CHAMBERSBURG, PA (September 4, 2020) Cumberland Valley School of Music expanded into Greencastle and acquired Growing with Music, 42 Center Square, Greencastle, PA. This location will serve as an extension of CVSM which is located on the campus of Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA.
Tracy Thomas, the former owner of Growing with Music, will remain at the Greencastle location as Branch Manager. Ms. Thomas and CVSM Executive Director Heather McEndree are working together to ensure a smooth transition of ownership. It is the goal of both organizations that the instructors and programs at the Greencastle location will change as little as possible while also benefitting from the added resources CVSM has to offer.
Growing With Music began in the summer of 2013 with Ms. Thomas’ becoming licensed as a Musikgarten instructor. What started out as a part-time hobby of teaching babies, toddlers, and preschoolers out of a rented classroom in a local church two evenings per week quickly expanded into a full-time venture. By the spring of 2015, clientele grew, and private lessons were added into the mix, making it necessary to move into a dedicated building to accommodate the growing business. Throughout the remainder of 2015 and into early 2016, the business continued to grow, which prompted the expansion into the current location.
“The benefits of merging with a nonprofit with a 30-year history include: scholarship programs, additional resources, and new opportunities,” Thomas said in a letter to families. “CVSM has a solid foundation and will add strength to our musical community.”
Growing with Music and CVSM share a passion for music and teaching all ages and stages. “Tracy and I were colleagues in the Maryland public school system, and then fellow Musikgarten teachers,” said CVSM Executive Director, Heather McEndree. “I am excited that we get to work together to bring music instruction and experiences to everyone in our community!”
As this merger is taking place at the beginning of the fall semester, details regarding upcoming offerings at Growing with Music are still under development. Updates will be posted on both organizations’ social media and websites at www.cvsmusic.org and www.growingwithmusic.org
respectively.
Photo: (left to right) Heather McEndree, CVSM Executive Director and Tracy Thomas, Branch Manager, Growing With Music. Photo Credit: Ariel Sherrill, Old Home Photography
Hello, CVSM families!
It is amazing that it has been two months since the stay-at-home order was put into place! I miss seeing you in the halls of CVSM. I miss hearing the wonderful music wafting through the building. I miss the joy of making music with you! I look forward to the day when we can be together in person again.
Thank you for your flexibility and willingness to shift to a different method of learning over the past two months. Although online is not the same as in-person, it has allowed instruction to continue and for all students to continue making progress. Many of you are even participating in online recitals to share your talents!
I want to give you an update on summer plans at CVSM. The plan is to continue instruction online until we have clear guidance from the CDC, the government, and Wilson College (our landlord) regarding the safety measures that need to be in place for in-person instruction. There are many aspects to music instruction that need to be taken into account: appropriate social distancing while in lessons or classes, not all students and teachers can wear masks during instruction (wind instruments and vocalists), sanitizing shared instruments (pianos, drum sets), health checks at entry point, etc. The staff and I, as well as a committee of a variety of community members, are working on details of a reopening plan that will keep health and safety of our families at the forefront. This may involve phasing in instrument categories over a few weeks, with voice and flute students in the final phase. There will most likely be a mix of online and in-person lessons as we move through the next few months.
Heather Kline is working with our group instructors on creating engaging online camps and classes for the summer. In many cases, participants in these camps and classes will receive a kit of supplies to be used during the camp and class time. Please keep in mind that in some cases parent assistance will be needed during the camp or class time. As these details are clarified and confirmed, we will send email updates and post on social media. If there is a camp or class listed in the brochure or online that you were planning to register for, please be in touch with Valerie Merriman ([email protected]) so she can place you on an info list to receive the finalized information when it is available.
For those interested in Voice & Drama Camp, Heather is also looking into a virtual musical option: this is a show written and designed to be performed online! This will be a very unique and amazing experience!
I hope you plan to continue taking music lessons and classes over the summer. Registration is open now and continues throughout the summer. Please contact Valerie to set up dates and times with your instructor. Email is the best option ([email protected]) however if you would prefer a phone number, please respond to this email or email Valerie to let her know you would prefer a phone call. Since these phone calls are routed through Valerie’s personal phone, we would prefer to keep them to a minimum.
Heather McEndree, CVSM Executive Director
UPDATE: In response to Governor Wolf’s announcement, the CVSM offices and music store are closed indefinitely. Staff members are working from home and can be reached by email.
