Music Lessons Program

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Private Lessons

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Ensembles

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Learn To Play an Instrument

From Beginner to Advanced our Instructors can help all aspiring musicians and vocalists achieve their goals and beyond.

About Private Lessons

We offer 45-minute private lessons on all of the orchestral instruments. The program includes 27 private lessons, one Performance Class and, for those who are adequately prepared, one formal recital during the school year. Lessons are offered to match the needs and skill level of every student from beginner through advanced.

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Piano Lessons

Taught By Allen Farnham & Karen Littlefield

Guitar Lessons

Electric/Classical Taught By Richard Peare

Strings Lessons

Violin/ Viola Taught By Ella Heifets

Brass Lessons

Taught by Sarah Boxmeyer, Owen Caprell, & Rebecca Steinberg

Vocal Lessons (Grade 6 & Up)

Taught By Nancy Ringham

Woodwind Lessons

Flute/Oboe/Clarinet/Saxophone Taught By Robert DeBellis, John Littlefield, & Jared Newlen

Percussion Lessons

Taught by Kevin Norton

Program Details

Learn how to register for our Private Lessons and our Private Lesson Policies. 

Getting Started

Once registered, the coordinator will instruct the teacher to contact the parent to arrange a mutually agreeable lesson time for the student. Times immediately following dismissal are obviously very limited and also very desirable. Please have alternative options to discuss when you speak with the teacher. 

Occasionally, parents request lessons with our Music Lesson Faculty to be given while their child is studying the same instrument with another teacher outside of our program. We cannot recommend this practice. Our experience has been that having two teachers often results in confusion for the student due to conflicting approaches, especially when the two teachers do not know each other’s teaching styles and are not communicating with each other.

Upper School Private Lessons

Upper School Students may take lessons during free periods within the school day if they can be coordinated with the teacher’s schedule and an available studio. Lessons are generally scheduled after the school day if there is no compatible free period during the school day. Upper School Students should be especially careful not to schedule lessons at times that will conflict with any seasonal sports activities that they may wish to participate in.

Upper School students are encouraged to inquire about performance opportunities in the various instrumental and choral ensembles offered through the Performing Arts Department academic curriculum.

Middle School Private Lessons

Middle School Students usually take lessons after school hours as they have very few free periods during the school day. They are permitted to take their music lesson during the school day on the rare occasion that they are able to schedule a time during a study hall or free period. Middle School Students should be especially careful not to schedule lessons at times that will conflict with any seasonal sports activities that they may wish to participate in. 

Middle School students are encouraged to inquire about performance opportunities in the various instrumental and choral ensembles offered through the Performing Arts Department academic curriculum.

Lower School Private Lessons

Lower School Students take private lessons after the school day. Lower School students must be escorted to and from their lessons by a parent or by the private lesson teacher. Please note that escort time on the part of the teacher is a part of the contracted lesson time and thus shortens the amount of time in the studio for the student. Parents should arrange to pick up their children at the conclusion of the lesson. This is a good time for the parent to compare notes with the teachers regarding what has been assigned for the week and to be updated on the progress of the student. Students who are not picked up after their lessons in a timely fashion will be escorted by the teacher to the D-E360° AfterCare & Enrichment (ACE) Program to wait for their parent or guardian. Parents will be billed for the time spent there. Lower School students may not wait in the Middle/Upper School Library.

Registration Fees

The fee for the 27 lessons and 1 Performance-class is $3,085. Payment is handled in monthly installment through the family’s SmartTuition account.

Questions regarding this process may be directed to the D-E Business Office; Email Amy Marciano, our Operations Coordinator in DE360°.

Financial Aid inquiries should be made to de360info@d-e.org prior to registration.

If the scheduling of lessons, after the contract has been processed but before the first lesson has been given, proves to be impossible, the fee will be refunded in full to the parent. Once the lessons have been scheduled and the student takes the first lesson, the contract is in effect for the full school year and the no refund policy takes effect.

Performance Classes

Performance Classes are an unique opportunity for students to join with other students, perform for each other, and hear critiques from their peers and other teachers. The on-campus Performance Classes are scheduled on: 

March 4, 5, and 6, 2024 from 3:30-5:00 pm – Students will attend on ONE of those days. Your private lesson teacher will give you specifics at the start of the year as to which day your instrument will meet. 

Attendance at Performance Classes is strongly encouraged, but if they are missed, there is no refund or make-up class for that session.

Recital Dates

Student Recital is on May 29, 2025, 7pm for students who have demonstrated excellent preparation and technique throughout the year of study. Accompanists will be provided by the school when needed for single line instrumentalists and vocalists.

Absences and rescheduling lessons

When a parent knows that a student will be absent for a lesson, the teacher must be notified directly. Under all but the most extraordinary circumstances, if the teacher has not been notified of an absence prior to leaving his or her home to teach that lesson, the lesson will be considered as having been given and the student will not receive a make-up lesson.

Please note: The Dwight-Englewood attendance office does not notify private music teachers when their students are absent from school. When properly notified, teachers will expect to make up lessons due to illness. Parents should acquire cell phone numbers and other means of reaching the teacher at the beginning of the year when they schedule lesson times with the teacher. When students have an occasional conflict with a lesson time and can notify the teacher more than 24 hours in advance, the teacher will endeavor to schedule that lesson at another time if possible. As the contract simply calls for a total of 27 lessons to be taught during the year, there is some room for flexibility even if one week is missed. Please do not expect teachers to make up lessons for absences due to play dates or birthday parties. Once a teacher schedules a regular lesson time, that teacher has excluded the possibility of taking another student at that time. As all scheduling is done at the beginning of the school year, teachers are not likely to be able to reschedule students in the middle of the year. With the exception of mutually agreeable changes in scheduling between the teacher and students, students are expected to schedule all other activities (sports, tutoring, Senior Focus, etc.) so that they will not interfere with the scheduled private music lesson time. Failure to be able to reschedule lesson times as necessary to accommodate a student taking on conflicting activities will not constitute justification of a refund for missed lessons or for the expectation that those lessons will be made up.

Questions?

Teachers and parents are expected to resolve any issues that may arise. Teachers or parents may contact the Dean of Performing Arts, Adam Slee (sleea@d-e.org), at any time if they have questions about the application of this policy. 

Ensembles

Ensembles in the Lower School are free of charge. Students are required to have been playing their instrument for one year and must be enrolled currently in private lessons. We invite you to join us May 20, 2025 at 7 PM for our Lower School Chorus Performance.

Ensembles Policy

The DE360° Team is happy to coordinate with the performing arts department to ensure that students registered for ACE are safely escorted to the appropriate spaces. For students needing to use ACE prior to the start of a D-E private music lesson or ensemble work, there are no charges; however there will be a fee for students returning to ACE after their lesson. For questions regarding registration and/or ACE please contact Amy Marciano at marcia@d-e.org.

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Lower School Band

Beginning September 23, 2024
Mondays | 3:30 – 4:30 | Grades 4 & 5
Jared Newlen, Co-Director | newlej@d-e.org
Owen Caprell, Co-Director | capreo@d-e.org

Lower School Strings Ensemble

Beginning September 25, 2024

Wednesday | 3:00 – 4:00 | Kindergarten-Grade 5
Ella Heifets, Director | heifee@d-e.org

Lower School Chorus

Beginning October 2, 2024
Wednesdays | 3:15-4:00 | Open to Grades 3-5
Kenneth Kacmar, Director | kacmak@d-e.org
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