Six weeks of tuition-free music lessons in collaboration with Harmony Scholars!
Thanks to state funding and community-wide support, we partnered again this summer with Lauren Garza and Harmony Scholars to provide free, beginning violin/viola group lessons, and we expanded the music program to include intermediate strings and classical guitar lessons! Over the course of 6 weeks, 31 students leaned into the challenges of individual and group performance, and offered an informal performance for parents and community members at the end of the summer.
Students learned proper techniques for holding and playing their instruments and gained the ability to play appropriately challenging pieces with with accurate rhythm, intonation, and tempo, led by a dedicated team of professional musicians. Classes took brain breaks outside and engaged in full-body learning through rhythm games, utilizing ball throwing, foot stomping, and hand clapping. All three classes enjoyed playing with visiting artist, Josh Holcomb and experimenting with solo improvisation.
We’re so grateful for this partnership, and for the incredible team of musician-educators including Lauren Garza & Suzanne Dorman.
Lauren is a violist, educator, and founder of Harmony Scholars, where she leads inclusive, experiential music programs rooted in equity and access. She’s principal violist of the Holland Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with her trio, Shoreline Strings. Lauren was part of the 2023-24 Teaching Artist Training Institute Lab Cohort, and she also serves as lead teaching artist and program manager for Tune Up, an El Sistema-inspired afterschool program in Muskegon. She holds a Doctorate and Master’s in Music Performance from Michigan State University and a BA from Hope College.
Suzanne is a classical guitarist with over 15 years of teaching experience including private lessons and group classes. She received a BA in Music Performance from Belhaven University and pursued graduate studies at the Peabody Institute in the studio of Julian Gray. Suzanne hopes to inspire creativity and joy in making music while showcasing the versatility of the classical guitar. She loves spending time with her husband and 3 kids, and enjoys reading, writing, and dabbling in visual arts.
Kalamazoo-based musician Josh Holcomb, visited the strings classes one week, thanks to the Harmony Scholars fund! Josh, who plays viola with the West Michigan Symphony, brought his 5-stringed electric violin, which can mimic electric guitar and bass notes, and he showed students how he uses pedals to loop and layer his sounds. The beginner class worked with him on rhythms and scales, and the intermediate students dove into the D Dorian scale and practiced improvising to Josh’s looping tracks. Many thanks to Harmony Scholars for this experience and for also funding a cello teacher, so we could expand our string offerings this year!
And, thanks to Peter Middleton, who has offered the use of his lovingly-restored guitars, and students will be able to purchase those at an affordable rate if they choose to keep them! We’re incredibly grateful as well to Hope Church for graciously hosting these free classes!
Congratulations to all our Summer Strings students, for taking risks, leaning into challenging pieces, and practicing in between lessons! We’re so proud of all they’ve accomplished and impressed by their end-of-summer informal performances!
Many thanks to all our summer strings partners and major funders, including:
Harmony Scholars
Mark & Karen Pearson
Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area
Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, & Potential
Michigan Arts & Culture Council