- Heather McEndree, Executive Director – [email protected]
- Heather Kline, Program Manager – [email protected]
- Valerie Merriman, Registrar – [email protected]
- Sharon Eshleman, Bookkeeper – [email protected]
- Steph Allee, Marketing – [email protected]
- Sheryl Gudgeon, Store Manager – [email protected]
CVSM is teaching virtual lessons indefinitely. Your instructor will be in touch regarding plans for virtual lessons, make-ups, or credits. We will update information here as well as on our Facebook page as we monitor this evolving situation.
Thank you for your patience in this time of uncertainty in our community. The staff at CVSM and the administration of Wilson College met last week to clarify and set operations and procedures for the coming weeks to ensure the health and safety of all community members who come on campus.
THERE ARE TO BE NO STUDENTS ON CAMPUS. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please ask your instructor about virtual lessons, make-ups or credits. These missed lessons will not be counted as unexcused lessons.
OPTIONS & IDEAS FOR VIRTUAL LESSONS:
You may continue with your normal lesson schedule on a virtual platform. You can use the following platforms at no cost (other than use of your personal data plan or home internet access):
- Linkello (uses an internet connection & browser, completely free and does not require an account)
- Skype (available on your phone, tablet, or laptop, as long as there is a camera)
- FaceTime (if both you and the instructor have an Apple device)
- FB Messenger video (if both you and the instructor have a Facebook account and devices with cameras)
- Zoom (if your instructor sets up a free account)
Meet Jane
Jane performing with Marlin at Chefs Walk
Jane Peatling is a cellist and has been an instructor with CVSM since it was founded in 1990. She took a break from teaching in the 2000’s and has now been back teaching for 5 years. What she likes most about teaching at CVSM is being part of a vibrant musical community. She was originally drawn to teaching at CVSM for the energy of a new venture and the ease of the administrative side of arranging lessons.
Jane would use these three words to describe CVSM: Vibrant, Musical, and Community.
She enjoys listening to any music performed Read More
Did you join the millions of people who set New Years Resolutions?
I heard an interesting change to the terminology that I find empowering: instead of a Resolution, it is a DETERMINATION. No matter the time of year, you can DETERMINE to make changes in your habits, including your musical habits.
- Be determined to attend more live performances.
- Be determined to learn a new piece of music by your favorite composer.
- Be determined to learn one new piece from each musical time period.
- Be determined to learn more information about your favorite composer or piece of music.
- Be determined to practice more.
Let’s focus on being determined to practice more. Read More
Jeff Noll, CVSM Instructor and Parent
L-R: Joshua, Jordan, Caleb, Careth, Jeff
CVSM has been my musical family for going on 27 years. I continue to teach piano, CVSM Children’s Choir (formerly Cumberbunds), and Voice Camp. It has been a pleasure to work with such gifted colleagues and to share the wonderful gift of music with hundreds of children over the years. I feel like CVSM has offered me a place to not just teach music, but see students grow in discipline, character and love for what is beautiful. To me, CVSM is about investing in the whole person. I have been there long enough now to say that I have Read More
With access to wifi and an internet device, we can learn just about anything from anywhere. This is an amazing age of having information at our fingertips! For many people, it may have been a challenge to imagine those first room-size computers eventually being able to fit into our pockets, but that is the reality of now. Not only can we use and learn from the content on the internet, we can also create content (such as this blog post!). This includes MUSIC.
There are many websites and online communities where people can go to learn music theory, download sheet music, and learn to perform music on an instrument or with their voice. When it comes to online music lessons, YouTube has a vast library of lessons. Want to learn the basics of holding a violin? Check. Want to learn a specific guitar riff? Check. Want to learn a plagal cadence? Check. Want to learn how to compose a pop song? Check. Want to have an interactive musical experience? Nope.
There are various differences between YouTube learning and in-person lessons (see graphic), but the biggest is the level of personal interaction between the student(s) and the instructor(s). Music lessons that are in-person are flexible, adaptable, social, and personal. The student can share their personal interests and goals with the instructor, and the instructor can adapt the instruction to the needs of student. Not to say that instruction can’t be done virtually via Skype, FaceTime, or any other virtual method (that is a post for another day). For the purposes of this post, I am focusing on recorded or one-way videos (such as Facebook Live).
