We’ve got a busy spring ahead at Guitar Shed with some great events, giveaways, and performance opportunities!

We are excited to return to City Winery (6/1) and Venkman’s (6/2) for our Summer Recitals. Please note that our Kids Recital is on a Saturday as opposed to previous recitals. Sign up begins on 4/1 for both recitals in our student portal. Space is limited, so mark your calendars and familiarize yourself with our student portal before 4/1. You can login on our website here and we are happy to resend your login info if you misplaced it. While you are in the student portal you can also register for our Student Showcase at The Pullman on 3/23. There are still some spots available!

Looking ahead, we’ve got our first ever Guitar Shed “Spring Concert” featuring 3 of our groups: Teen Band, Americana Ensemble and Rock Ensemble on 4/15. Also, CAMP WOODSHED is back this year and we have added a session for our younger shedders. Early bird sign up ends on 3/31. Take advantage of a $25 discount!

It has been a busy month at Guitar Shed and we are looking forward to our upcoming Winter Recitals! Our Kids Winter Recital on 12/9 is full, but please email us if you would like to be added to the waiting list. The Teens and Adults Recital on 1/13 is filling up fast, so make sure to register in the student portal to guarantee your spot. Tickets are now on sale for both events. We encourage all of our students and families to attend, even if you are not performing. We would love to see you there!

KIDS RECITAL 12/9 at City Winery – BUY TICKETS HERE
TEENS AND ADULTS RECITAL 1/13 at Venkman’s – BUY TICKETS HERE

We’ve got a special Guitar 101 workshop this Saturday from Brandon Marsolo. Great for all of the beginning guitarists out there! Also, Halloween is just around the corner and if you wear your costume to your lesson you get one of our cool new Guitar Shed holographic stickers!

Some of you may have noticed our new “Birthday Board” in the lobby. We have two teacher birthday’s coming up this week! Nichelle’s birthday is on Tuesday and Brandon’s is on Friday. Make sure to wish (or sing) them Happy Birthday!

Let’s face it, middle school is tough even for the most well-adjusted emotionally intelligent pre-teen. It is a time of transition, where kids are taking on more responsibility, a busier workload, balancing a busy schedule and trying to fit in. No they are not kids any more, but not young adults either. Tweens are certainly in between. After talking with some of our parents, I got the sense that several of our middle schoolers were having a tough time adjusting to the new school year. Especially our girls. And our girls are awesome, they play every instrument at Guitar Shed and they continue to impress me with their creativity and work ethic. I spoke with my wife, and she immediately said “Why don’t you do a girls night?!” (whenever she is in need of some friendship a “Girls Night” always does the trick…and gives me an opportunity for some alone time). I said, “great idea” and “Girls Night” was born! This will be a time for girls age 10-16 to let loose and have some fun with fellow Guitar Shedders. This a free event with pizza and karaoke. Nichelle will be in charge of the karaoke and you’ll get to hear her belt out some great tunes as well. Trust me, she can SING! Space is limited, so email us or RSVP in the student portal to guarantee your spot. Girls are also welcome to bring a friend.

Looking ahead, we’ve got a busy fall at Guitar Shed with several great events coming up. This year is the first year we will be participating in Oakhurst Porchfest with both our Teen and Adult Bands performing. Brandon is teaching a Guitar 101 Workshop in late October and we have just announced our Winter Recital Dates!

Signup begins for the Kids Recital (only open to ages 12 and under) on October 1st in the Student Portal. This recital is limited to 70 performers, so make sure to signup early to guarantee a spot! Let us know if you need us to resend your login information or if you have any other recital questions. We are very excited to be back at City Winery and looking forward to having our Teens and Adults Recital at Venkman’s as well in January!

October 5Girls Night

October 13Oakhurst Porchfest

October 27Guitar 101 Workshop

December 9 – Kids Winter Recital at City Winery

January 13 – Teens and Adults Recital at Venkman’s

 

Thank you all for two successful recitals! It is such a joy to watch all of our students grow with each performance. For some of you this was your 6th recital! We strive to create a safe environment where mistakes are not frowned upon and creativity is encouraged. Thanks to all of our performers for having the courage to get up on stage, and to all of our attendees for your unwavering support!

At Guitar Shed we stress the importance of lifelong learning. The recitals are not a test to be passed or failed. I encourage you to continue playing your pieces and make them your own. They can become part of your repertoire and you can revisit them throughout your life. We approach teaching kids, teens and adults very differently and there are benefits and challenges with each age group. All of the teachers at Guitar Shed are lifelong learners as well and we are always looking for ways to improve our playing and teaching.

At our Teens and Adults Recital we had everything from Mozart to Tina Turner to Ed Sheeran. Our Teen Band debuted with three songs as if they have been playing together much longer than a few short months and our Adult Band is hitting a groove with a full set of music. For our Kids Recital we had several sibling and family collaborations and a heavy dose of Beatles classics. We even had some original cosmic lyrics to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” that I am still humming. We are hoping to start a “Tween Band” in the fall for ages 10-12 so let us know if you are interested in joining the waiting list.

Check out the links below for the full recital galleries!

Kids Recital – City Winery – Photography by Addison Hill Photo

Teens and Adults – Venkman’s – Photography by Katherine Jianas Photography