Happy New Year!

We are very excited to be back at it, and have lots to report, as usual.

Please read this carefully, so you are well informed, and ready to jump into the new school year!

Lessons Begin September 8th – First Day of School

Are you ready?  If you are not sure of your lesson times, just click here and log in to your account to see.

You can also download the annual schedule by clicking here.  We recommend you take the time to also read the 10 tips on the back for having the best Lesson experience.  If you would like a hard copy of this for your fridge, please ask at the front desk.

Hello, Goodbye

We have some new teachers joining us, and some that are leaving.  Click to view the new teacher biographies, and to see who you may be meeting this fall.

  • Jay Danley replacing Eric Wagner for Guitar
  • Juan Arce – new teacher for Flute, Clarinet
  • Kate Paus – new teacher for Music Together (bio and page forthcoming)
  • Tim Bartsch replacing David Potvin for Piano, and replacing Bruce Radmacher for Cello

Coming Soon…

  • New Voice Teacher for Saturdays
  • New Piano Teacher for Wednesdays (Hannah is full, this is for new, non-Hannah students)

As you know, we’re very picky about our teachers, so we want to make sure they are good to go!  We’ll update you soon on this.  If your lesson teacher is in the unconfirmed category, we’ll be in touch if things remain up in the air.

New!  Homework Emails

Starting this September, we’ll be rolling out weekly homework emails to complement your student’s notebook.

You will be automatically subscribed to your student’s teacher’s list.  If you have multiple lessons or students, you will get multiple emails.

You will have the option of unsubscribing from these, but please be aware that there will almost certainly be specific information intended for your eyes that will likely not be in the student’s notes, at least occasionally.  The reason for this is that we rely on you as partners in the education process, helping to build positive habits and a music-positive space at home.  Your involvement, even occasionally, sends the message that music is important, and a core component of a balance life.  If you do decide to unsubscribe, the posts will be available on each teacher’s page.

The roll-out of this program will be gradual, so you may notice emails for one student, but not for another.

Also, at this time photos do not appear in emails, so if your teacher recommends or refers to a photo, please visit their page to see the photos.

Simplified Website Navigation

Please visit our website at music-lessons.ca.  We’ve eliminated a number of up-front options to make things easier for your to find.  The main menu now has the following items in it:

  • Families – this drops down to a Babies/Toddlers/Preschool and Kids/Teens option.  Each has further sub-menus for the age-appropriate programs.
  • Adults – for adults looking for Music Lessons
  • +Programs & Links – Other parts of our site that are helpful, or contain other programs and resources.  You can find a lot on the Free Resources page that we encourage you to at least check out for future reference (including recital videos).
  • Key icon – to log into your billing/schedule account.  You’ll need your email (and password if you have one).
  • Search icon – to search our site.

We hope that this, along with the top-of-screen quick links (like ‘Teachers’, for quick access to weekly homework) will provide you with easy, quick access to the things that are most important to you.  If you have any feedback about this, please let us know.  We want you to be able to use this as easily as possible.

ROCK BAND

We are a bit behind on our Rock Band planning and registration.  We’ll be calling fast and furious over the next week to see if we can get them organized to start soon.  If you were in a Rock Band last year, you can call the office to indicate your re-registration – we appreciate your help!

Not in a Rock Band?

We may be calling you to try a band for the first time.  The way this works is that we put together a group of similarly aged kids, at similar levels, and try them together for a month.  Playing and practicing alone can become empty, and the true joy of music is in the sharing, collaboration, and work towards similar goals.  This is where so many of the core benefits of musical skills are developed and can shine for your students.  If we invite you, please consider trying it for the first month.

For more information about how the Rock Band program works, visit the Rock Band page.

Renovation News

We are currently renovating the basement for improved studio space.  We expect to be done by the end of October.  There should be minimal effect on lessons.  Tuesday lessons with Emma will be held in the kitchen during this period.