SSM August 2020 Letter

Dear SSM Families,

We hope you have fared well this summer and we look forward to seeing you this fall for group classes and recitals. After careful consideration we have decided to resume recitals and group classes on line via Zoom for the fall semester and will reassess for the new year. We appreciate your understanding and patience. Please know that everyone’s safety is of utmost importance and we want to respect differences in comfort levels regarding the pandemic.   As much as meeting in person is ideal, we believe that remaining virtual for now is a means to that end.

We will have a 12-week term running Tuesdays from September 15 through December 8 excluding November 24, the week of Thanksgiving. Each student will participate in one 40-minute group class per week that will include both repertoire playing and music theory or music enrichment elements. The group class tuition fee will be $150 ($135 for siblings) or $200 for Sonora which has a longer class time. Class size will be similar to the spring with 6-10 students. The group class schedule will be available from your private teacher soon. We hope that everyone participates in at least one regular recital which is included in your group tuition. Plans are in the works for various graduation recital options.

Since we don’t know when it will be possible to have public performances, we are waiting to schedule many of our usual events. As we better understand how things are progressing we will hopefully be able to add an end of the year concert and celebration of SSM’s 30th Anniversary! 2021 is a workshop year and we are exploring the possibility of an online workshop with guest clinicians. Also in 2021, and still on the books for May 1, is a very exciting collaboration with Rachel Barton Pine. All students who play the Minuets in Book 1 and up are asked to acquire her book “Music by Black Composers Vol. 1.” We will be incorporating some of these pieces in our group classes to achieve one of our program wide goals to support Black Lives Matter and racial justice issues.

Thank you for your dedication to your child’s musical education and the SSM program. In these difficult times we realize how important the arts are for our society and our souls.

SSM Group Classes Fall 2020

  • One 40 min. class for 12 weeks via Zoom, Sonora 60 min.

  • Tuesdays Sept. 15 – Dec. 8, 4:00-7:00 PM (exact schedule TBA)

  • No class Tues. Nov. 24

  • Solo Recital via Zoom included

  • Tuition: 1 st student $150, sibling(s) $135, Sonora $200 Spring 2021

  • May 1 Special Event with Rachel Barton Pine. Her book can be ordered here: https://www.sharmusic.com:80/Sheet-Music/Violin/w-47-Piano/Music-By-Black-Composers-Violin-Volume-1—Arranged-by-Rachel-Barton-Pine.axd