carry deep emotional resonance and timeless messages of hope, faith, resilience, and freedom. Passed down orally through generations, spirituals blend African musical traditions with Christian themes, creating a genre rich in harmony and rhythm that has shaped the landscape of American music.
Songs like Go Down Moses echo the struggles of enslaved people and their yearning for liberation, likening their plight to the biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child reflects profound sorrow, yet it also conveys a longing for spiritual comfort and connection.
Kumbaya, with its simple, heartfelt plea of “Come by here, my Lord,” originated as a Gullah spiritual and has become a global anthem for unity and peace. By ’M By celebrates hope and assurance of a better life in the afterlife, while Oh Freedom became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, embodying the cry for equality and justice.
Martin Luther King Jr. often drew strength from spirituals and their messages of hope and resistance. These songs were a source of inspiration for those marching for civil rights, sung during protests, rallies, and in moments of solidarity.
King believed deeply in their power to unite and heal, often referencing their themes in his speeches.
Families today can explore spirituals together as a way to connect with this rich heritage, understand history, and celebrate the enduring spirit of resilience and hope they represent.
Singing these songs as a family or listening to their many renditions can spark meaningful conversations about faith, freedom, and the importance of standing together for justice.
FUN and IMPORTANT DATES
New Year’s Day
Wednesday, January 1
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
Monday, January 20
Off-week
January 24 - February 1
Upcoming Recitals and Concerts
Concert Performance Team Recitals
Sunday, January 19, 2:30pm
Trabuco Hills Post-Acute, Lake Forest
Sunday, February 16, 2:00pm
Ivy Park at Mission Viejo
Themed Recitals
”Sets of Music”
Friday, January 10, 4:30pm an 5:30pm
Chamber Music | OC Lake Forest
Please welcome
our NEW Students who enrolled
in November
Weston A.
Katelyn B.
Katie B.
Jason B.
Olivia C.
Olivia F.
Jack F.
Denise K.
Sofia M.
Ethan M.
Kara M.
Andrii O.
John R.
Student of the Month
Delaney (DJ) Reid
Delaney (DJ) started her journey playing the piano at the Laguna Niguel School of Music in February, 2023. When DJ was younger, she and her family often visited Grandma Joan who was taking piano lessons. Delaney used to watch her and also try and play. "The piano we have at home now, and what I practice on, was Grandma Joan's piano."
DJ likes the piano because songs on the piano "sound so beautiful to me." She doesn't play any other instruments right now but would like to learn to play the drums, violin, ukulele, and xylophone.
DJ enjoys her school (Carl Hankey Elementary) because "after we take tests we get prizes." And, she gets to play with her best friend, Natalia. DJ appreciates many other school activities, such as Hawk Trot, Book Fair, pajama days, Winterfest, and more! Plus, "If we raise enough fundraising money we get to slime our Principal!"
Christmas is DJ's favorite holiday. She loves getting a Christmas tree, and all the lights, and presents. She also likes bike riding with her Mom and Dad. "We ride all over to parks, restaurants, or just for fun." DJ takes Jiu Jitsu lessons twice a week. She enjoys visiting her Auntie (in Sacramento) and her Grandma & Grandpa (in Arizona).She and her family traveled to Texas for the Total Eclipse this year, and drove through Arizona and New Mexico. They stopped at all kinds of museums and parks along the way, and she got to meet Buc-ee's in Texas. "Oh, and the eclipse was so cool!"
Spotlight on Michael Prunean
Piano, French Horn, and Music Theory teacher Michael Prunean has been playing piano for over ten years, and has completed MTAC Certificate of Merit Level 10 with State Honors.
Michael loves playing piano and enjoys teaching "this wonderful instrument." He has also furthered his music passions with French Horn.
Throughout his high school years, Michael was a member of the National Tri-M Music Honor Society and part of his school’s Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, and Healing Sounds of Music club, as well as a member of the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble. Michael actively participates in the music ensembles at his church, including in the Orchestra and Symphonic Band.
Michael's many notable performances include multiple musical experiences in R&H Segerstrom Concert Hall, as well as performances in Boston Symphony Hall and on the USS Midway.
In addition to being a musician, Michael also studies at UC Irvine, working toward his Electrical Engineering degree. In his free time,Michael enjoys mountain biking, playing and watching basketball, and learning new things.
Did You Know?
We Owe a Lot to Those Who Transformed Pain into Beauty
Slave songs are the foundational roots of nearly all American music genres, creating a legacy that has shaped the cultural and musical identity of the United States. Emerging from the brutal conditions of slavery, these songs combined African rhythms, call-and-response structures, and improvisation with Judeo-Christian themes, including the cries for freedom throughout history and across the world.
These slave songs and spirituals gave rise to early blues and gospel music, which directly influenced the development of blues in the late 19th century, characterized by its expressive melodies and twelve-bar structure.
As blues migrated from the rural South to urban centers, it laid the groundwork for jazz in the early 20th century, blending syncopation and improvisation into a revolutionary genre. Ragtime and swing jazz, deeply tied to African American musical traditions, dominated the early 20th century and inspired big band and bebop styles. Similarly, the blues birthed rock and roll in the 1950s, as artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard blended blues progressions with energetic rhythms.
Rhythm and blues, a close cousin to rock and roll, transitioned into soul music in the 1960s, characterized by emotive vocals and gospel-inspired arrangements, with artists like Aretha Franklin and James Brown leading the charge. These genres later influenced funk, disco, and hip-hop, the latter of which emerged in the Bronx during the 1970s and has grown into a global phenomenon.
Inspirations
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
“January is the calendar’s ingénue, always waiting for its chance to shine.”
Music Playdates in the Parks
Laguna Niguel and surrounding areas.
Weekly playdates on Wednesday and Saturday
mornings from 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Meet friends, dance a little, sing along, play with some musical instruments,
and other fun toys!
Find us near the playground.
Join Choir!
In Laguna Niguel
Children and Youth
Saturdays
1:00p (ages 8-12)
2:30p (ages 13-17)
Adult
Tuesdays, 6:15p
Did You Read Your Newsletter Contest?
January 2025
To encourage everyone to read the Dennis Frayne Music Studio Newsletter, each month we’ll feature a new contest winner or a new contest. Be sure to read your newsletter each month to see if your name has been drawn or you might miss out!
This month’s winner is Sky Maleki
Sky has won 10 tickets which can be redeemed for prizes at the Dennis Frayne Music Studio, Laguna Niguel!
To collect your prize tickets just bring this to the office.
Congratulations, Sky!
Everyone, be sure to read your newsletter each month!
