School Year 2024-2025
Parent/Student/Teacher Agreement
Dear All,
The number one priority in teaching is to be a productive, focused instructor and mentor, who sets each student up for success in achieving their musical goals.
We teach a select group of private students. We choose new students from beginner, intermediate to advanced players meeting all the following criteria:
● Have clear musical goals set together with their teacher
● Are self-motivated and desire lessons
● Understand the importance of and are committed to consistent practicing and playing
● Come to each lesson prepared to learn and grow in the study of the piano
● Are willing to commit to studying 10 months of the school year – End of August to the 3rd week of June
Tuition
Student and teacher agree to the commitment of the term - Last week of August through the third week of June. Tuition may be paid by the month or per semester. Thirty-minute weekly lessons are $120 monthly or $600 per semester. Forty-five-minute lessons are $180.00 monthly or $900.00 per semester. First semester runs the last week of August through January. The second semester runs February through the third week of June. The semester payment is due at your first lesson of each semester. For those who would prefer to pay monthly, your tuition is due at the first scheduled lesson of each month. Note: Monthly payments are not strictly based on the number of lessons in the month. Months may include 3, 4 or 5 lessons. Recitals, performances, preparation, and venue fees are all included in the tuition fees. Checks are always to be made payable to your teacher.
A final note regarding tuition: At times, parents have asked permission to stop lessons at the end of May instead of June. There is concession in adjusting for this modified scheduled when discussed at the beginning of Fall lessons. In such a case June tuition is not charged. The reason that we teach in June is to make the summer break shorter. Experience has shown that students lose significantly more ground in piano following a 12-week summer break than an 8-week break.
Music Books
You will receive help in selecting appropriate repertoire of music throughout the year. With parents’ permission, we will happily order and gather music (or help to order music online). Parents can reimburse us as book orders come in.
Lesson Attendance
Your lesson time is reserved for you. Please courteously be on time. If you have not practiced, come to your lesson anyway! If you forget your music, come to your lesson anyway. If you are having a bad day, come to your lesson anyway! I can ALWAYS make your lesson time worth your while, and consistency in attending your lesson is essential! If you have a conflict and you can give me at least 24-hour advance notice, I am willing to make allowances for unexpected needs on a quarterly basis. Note: If you reschedule, coming during the school day is most helpful to me, if it is at all possible. IF you have a prolonged need to change your lesson time, we may be able to find another student who is willing to switch with you for a “season” of time (sports usually cause this conflict). THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR WORKING WITH EACH OTHER!
Illness
If you must cancel a lesson due to illness, we do our best to accommodate a make-up lesson. This may come in the form of a private or group lesson, depending on the season.
If you are not feeling well, but well enough to have an online lesson, we are happy to accommodate you. Just ask for this. Please be sure our numbers are in everybody’s phone: Michelle Van Allen (406)250-3525 & Abby Van Allen (406)250-8022
Your Schedule for the 2024 - 2025 School Year
Lessons begin the week of August 26, 2024. For Michelle, there will be one week off late September/early October. The exact date yet to be determined. Thanksgiving week (November 26-29, 2024) there are no lessons Tuesday through Friday. Christmas break will be from Dec 23 - Jan 1st, 2025. Spring Break will be the week of March 24th, 2025, as it is always observed to correspond to local School District #5 schedule. May 26th is the Memorial Day holiday. There will be two other canceled lesson times in the spring to be announced at a later date. They’ve already been counted in the teaching schedule/commitment.
This Year's Events
Note: not every student is involved in all the following activities. They are simply offered through my studio for students to gain valuable musical experience.
First of all, please remember that you are playing first for you…for the love of playing and making music! If this is your main focus, it is a noble and worthy goal.
FREE CONCERTS for piano students – Glacier Orchestra has an open invite to local piano students to come for free to certain concert clinics. November will feature ____. February will feature _____. These are highly inspirational and formative. Simply tell us your level of interest and we will work on reserving seats for you. Note: Parents must their children to these concerts if we are not able to attend.
Kalispell Area Music Teacher Festivals: Students may attend the KAMTA festival, March, 2025. Participation includes performing, having the experience of be adjudicated by a master teacher and those with high honors will be invited to play in the honors recital which immediately follows each festival.
KAMTA performance opportunities: There will be two community recitals this year. One in November and one in February. More details to follow in September. Please let Michelle or Abby know your level of interest in participating, so we may sign you up in a timely manner.
Piano Boot Camp – for any student who is preparing for competition or performance throughout the school year, we will be hosting these on random Sunday afternoons. Stay tuned.
Winter Recital – Sunday, December 15, 2024 at Buffalo Hill Terrace Chapel/Auditorium. Two performances 3pm and 4:30pm. Please let Michelle & Abby know your time preference and we will work to accommodate you.
District Music Festival for High School Students (open to students attending public high school) – April 10-12, 2025.
Stillwater School Music Festival (open to homeschool and private school students) Time and date TBD
State Music Festival – May 2-3, 2025 in Missoula at the University of Montana.
Spring Recital – This recital is set tentatively for Sunday, May 4, 2025. Time and venue TBD as well. (2nd option of a possible recital being Sunday, May 18th.)
Piano Camp at the U of M: All students (8th - 12th grade) are eligible to apply for piano camp and are also eligible to apply for a scholarship to help with the costs of the camp (because we have local, state and national affiliate with the National Music Teachers Association). Piano camp will be one week during June of 2025.
Additionally, we can help connect and prepare students with opportunities to play in bands, church music teams, at public venues such as the hospital and assisted living facilities, etc.
Preparation and what to bring to private lessons
1. You, the musician - even if you have nothing else with you!
2. Bring music (a music bag is a great idea, to protect books)
3. Bring a good quality, spiral bound notebook to your lesson (many already have one). This is very important, as it keeps students and I focused on our goals and what we are accomplishing each week.
4. A recording device, such as a smartphone, is super helpful, when we are working on ear training.
5. Arrive at your lesson promptly. Thank you!
6. At our first lesson, we will pick out music and books, make a practice plan and set goals for the school year.
7. A well-tuned piano is essential for ear training and gratification in playing. Ask for the list of tuners in our valley. We will happily give that to you.