Newsletters

Click HERE to check out our July 2021 Newsletter – Fall semester preview.

2021 Music Academy Student Recital Dates

The Music Academy of WNC will hold its annual student recitals on Friday, October 15th through Saturday, October 16th, 2021 at the Music Academy of WNC.  Parents and family members are welcome to attend,

The Students of Michael Ridenour
Friday, October 15, 2021 at 7:00 PM

The Students of Joshua Dunn & Andrew Thelston
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 9:00 AM

The Students of Carol West & Kevin Ayesh
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 10:30 AM

The Students of Laura Thiel
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 12:30 PM

The Students of Jan Daugherty
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 2:30 PM

The Students of Emily Vaughn
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 4:00 PM

The Students of Carolyn Tackett, Carol Bjorlie, Rhona Reagan, Eben Mann, & Matthew Pierce,
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 5:30 PM

The Students of Michelle Lang
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 7:00 PM

Click HERE to check out our March 2021 newsletter.

Click HERE to check out our February 2021 newsletter.

Click HERE to check out our January 2021 Newsletter.

Click HERE to check out our July 2020 Newsletter.

Our students have worked very hard this year and all of the faculty at the Music Academy believe they should have a performance opportunity to show off their accomplishments during these unsettling times.  We also realize that parents and family members would like to see the progress made by their children over the past year.  It is our commitment to hold our annual recitals in a safe environment that allows our students to perform all while giving their parents and family members the opportunity to see musical progression over the past year.  Below are the recital guidelines and procedures we have adopted for our 2020 Annual Recitals.  Please forward any questions to the Music Academy Director HERE after reading our guidelines and procedures below.

2020 Annual Recital Guidelines & Procedures

The Music Academy will hold our annual Student Recitals on Friday, August 7th and Saturday August 8th, 2020 under the following guidelines and procedures:

1. Phase 2 of the Music Academy COVID-19 Reopening Plan will remain in effect during all recital performances.
2. All recitals will be performed without an audience.
3. We will set up a performance area with stage lighting in our Rehearsal Room for individual student performance.
4. Students will be assigned a performance time by their instructor to come in and perform their recital piece during their designated recital date/time (see below).  We ask that parents and family members remain in their vehicles while their child performs unless adult supervision is needed for younger students (preschool and early elementary) as outlined in our Phase 2 COVID-19 reopening plan.
5. We will video record all performances, one student at a time, with only two or three Music Academy faculty members present in the room.  We ask that all students “dress up” for their performances as if they were performing in front of an audience.  Practice rooms will be available for students to warm up in prior to their performance time.  We ask that all students remain in the lobby or their practice room prior to their performance time.  Instructors will call for the students when they are ready for them to perform.  We will make it a priority to have a minimal amount of students waiting in the building for their performance time while enforcing the guidelines in our Phase 2 COVID-19 reopening plan.  Students will be directed to remove their face mask coverings during their performance so we can see their faces in the video unless six feet of social distancing cannot be observed.  If parents or family members have any questions regarding this direction then please speak with your instructor or the Music Academy Director prior to the performance date.
6. After students perform, we will compile each instructor’s studio recital into a full-length video.
7. We will post the full-length video on a non-public page on our website with a copy of the recital program, random recital pictures and anything else we can add to make this recital experience more special for our students and their family members.  Each instructor’s recital will have its own webpage.  We will email page links to the parents of all recital participants once these videos have been compiled, edited, and uploaded.  Please allow two weeks to process all of this video and upload to the website.
8. Please review published recital dates and times below.

Click HERE to check out our May 2020 newsletter.

Click HERE to check out our April 2020 Newsletter.

The Music Academy supports faculty and students on four different online lesson formats:  Google Hangouts/Meet; Google Duo for Android devices; FaceTime for IPhone devices; and Zoom.  Below are student connection procedures for each application.  Please contact your instructor or the Music Academy Director with any technical or connectivity questions.

Google Hangouts/Meet

1. Make sure your computer and/or Internet device has a built-in camera and microphone.
2. Please use the Google Chrome browser on your PC or MAC computer for maximum compatibility.  Mobile device users will need to download the Google Hangouts application for their device.
3. Instructors will email students a meeting invitation several minutes prior to their lesson.  Please check your email inbox, as well as your spam box, for this invitation.
4. Open the email with the online invitation.
5. Click on the “Join Meeting” button within the email.  If your instructor only sends you a meeting link then click on the meeting link within the email.
6. “Allow” Google Hangouts/Meet to access your camera and microphone.  Older Internet browsers without the Google Camera Plugin may also be instructed to download and install this plugin prior to their first lesson beginning.  Both of these steps in #6 will only need to be completed during the first lesson connection.  Future lessons will be allowed to skip this step after this initial setup.  Please use Google Chrome as your Internet browser for maximum compatibility.
7. Click the “Join Now” button.
8. You will now be connected to begin your lesson.

Google Duo for Android Devices

1. Open the Google Duo application on your Android device prior to your first lesson and grant Google Duo access to your camera and microphone.  Agree to any terms of service and conditions if this is the first time accessing Google Duo.
2. Your instructor will video call your cellphone number with the Google Duo application to start your lesson.
3. Answer the Google Duo video call to begin your lesson.

Facetime for Apple IPhone Devices

1. Open the Facetime application on your IPhone device prior to your first lesson and grant FaceTime access to your camera and microphone. Agree to any terms of service and conditions if this is the first time accessing FaceTime.
2. Your instructor will video call your cellphone number with the FaceTime application to start your lesson.
3. Answer the FaceTime video call to begin your lesson.