December 2025 Newsletter
In This Month’s Newsletter
Learning Holiday Music: The Old and the New
Fun and Important Dates
Upcoming Recitals and Forum
Welcome Our New Students
Student of the Month: Israel Emmanuel Gemora ("Izi")
Spotlight on Angelique Blake (Miss Angel)
Did You Know?
Inspirations
Music Playdates in the Parks
Did You Read Your Newsletter Contest?
Referral Program
Learning Holiday Music:
The Old and the New
Learn new music this holiday season, and also play your old songs again!
Revisiting last year’s holiday pieces invites students to step into ease and expression.
With the notes already friendly, attention can wander joyfully toward color, balance, pedaling, breathing, and poise; hands feel freer, memory feels settled, and phrasing blossoms after time away.
The same carol becomes a fresh canvas—tempos feel natural, melodies sing, and endings land with warmth.
Best of all, students can hear and feel how much they’ve grown, which fills December with genuine confidence and a happy readiness to share—at a sing-along, a living-room mini-concert, or a recording for grandparents.
Adding one or two new selections keeps the season sparkling. Fresh tunes introduce inviting keys, patterns, and textures that connect beautifully to what’s already comfortable, so curiosity expands while support remains close by.
In lessons we model how to practice and set friendly, human-sized goals—two measures to shape, a phrase to color, a cadence to balance—so progress feels encouraging and musical.
The result is a living holiday playlist: beloved favorites that deepen each year, plus a couple of bright newcomers that widen the palette. Students finish the season sounding warmer, steadier, and more expressive—and they carry that glow into the new year.
FUN and IMPORTANT DATES
Christmas Day
Thursday, December 25
During Off-Days
(12/22/25 - 1/2/26, Closed)
New Year’s Day
Thursday, January 1
During Off-Days
(12/22/25 - 1/2/26, Closed)
Upcoming Recitals and Concerts
Recitals
Sign-up / Registration Required for All Recitals
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
All-Studio Christmas & The Holidays Recitals
Thursday, December 18, & Monday, December 22
Afternoon & Early Evening
Norman P. Murray Community Center, Mission Viejo
Concert Performance Team (CPT) Recitals Concert Performance Team (CPT) Recitals are every third Sunday of each month
Forum
Forum takes place the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of each month
No sign-up or registration required
Please welcome
our NEW Students who enrolled
in October
Sawyer B.
Driden D.
Adam H.
Kaitlyn H.
Audrey K.
Zachariah O.
Leyla S.
Nickan T.
Madison T.
Shannon W.
Student of the Month
Israel Emmanuel Gemora ("Izi")
Izi started taking piano lessons when he was two years old.
His favorite songs right now are Mary Had a Little Lamb, Hush-a-bye, and Go Tell Aunt Rhody. "I like the sound of the piano." His teacher, Miss Suzanne, says, "Izi has shown a remarkable natural musical intuition.
His strong academic abilities and advanced verbal skills support his musical growth, allowing him to understand new concepts quickly. His progress is further strengthened by the wonderful support he receives at home creating a positive, nurturing environment that helps his talent shine. He is a joy to teach!"
Izi also enjoys playing, or would like to learn how to play, the tuba, drums, violin, tambourine, and maracas. He loves playing the piano, watching shows, and performing for an audience. He has a backpack with his name "Izi" on it, and "wants to be done with these questions!"
Spotlight on Angelique Blake
(Miss Angel)
Angelique Blake (Miss Angel) is an educator, musician, artist, published author and composer, but most of all, passionate about inspiring young children to achieve their very best.
She was born in Denver, Colorado, but lived in Hamburg, Germany from 2012 to 2019. She has taught music since the early age of 19, and continues to work as a professional musician, performing, educating, composing and arranging music. She has written over 400 songs and musical works, and produced 50+ songs for the public.
In Hamburg, Angelique was the lead of a two-year, six-organization consortium innovating in educational development in the Healthcare sector, developing the Foundational Curricula for Healthcare IT (HIT) for the European Commission. There she received two German language certificates.
Miss Angel plays and teaches piano, guitar, saxophone, drum kit and various percussion instruments, harp, flute and voice. Her mother, father, and grandfather were educators who taught her to teach interactively and in an entertaining way. Her hobbies include mathematics, engineering, quantum physics, art and jewelry making.
Did You Know?
Did You Know? The harp is one of the oldest instruments, with origins dating back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3000 B.C.
The harp holds cultural significance, for example, being the national symbol of Ireland since the 1200s, it appears on items from Irish coins to the Guinness logo.
The world's longest stringed instrument is the "Earth Harp," and a concert harp can weigh up to 70 pounds and have over 1,400 moving parts. One of the most expensive and luxurious harps was made by Lyon and Healy and costs around $189,000.
Harps make a beautiful sound, are often played in orchestral music, and are associated with angels primarily because they are featured as instruments of worship in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation.
This biblical connection, combined with the harp's "heavenly" sound and ancient symbolism of harmony and divine connection, has led to its widespread use in art to represent celestial beings.
Inspirations
“ A merry heart does good like medicine.”
“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.”
Music Playdates in the Park
Weekly on Wednesdays 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.
See park schedule on our website.
Did You Read Your Newsletter Contest?
December 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 Christine Poulsen
Christine 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, Christine!
Everyone, be sure to read your newsletter each month!
