Fredericksburg Music Academy Joins Forces with Fredericksburg Music Club
Music Academy Celebrates Twelve Years!
The Fredericksburg Music Academy has offered quality music instruction free of charge to community elementary children for the past eleven years and just like last year, this twelfth year of celebration brings some pretty big changes! Beginning last fall on Thursday, September 13th, FMA’s current year continues to offer quality music fun and learning to the community families.
From the very first year in 2007 the Academy has given each student a solid instruction on singing, instrumental performance and music theory teaching hands-on music curriculum to Kindergarten through 5th grade students. Since that first year FMA has seen some great growth and we have seen over 250 children involved in musical training - many of whom have gone on to flourish in vocal and instrumental music in high school and beyond. Current enrollment for this year’s class is 64 students from Kinder to 5th grade and even a few older students wanting to start instrument instruction.
This is the second year that the Hill Country Youth Orchestra based in Kerrville actually offers classes here in Fredericksburg for students that are above beginning level. FMA has been offering beginning violin in conjunction with HCYO for the past 8 years, but now we are adding the ‘Crescendo’ class which moves students beyond the beginning level so that they don’t have to drive to Kerrville to take the class! HCYO’s plan is to continue moving students up all the way through the high school years here in Fredericksburg.
This is also the second year that FMA offers a great pre-school opportunity for young families through the Music Together program! FMA has joined with ‘Music Together in the Hills’ to provide a low cost, fun, music and movement experience for mixed pre-school ages birth to 5 years. With only a maximum of 12 children (with parents) per class, this Music Together program is a great motion-centered music experience for the children and parents together. Other classes are offered at different times and days of the week depending on parent needs.
Ukulele has become one of the new fads for young people and this year FMA offers lessons on ukulele through our guitar instructor Melinda Brown. Guitar instruction continues for those interested in starting or continuing. Violin, Ukulele and Guitar classes are offered through the FMA curriculum but these ‘applied’ classes do require a fee to participate as well as instrument rental, however FMA does offer some scholarship funds if needed.
For those students who choose not to take violin, guitar or ukulele, they will be involved in our free instrumental classes. Kinders and 1st graders will learn to read music by playing bells and hand chimes. Older elementary students will participate in our ‘pre band’ wind instrument classes playing either recorder, penny whistle, or one of the new TooT, DooD or JSax instruments. These new wind instruments are very similar in the way you hold and play real band instruments and will greatly increase the student’s skills to be successful in beginning band.
The FMA choral groups continue to be under the direction of Donna Vaughan who is known throughout Fredericksburg for her work with the Fredericksburg Theater Company and other children’s music organizations. This year the choir participated in the Fredericksburg Singing Tree music production in December and will go on a musical end of year trip to the Sound Waves Music Festival in New Braunfels on May 11.
The Fredericksburg Music Academy is provided free of charge to our community and is under the direction of Don Doss, the Director of Music Ministries at the Fredericksburg United Methodist Church.
Any parents interested in the KMA program are invited to visit the website and additional information at http://fredumc.org/KMA.htm or call Don Doss at the church, 977-7679.