Newspaper Template 3 - Eau Claire Music School

From the owners, Nick and Sara:
We are barely into our third month of running the Eau Claire Music School, and things are changing rapidly. Due
to the growth in the number of students, we've been able to hire of a number of new instructors to offer even more
lessons. Dan Colburn is available to teach all types of saxophones, as well as clarinet and guitar. Quentin Volk,
lead trumpet player for UW-EC's Jazz I, is our new trumpet instructor. Matthew Nyman is our new vocal
instructor and Leah Richardson has returned to teach voice and piano. This month, Tim Litscher, lead
singer/songwriter/guitarist for the Evergreen Grass Band, will come aboard to teach voice, songwriting, and guitar.
And we have also added the highly experienced Deirdre Jenkins to our vocal teaching staff. Local expert in early
childhood education and cognitive learning theory, Holly Fentress, will begin offering keyboard lessons for 3- to 5year old students. Popular instructors, Jamie Christian and Greg Manning, will also be adding new lesson times.
Finally, Justin Anderson, a recent graduate of the Institute of Production and Recording and current intern at Pine
Hollow (Eau Claire's premier recording studio), has joined to staff to offer lessons and classes in recording your own
music using easily accessible equipment and software.
Sara and I are working hard to offer more opportunities for group lessons and classes. Our beginner piano classes for
children have been such a success that we are now offering our third series. We have also scheduled our first piano
class for adults. We hope to offer even more classes soon, and we are happy to hear your suggestions or requests for
the future. As the parents of an active 2-year old, we also hope to offer a group class in music and movement for
children ages 2 to 5 later this winter.
In a very bittersweet way, we also say goodbye to Shawn Smets this month. Shawn founded the school with his
parents in 2010 and was instrumental in making the school such a great place for students and teachers. For five
years, he served as program director and offered the community innovative opportunities for learning music. As an
instructor, he has shared his love and enthusiasm for music on instruments ranging from ukulele to accordion to
banjo and beyond. Certainly, his breadth as an educator and his ability to create deep bonds with students and
families cannot be replaced. He has also been a great friend to Sara and me for over 15 years and was the reason
we were able to take over ownership when he decided to step down as director. Shawn is planning to spend some
time combining two of his passions: teaching and travel. He'll leave in January to teaching at an English-language
school in Thailand and may move on to other teaching opportunities in Latin America. Sara and I are not alone in
hoping that this experience will be both fulfilling for Shawn and brief (so we can have him back in Eau Claire!)
We are grateful for the chance to bring teachers and students together in the pursuit of musical growth. We also
appreciate your patience and kindness as get through our start-up phase. Please know that we are always eager to
speak with students and families about how we can make the Eau Claire Music School an even better place for
learning and music making.
Upcoming Instructor Performances
Greg Manning with Irie Sol
Nov. 7th @ The Snout, Chippewa Falls
Quentin Volk and Dan Colburn with Jazz I
Gatsby’s Gala - Nov. 13th at UW-EC
Jeff Jaworski with Dr. Namji Clara Kim on piano
Sabor de España – A Taste of Spain:
A Fresh Perspective of Classical Piano and Guitar
Nov. 16th at 7pm, Mabel Tainter, Menomonie
Adam Nussbaum with the Nick Foytik Blues Band
Nov. 27th, 8pm @ The Plus
Bora Hong-Evans with the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra
Holiday Extravaganza - Dec. 15th at 7:30pm at the State Theatre
Learn to Record Your Own
Music
Our instructor, Justin Anderson, a
graduate of the Institute of Production
and Recording, is available to work
with you one-on-one or with your
band.
Learn the foundations of DIY
recording in private or group lessons
or learn-by-doing as Justin helps you
to record, edit, and mix your project.
Begin with a 30-minute consultation
for just $15.
www.eauclairemusicschool.com – (715) 514-0475
Newsletter: November, 2015
Refer a Friend!
Your friend saves $25 off the new registration fee and you receive a
$25 gift card to Just Local Food, Eau Claire's customer-owner, natural
foods grocery store.
Adult Group Piano Class for Beginners
November Group Music Session
All students regardless of age or
instrument are welcome. Cost is $10 or free
for students who have missed a lesson.
Advance registration required: Please call
or send us an email to let us know you
plan on attending.
Cost: $99
Includes: 4, 45-minute lessons and a lesson book
Starts: Thursday, 12 Nov @ 6:30pm
It is never too late to learn an instrument. Beyond the personal
satisfaction of making music and reaching your musical goals, studying
music provides cognitive and health benefits. Whatever your reason for
starting to learn piano, this class will get you off on the right foot.
Contact the office to sign up today.
Group Piano for Beginners
For students in 3rd to 6th grade
Cost: $103
Includes: 6, 30-minute lessons and 2
lesson books
Starts: Tuesday, 10 Nov. @ $4:30pm
Our group class in beginner piano
introduces students to musical
concepts, instrumental technique, and
the enjoyment of making music with
others. Continuing group lessons are
available, or students may choose to
sign up for private lessons. Refer a
friend and get a $25 gift card to Just
Local Foods.
Fall Recital
Dec. 12th and 13th
All students are invited to
participate in our fall recital.
This is an excellent opportunity
for students to share their hard
work in a supportive, welcoming
atmosphere. Scheduling
information will be sent out
soon. We are planning on five,
1-hour recital times.
• Saturday: 9-10am, 10:3011:30am, 12-1pm
• Sunday: 1-2pm, 2:303:30pm
New instructor: Deirdre Jenkins
Deirdre has worked as a session vocalist, recording artist,
songwriter, and vocal instructor for the past 35 years.
She has recorded and sung with artists such as Bobby
McFerrin, Pat Metheny, and Cornelius Bumpus. In
addition to devloping her own teaching method, Deirdre
has experience as an instructor in a Waldorf school,
which uses a holistic approach to developmentally
appropriate learning. Her current musical project is a
collaboration with Joe Maurer, entitled wOrlds.
This month’s session will help to prepare
students for the upcoming recital by
working on performing music in front of
others. We’ll discuss performing in various
contexts, techniques for overcoming
performance anxiety, and how to prepare
for performing. Students will be
encouraged to share a piece of music they
have been working on, but it is not
required. Instructor, Nick Poss.
Brainthoven® Piano Lessons
For children ages 3 to 5
Learn keyboard skills and musical concepts
along with your child using the
Brainthoven system developed by early
childhood expert, Holly Fentress. Holly
utilizes movement, visual learning, ear
training, and keyboard work in her fun,
research-based curriculum to maximize the
cognitive benefits of studying music.
Cost: $100 for four, 45-minute lessons with the option for continuing lessons
Classes will begin either Nov. 12th or 19th
based on enrollment and be scheduled at
9am or 10am.
Students will be divided into classes based
on age: ages 3 to 4 or 4 to 5. Three-student
minimum, four-student maximum per
class.