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Fostering education, access, and inclusion for people of all ages with vision loss

CLASS OFFERINGS

FALL SESSION 2020 CALENDAR

Fall Semester Dates

Fall Semester First Week: Tuesday, September 8th - Saturday, September 12th
Thanksgiving Break: Tuesday, November 24th - Saturday, November 28th
Fall Semester Last Week: Tuesday, December 15th - Saturday, December 19th

Dates for Special 6-Week Group Courses

First 6-Week Class Session: Tuesday, September 15th - Friday, October 30th
Second 6-Week Class Session: Tuesday, November 3 - Saturday, December 19th

SPRING SESSION 2021 CALENDAR

Spring Semester Dates

Registration January 4th to January 22nd
First Saturday: Saturday, January 30th

First Weekday: Tuesday, February 2nd

Closed for Presidents' Day weekend on Saturday, February 13th
Closed for Spring Break March 29th to Saturday, April 3rd
Last Saturday: Saturday, May 22nd
Last Weekday: Friday, May 21st

FALL SESSION 2020 COURSE OFFERINGS

Fall individual lessons

Pricing is offered for the entire semester of individual lessons. Individual instrument and voice lessons are offered including piano, guitar, percussion, voice, saxophone, clarinet, flute, recorder, Braille music, music theory, composition, and arranging.

  • 30 minutes (for ages 7 and under) $375
  • 45 minutes: $465
  • 1 hour: $620

Performance Ensembles: $100

  • Vocal Ensemble (with permission of instructor)
  • Jam59 (with permission of instructor)
  • VIPs (with permission of instructor)
  • The Rock Band (with permission of instructor)

Comprehensive Music Program for Young People (CMPYP): $480

The Comprehensive Music Program for Young People brings the FMDG mission of education, access, and inclusion to students 6-19 years of age who are blind or visually impaired. The CMPYP offers an array of classes covering music literacy, theory, history, dance, instrumental ensemble, and chorus. History and dance will be enjoyed together as a group via Zoom. Other lessons and classes will be scheduled separately and will be held in smaller groups or individually.

We strive to customize the experience for each student based on interests, needs, abilities, and age. Every student receives three music classes as part of the CMPYP Curriculum. Additional music classes and lessons will incur an additional free. The CMPYP offers the many classes listed above and more but the Core CMPYP Curriculum includes:

Theory/Braille Music Class

  • To develop musical literacy and notate music in staff or Braille format
  • To understand and apply music theory; intervals, scales, chords, and musical form
  • To meaningfully integrate concepts into the keyboard or guitar

Youth Chorus

  • To sing and blend in unison
  • To explore part singing
  • To discover and perform music from many cultures

Instrumental Ensemble

  • The fundamentals of wind, percussion, or keyboard playing
  • To play together in an ensemble setting and learn about rehearsal and performance processes
  • To learn and practice improvisation
  • To experience playing music from diverse cultures and in various styles

Special Five and Six-Week Group Classes: $120

Artistry as a Singing Actor

Teacher: Michelle Trovato

Thursdays from 6 to 7 pm, January 7 to February 11

For singers interested in bringing stories to life in vocal literature and increasing storytelling with each performance. Using text analysis and research to breathe life to a character, students will be asked to think like an actor. Students will use musical analysis of the score to inform and present a fully well-rounded character. Musical theatre and classical selections welcome!

 

Beethoven 250 Years: Part 2

Teacher: Juan Pablo Horcasitas

Tuesdays and Fridays from 6 to 7 pm, January 12 to January 29

This course will be a musical analysis of major works by Beethoven, one from each of the three periods: Early, Heroic, and Late. Students will listen and discuss style, form, harmony, rhythm, and motivic development focusing on three works by the composer. This course is a continuation of the summer 2020 Beethoven course but any student may join.

 

Pop Music Theory

Teacher: Chris Petz

Fridays from 5 to 6 pm, November 6 to December 18

Pop music theory will examine the chord progressions of contemporary pop artists. Mozart, Beethoven, the lovely Franz Liszt, and many others were rock stars of their day. Today’s pop composers use the same twelve notes, but as a result of technological innovation, there are a wide variety of sounds and concepts available to the contemporary pop composer. The class will pick three pop tunes from the current Billboards top 100 songs and analyze all aspects of them. Audio material will be provided by the instructor. Prerequisite: Introduction to theory or equivalent.

 

Música Americana

Teacher: Pablo Rodriguez

Thursdays from 4 to 5pm, November 12 to December 17

Latin-American music acts as cultural icons that are essential to our identity and our way of seeing the world. Through this bilingual workshop, we will discuss and perform passages of key pieces from the Latin-American repertoire. At the end of the course, students will be asked to present and/or perform one piece from the Latin-American repertoire of their interest.

 

The Nutcracker: Learn About The Famous Ballet Through the Lens of Tchaikovsky’s Music
Teachers: Drs. Jenny Seham and Dalia Sakas
Saturdays from November 14 - December 19, Time TBD (five Saturdays)

Explore this popular work with Drs. Jenny Seham and Dalia Sakas. Read the story of Clara and her magical Christmas gift, listen and learn about the various musical pieces which comprise the ballet, discover the choreography and the backstory of being a dancer. You will receive a package of materials to reference while studying the various aspects of this art form.

 

History of Rock Music

Teacher: Chris Petz

Fridays from 5 to 6 pm, September 25 to October 30

History of Rock is a broad overview of pop music from the 1950s until today. In the 1950s, pop music had morphed from the pre-World War II swing bands and the smaller jazz combos that came as a result of the war to Doo Wop and more celebrity singer based acts. From the 1960s up to today pop music has used a very similar format- a group of singers/instrumentalists or a group supporting a singular singer. The history of Rock Music will cover important artists and events that occurred in pop over the last 70 years. Audio material will be provided by the instructor. No prerequisite.

 

Dark Room Ballet - Introduction to Ballet
Teacher: Krishna Washburn
Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 pm, October 6 to November 10
This special six-week class, taught by Krishna Washburn, will introduce the participants to the basic steps and vocabulary of a traditional ballet class. Krishna has danced with Jill Sigman’s thinkdance, Infinity Dance Theater, Heidi Latsky Dance, Marked Dance Project, and LEIMAY. She has extensive experience working with student dancers who are blind or visually impaired. While “ballet” is in the name and the classes are concert dance-based, Dark Room Ballet participants will develop a broad toolbox of critical skills that prepare them to sign up for an intro dance class in any style elsewhere in the future. Among other benefits, the program builds skills in the areas of directional hearing, internally-based balance, and foot sensitivity. No prior dance experience is required. Tuition is $60 for six sessions. 

Please call us at (315) 842-4489 for more information.

Cancelation and Make-up Lesson Policy

Cancelation Policy

The FMDG Music School reserves the right to cancel or change class offerings for any reason, such as insufficient enrollment, or unavailability of the instructor. In the event of cancellation, registered students will be notified and given a full refund. If a student chooses to withdraw, a full refund will be made before the first class. There is no refund after the third class or lesson. Registration fees are nonrefundable and apply only to the semester for which you enroll.

Make-up Lesson Policy

Lessons are offered only on a full-semester basis. Once the schedule is established, the specific lesson time is an agreement between teacher and student, whether the lesson or class is taken or missed by the student. Instructors are not required to make-up lessons or classes that are canceled or missed by students without a prior rescheduling arrangement made at least 24 hours in advance. Reasonable accommodation of make-up is made in cases of illness and unavoidable circumstances. However, in the case when an instructor cancels, a make-up lesson will be arranged.

Late Registration

If you register after the fourth week of the semester, tuition will be appropriately pro-rated.

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