- Cost: The recorded lesson is free to the student, with no income to the instructor (unless they have ads or sponsors). The in-person lesson involves a fee to the students which is income for the instructor and payment for their expertise and time.
- Scheduling: A recorded lesson can be taken anytime from almost anywhere, while there is a scheduled date and time for the in-person lesson, often at a specific location.
- Interaction: Only the comments section offer a somewhat interactive component to the recorded lesson. The entire lesson is interactive when in-person, offering specific feedback to benefit the student.
- Variety of topics: There is a WIDE variety of topics available online, whereas one particular teacher may have a limited number of topics they are qualified to teach in-person. Depending on where the student lives and how far they are willing to travel to learn in-person on a specific topic, this will limit what is available.
- Availability: If a student lives in a remote area, there may not be any teachers of the music topic they wish to explore. Hopefully, they will have online access and have all of the information available through the internet, although some remote areas also make that challenging.
- Other factors: An in-person lesson is a personalized, social activity (usually one-to-one, but can also be group). Recorded lessons are completely universal (not personalized), anonymous (no one will know what you are learning), and lack a social component, unless the student chooses to comment and initiate some type of interaction with other viewers or with the instructor.
As a student is learning the guitar riff from a video, how will they know that their hand position is correct? That the guitar is tuned correctly? That they are at the correct fret and/or applying appropriate pressure? That the guitar is a quality instrument without issues that affect the playing and sound of the instrument? That they are sitting or standing with appropriate posture? That they are using the correct technique?
Video learning is a great supplement for in-person learning. Go ahead and search for that specific song or technique you want to learn! But the foundation of the musical learning will be strongest when built in an interactive student and instructor format. Many instructors point their students to online lessons. This is analogous to attending a workshop or clinic… at least one in which you are not able to participate actively in the instruction. And as many of us know, sometimes we learn best when a topic is presented in a variety of styles from different sources.
So, if you or your child desire to learn an instrument or improve your singing skills, find a qualified instructor to take in-person lessons, and supplement that instruction with the wealth of knowledge on the internet.
Written by: Heather McEndree, January 2020
CVSM will present their Encore Musicians Concert on Sunday, April 7th, 2019 featuring over 100 community musicians aged 50 and older. This is a FREE event beginning at 2:30 PM at CAMS South Auditorium at 1151 McKinley St., Chambersburg.
This is the fourth time CVSM has assembled this event to feature its more “seasoned” performers. This year performers include Penn National Harmony Singers, New Horizons String Orchestra, and the New Horizons Band and Freedom Valley Chorus.
Cumberland Valley School of Music students comprise The New Horizons String Orchestra and The New Horizons Band. These ensembles are open to members age 50 and older through scholarship funding and support by The New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA). NHIMA is a worldwide organization comprised of over 200 New Horizons groups whose 9,000 members are over the age of 50. Some played music during their school years and stashed their instrument in a closet or attic while the demands of work and raising children took center stage. Others dreamt of being a musician but never had the opportunity or the money to pay for lessons and instruments when they were school age. Both groups find themselves now at or near retirement with children grown and gone, fewer responsibilities, but just as much desire.
The Penn National Harmony Singers is a volunteer group whose primary venue is reaching out to the Assisted Living Communities in the Chambersburg area. They present an hour long concert of music selections, one or two times each month, during the year. They also present an annual Christmas Concert for the residents of Penn National at the New Guilford Brethren in Christ Church. The group was formed over twenty years ago. Their goal is to brighten the day of the residents through music. They number around 30 members that enjoy music and sharing their talents.
Freedom Valley Chorus enjoys the love of singing four-part a cappella barbershop harmony and an enthusiasm for sharing this unique sound with private and public community audiences. They strive for consistent musical excellence through quality education, personal growth, joy, friendship and fun. In September of 2004, a small group of enthusiastic ladies who enjoyed singing gathered to sing in four part harmony with one of the group directing. In a short period of time they chose to share their time with others who may have the same interest and began inviting others to join them. The original group has expanded to a current roster of 31 members. The members travel from Hagerstown, Waynesboro, Mont Alto, Fayetteville, New Oxford, Shippensburg, Newburg, Orrstown, Carlisle, and of course a number are from Chambersburg. Freedom Valley Chorus became a charter member of Sweet Adelines International in June of 2007. Since that time the Chorus has entertained many audiences in south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland and has competed each year at Region 19’s conventions in Ocean City, Maryland.
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