What Makes Music House Different?
What makes Music House different? What sets us apart from other performing arts schools? Whether you are new to the Music House family or have been with us for years, we would like to reflect on what makes us unique as a performing arts school.
Who We Are
Music House is family owned and operated and has been serving Chicago communities for 71 years. It is our mission to provide students with opportunities that make them well rounded artists and citizens of the world. In doing this, we hold students to a high standard and encourage them to pursue excellence, while also giving space for them to grow from where they are now. Students are supported in a safe space where they can embrace failure and use it as a tool and learning opportunity. Dance, music, and theater students are all learning under one roof at Music House and are free to explore the various performing arts. Music House teachers collaborate with students to build ownership and pride toward their artistic pursuits.
Not Just an Arts Education
We believe that a quality arts education contributes to academic success, increased confidence academically and socially, enhanced communication skills, and teaches students how to create and work toward goals, work collaboratively and much more.
Building students' creative bravery and willingness to take risks is a priority in Music House classrooms. All Music House students have the opportunity to take their bravery to the stage in the form of performances at least twice per year.
At Music House, our goal is to provide students with an arts education that is tailored to their individual goals while also giving them the skills that will help them to be successful in all aspects of their lives.
Emphasis on Community
Music House believes that a strong community is the basis upon which young people grow in a well supported manner, and it is our goal to cultivate community in each and every Music House classroom. We actively participate in festivals and events happening in our community so as to connect with our neighbors. We hope to inspire our community, both within our facilities and in our neighborhood by encouraging our students to step into challenges with poise and determination.
Are you curious to know more about unique opportunities offered within each department? Keep reading to learn more!
Music
Practice Challenges : We know how important practice is, but we also know how difficult it can be to be motivated to practice! Twice per year, we host practice challenges to help incentivize students to create a daily practice routine.
At-Home-Teacher training for parents : We believe that the partnership between parents, teachers, and students is instrumental in our student’s success! We host training sessions for parents of violin, ukulele, and guitar students to teach them how to help their student at home.
Free practice support for parents: Send us a 5 minute video of your home practice sessions, and we will provide you with feedback on how to make your sessions more effective and positive!
Interdisciplinary Opportunities: Private students can explore different genres of music through our many ensembles, including:
Rock Piano Ensemble
Rock Band: Open to any instruments!
Pre-Orchestra
Orchestra
High School Chamber Ensemble
Suzuki Violin Program:
Suzuki Graduations : We celebrate our Suzuki violin students’ progress through Suzuki Graduations! When they complete a Suzuki book, they perform the entirety of the book from memory and are awarded a trophy.
Weekly Suzuki Playdowns : Suzuki students take private lessons in addition to their weekly group playdown class. In this class they learn important ensemble skills, while polishing and elevating review pieces, and being exposed to future pieces.
Outreach Music Program:
Free Weekend Beginning Group Classes for violinists and ukulele players
Dance
Music House Dance Company: Dancers are welcomed into a community and challenged to push the creative envelope in working as an ensemble to devise dances that send a positive message. Dancers are encouraged to reflect on art as a tool for social change and given the opportunity to express discussed topics through the vehicle of public performance.
Annual Nutcracker Performance: Dance students experience every aspect of the production process in this annual performance, including auditioning, attending additional rehearsals, costuming, and being on a stage with professional sets and lights.
Annual Spring Dance Recital: Dancers rehearse challenging choreography with their dance class for an end of school year culminating performance that showcases hard work and learned dance technique.
Dancers are taught concepts of dance composition so as to actively contribute to performance choreography.
Guest artists brought in to teach workshops to dance students.
Theater
Professional Theater experience - Our studio offers the opportunity to take part in three full-scale theatrical productions every year! (We’ve done shows such as: Newsies, Willy Wonka, Highschool Musical, Mary Poppins, Footloose, Dear Edwina, Annie, Junie B. Jones, Shrek the Musical, and more!)
Exposure to all Production Elements - Students will experience every aspect of a full scale production process from auditioning, understanding the purpose of technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals to costuming, and finally on a stage with professional microphones, sets, and lights and a live audience.
Top Notch Training - Students are provided training with vocal coaches, choreographers, and acting teachers weekly.
Leadership Opportunities - There are opportunities to become dance captains and develop leadership skills by helping fellow cast-mates with choreography and dance skills.
Opportunities to Grow - When ready and comfortable, students will be offered to perform solos and duets specifically chosen for them in our annual Musical Revue show! (previously Musical Revues include: Echoes 1, 2 & 3, and Broadway in The Yard)
Guest artists are brought in to teach workshops and do master classes with theater students.
Workshop Opportunities - We will offer the opportunities to take part in special skills workshops such as: accents and dialects, stage combat, circus arts, Shakespeare and more!
Resources for Students - Students are provided with fantastic resources on a Google Classroom site made just for them to help them to further develop their skills and to prepare for roles outside of class time. Parents and guardians are encouraged to be the At Home Teacher by using the following resources to support their young actors at home, with videos of the choreography to practice their moves and to dance along with, “beat-sheet” templates that map out their character’s story-arc, practice tracks to help them nail their harmonies, warmups and more!
Professional recordings of all productions are made available to students and families so that they can relive the fun, and also use the footage to make highlight reels of their work.
Private audition support, prep and filming sessions for students preparing for all kinds of auditions (both in-person and self-tape), such as: High School applications, audition-based camps and workshops, college auditions, professional or community theater opportunities, professional film and television auditions and more!
Outreach Program: We bring the studio to the school and aim to provide high quality education in all of the above areas
