Teacher Prep Week
Ms. Lauren will be finalizing the fall schedule this week. No lessons. Just admin for lb.
Play Music on the Porch Day 2026
Come to my driveway, and let’s make music. See also https://playmusicontheporchday.com/
Everyone is welcome. Bring your camp chairs and your party attitude.
Fall Break
This week is fall break for both Cherry Creek and Douglas County schools, so let’s call it off. See you next week.
Thanksgiving Break
Time to bake pies and baste the turkey. However you celebrate, I’m thankful for you.
Holiday Performance Open House
This performance time is a come-and-go open house party for the holidays. Come on down to my studio during the party hours, hang out a little, enjoy the other musical offerings, perform your piece, and have a treat and a merry holiday. Bring friends and the whole family if you like.
Winter Break
Enjoy your holiday break, and we’ll see each other in January. Lessons resume January 4, 2027.
Performance Classes
This year, performance classes will be held on the weeknights leading up to the spring recital. I’ll initially schedule you for your lesson day in the group with all the students who normally have a lesson that day. Of course, you can reschedule to a different day that week if needed. This is a recital prerequisite, so be sure you attend your performance class if you intend to perform in the recital. Get ready to cheer each other on. I’m already proud of you.
Formal Recital
More info to come as we get closer.
Spring recital is a formal event with fancy dress, printed programs, and memorized pieces. Performing in a performance class is required for recital participants, but memorization (while highly encouraged) is optional. Family and friends are welcome to attend.
Memorization deadline: your lesson during the week of March 29
Memorization goal: your lesson during the week of March 22 (right after spring break)
Memorial Day Break
School’s out for the summer. Lessons resume June 7, 2027. Go swim, and I’ll catch you then.
Independence Break
This break is longer than normal this year so Ms. Lauren can get married.
Memorial Break (short this year!)
This break is shorter than normal. The long break is a little later.
Spring Recital
Our spring recital celebrating modern composers will be Saturday, April 18, at 10 am. Musicians should arrive 10-25 minutes before showtime to sign in, get the lay of the land, find a seat, and find their names in the printed program. Musicians should be dressed to impress, of course. Prom attire is totally appropriate, but so is a piece-related costume if you so choose.
Families of musicians are respectfully asked to sign up for one crew slot per family so the day goes smoothly. That will cover setup, refreshments, drinks, decorations, cleanup, and moving equipment to and from the sanctuary where we’ll perform. LIke they sing on Broadway, I can’t do it alone.
This year's location is the Smoky Hill United Methodist Church located at 19491 E Smoky Hill Rd, Centennial, CO 80015. The sanctuary is up a set of stairs just inside the front doors. An elevator is available, and our greeter will point it out as needed.
All my students are invited, even if you are not performing. Your loved ones are definitely also invited, especially if you are performing. Livestream info will be available soon for those who can’t be there in person.
Important dates:
Before spring break: we'll finalize recital piece choices
Spring break (no lessons, but hopefully lots of rehearsal): March 16-20
March 23 - 27: be ready to perform your piece with musicality and fluency at your lesson
March 30 - April 3 at your lesson: memorization goal
April 6 - 10 at your lesson: memorization deadline
April 10, 11, and maybe 12: Performance Class sessions at my studio
April 18: Live Music!
Signups for performance class sessions and show-day crew are available on the Perform page. Once you sign up for performance class, you will find the recital sign-up link in the confirmation email.
Performance Classes
Signups are available on the Perform page. If you want to perform from memory at recital, you must be ready to perform from memory at performance class. Casual dress. Small-batch practice for recital.
There will be no more than six performers at each performance class session, and parents are DEFINITELY invited. We need an audience so students can practice performing well in front of new(ish) people.
Winter Break
There are no regular lessons and no rescheduled lessons. Put on a sweater and read a book, everybody. See you in January.
Thanksgiving Week
Monday lessons are the only normal lessons this week. There are no regular lessons Tuesday through Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Fall Performances, Spooky Edition
Get ready to perform your best current piece, spooky or otherwise, at this costume-welcome show.
Academic Calendar 2025-2026
This academic calendar was published in June of 2025. There are 41 planned lesson weeks, but only 40 are paid, giving us all a buffer week for teacher emergencies (or your emergencies). Subject to tweaking, but I’ll do my best to keep it just like this. Note that the summertime schedule is slightly different than previous years to account for my wedding.
Play Music on the Porch
More to come on this international celebration of live music and the humans who make it. Let’s make all kinds of music on our porches this day.
https://playmusicontheporchday.com/
Twenty for Twenty
My student Cody is turning 20 years old and has just finished his college program, so we are throwing a senior recital to celebrate. He will perform twenty pieces for his twentieth birthday, spanning back into his early years of music-making and into his current favorites.
Independence break (no lessons)
Celebrate freedom and summertime with a tiny summer break. There are no lessons over the week that includes Independence Day.
Memorial Break (no lessons)
There are no lessons for two weeks following recital. Summertime lessons commence on June 3. Strum & Hum starts June 4 for the first session and July 9 for the second.
Summer Party 2023
It’s Friday night. Let’s celebrate summer and music and life in a beautiful setting. More details to come, but for now, save the date.
Summer Schedule Begins
This is the first week of the summer term, which runs through July 28, 2023.
Performance Class: Weekend 2 of 2
This is the second of two weekends where we get to perform our recital pieces. If you have your piece memorized by your performance class, you may perform from memory at the May 20 recital two weeks later.
Performance Class: Weekend 1 of 2
This is the first of two weekends where we get to perform our recital pieces. If you have your piece memorized by your performance class, you may perform from memory at the May 20 recital three weeks later.
MTNA Conference (no lessons)
We will take this week off so Ms. Lauren can attend a national music teacher conference. This week is not counted in tuition calculations for the year.
February Break
This is a small break so we can all catch our breath until spring break. This week is not counted in tuition calculations. After this break, we’ll turn our attention to recital.
Winter Break (no lessons)
Maybe it’s snowing, and you’ve definitely made progress lately. It’s dark and a little chilly, but it’s warm inside, so let’s just sit by fires and chat or read or snuggle loved ones. Be still.
Lessons resume January 9, 2023.
Holiday Events 2022
I hope to have a series of events on this day to choose from at a variety of venues. More info to come as autumn progresses.
Thanksgiving Week (partial week)
During this week of thanks, we will only have regularly scheduled lessons on Monday. Tuesday will have some availability for reschedules, and the rest of the week is for other things. Things like pie and naps. I’m thankful for you.
Pianovember 2022
We are shooting for a 30-day rehearsal streak by the end of November. You can start early and/or do it more than once if you like. (It really makes sense to start early if your family will be traveling for Thanksgiving.)
You are in charge of tracking it and reporting it. You can ask your folks for help if needed.
When you’ve completed it, sign the wall poster in the studio. Before you complete it, you can cheer on those who have already signed the wall poster if you like. More info in person.
Go practice.
Blues Jam
Let’s sing all our troubles right out of ourselves. Come on over for a rollicking blues jam in the key(s) of your choice. We will improvise our way through any unpleasant situations or ideas, real or imagined.
Labor Day (no lessons)
No lessons on this day. See you next week (and also the Monday of Thanksgiving week).