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Music department announces classes for community members

ISSUED: 21 August 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Registration is open for the Shepherd University Community Music division fall music classes and private lessons for community members, including pre-school and school-age children, as well as adults.

Early childhood classes

Early childhood music classes, taught by Frauke Higgins, who is celebrating her 15th year teaching at Shepherd, will begin the third week in September. Early childhood music classes include:

Tuition for each 10-week class is $140. There will not be classes the week of Thanksgiving.

Adult piano lessons

Adult piano classes, taught by adjunct music professor Susan Petzhold-Carpenter, will be held Wednesdays from September 12-November 14. Tuition for the 10-week session is $120, plus the cost of materials. Three levels will be offered:

Adult piano class is intended to make learning music accessible to all in a fun, supportive, and social environment. There are no deadlines, evaluations or performances, just the experience of learning a new skill or refreshing an old one. Practicing is voluntary, in recognition of the time constraints for most adult learners. Talent is not a requirement and there is no age limit to the ability to take these classes.

Private lessons available

Shepherd’s Community Music division also offers the opportunity for area musicians of all ages and experience levels to take private lessons from qualified music students and adjunct or full-time faculty, depending on availability.

Students may study voice, winds, percussion, strings, harp, piano, music theory, composition, and improvisation on a weekly basis throughout the school year. Recitals are presented for the public at the end of each semester. The next scheduled student recital will take place on Saturday, December 15, at 10 a.m.

For more information and to register for lessons, contact Sherry Sykes, coordinator for Community Music, at ssykes@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5248, or visit www.shepherd.edu/music/community-program.

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