Opus Music School April 2021 Newsletter
Reopening Update For May
Beginning May 2021, we are beginning Phase 1 of our reopening plans for in-person lessons at Opus Music School.
Opus Music School Tentative Reopening Schedule:
May 2021 (Phase 1) - Begin phasing in Opus teachers, with most teachers in person one day a week starting 5/3 (see below)
June to August 2021 (Phase 2) - Gradual phase-in of teachers/days (schedule TBA)
Date TBA (Projected Early Fall 2021) - Full reopening of Opus
We ask for your patience as we reopen in stages to ensure we maintain capacity requirements for the safety of everyone in our Opus community.
For active Opus students:
For current active students, if your teacher and lesson day is on the list below, that means you have the option to return to in-person lessons starting in May. You will receive a text message notification from our office. Please reply to the text if you'd like to have your lessons in-person or continue with virtual lessons.
May 2021 In-Person Teachers (subject to change):
Mr. Chris - Thursday
Ms. Ellery - Wednesday
Mr. Evan - Thursday
Ms. Grace - Monday and Thursday
Mr. Maorin - Thursday
Mr. Matt - Tuesday
Ms. Melissa - Monday
Ms. Sharon - Tuesday
Mr. Spurgeon - Monday
Ms. Theresa - Wednesday
Mr. Tim - Monday
Mr. Troy - Tuesday
If you do not see your teacher or day on your list, don't worry. It just means that it is not your turn yet. To maintain capacity and safety requirements, we will be phasing teachers in gradually over the next few months. We will keep you notified through this newsletter or on the Reopening Update page on our website.
For new/non-active Opus students:
If you are new and wish to start in-person lessons with us, we highly advise you join our waiting list as our in-person availability will be limited for the next few months. As openings become available, our office staff will be going down the list to reach out and schedule your in-person lessons! We have already begun accommodating students on our wait list and students will be contacted in order on the waiting list.
Don't want to wait? No problem! If you're a new student you can get started with virtual Zoom lessons now, that way you'll have a secured time slot when your teacher returns for in person lessons! You can check our virtual lesson availability and book a trial here, or contact our office for more information.
We would like to thank everyone in advance for your patience as we phase in our teacher's schedules while maintaining safety procedures! Together we can make our reopening a major success for everyone. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Last Free Virtual Drum Class
Class: Opus Rock Stars (body drumming and homemade drum kit class)
Date: Saturday, 5/1/21
Time: 9:00 AM
Song for 5/1 Class: I Want It All by Queen
Our free virtual drum class "Opus Rock Stars" has been a success! We've been having so much fun getting to jam with Mr. Francis on our homemade drum sets. If you'd like to join, we have one more class session this upcoming Saturday!
This class is open for all ages and is completely free; all you need to do is RSVP here on our website and we'll send you all the information you'll need to join! We hope to see you all there!
NAMM Support Music Merit Award
One of our biggest motivations here at Opus Music School is our desire to bring music to our community here in Hacienda Heights and to help all of our students grow through the power of music. That's why we are so pleased to announce that Opus Music School was one of 80 schools across the country to be selected by The NAMM Foundation to receive the 2021 Support Music Merit Award (SMMA)!
NAMM is the National Association of Music Merchants and is the organization that hosts the world's largest music trade show annually in Anaheim called the NAMM Show. This award is given to schools across the country to acknowledge their dedication to music education as part of their Best Communities for Music Education Program.
As the only music school in the area to receive this award, we're so honored to be receiving this distinction. Our school has gone from one piano teacher with one student to now a nationally recognized music school now offering lessons in a wide variety of instruments with hundreds of students - all thanks to the support we've received from you all!
View a full list of the 2021 Support Music Merit Awards Schools.
We can't thank you all enough for all of the support we've been given along the way and we can't wait to continue spread the joy of music to our community and keep giving back to our community!
Congratulations to Tristan!
After three exciting weeks of competition and voting for our Opus March Madness Music Contest, we've finally determined our first place winner: Tristan K.! Tristan's rockin' recording of him playing "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down on the drums earned him the most votes and exclusive bragging rights as our first ever Opus March Madness Music Contest Champion!
Tristan is Mr. Francis' drum student has been with us as a dedicated student since 2014, and started with piano lessons with Ms. Theresa. He is also the drummer for our Platinum Pop Stars Band. His dedication to music has truly paid off now that he's won the coveted first place title, as well as an Opus prize box that included a $100 Amazon gift card!
We'd like to congratulate our other two amazingly talented finalists: Jonathan P. who received 2nd place and a $50 gift card for his performance of "Fur Elise" by Beethoven and Selena S. who came in 3rd place and won a $25 gift card for her performance of "The Middle" by Zedd and Maren Morris! It was a close call when it came to the final round voting, but no matter the outcome we think you're all winners- and definitely superstars on your instruments!
Thank you to all 44 of our amazing talented students who participated, each and every one of you did a fantastic job and you should be so proud of yourselves! If you haven't picked up your prize bag from our office yet, please contact us to arrange for pick up or get it shipped to you. And an extra shout out to all who voted in the contest, you all helped make this a very exciting competition!
We can't wait to see to amazing performances our students will put out for Opus March Madness Music Contest 2022!
Introducing Opus the Octopus
At the start of this year we teased at some upcoming projects we were working on here at Opus Music School to make learning music even more fun. One of those projects is our all new fictitious Rocktopus band made up of sea animal musicians that are based on student personalities like you at the school! The Rocktopus band members will soon be on our new Brag Badge program, where students will be able to collect cool items to celebrate achieving various milestones at our school!
As a preview, we'd like to share the first character that will be featured on the Brag Badges: the singer and frontman of the Rocktopus band, Opus the Octopus!
Opus is the talented, fedora-clad founder and leader of Rocktopus! Not only is he a natural leader but he started the band to help inspire young musicians everywhere to pursue their passion for music. Opus the Octopus is so cool that he's the official mascot for our school! Opus has big dreams too- his biggest goal is to perform with the band at a world-famous concert hall one day.
The band name "Rocktopus" was voted on by you on our Instagram page! Follow us to participate in upcoming fun polls or to have an input on research we conduct on our Instagram stories! We look forward to sharing more about the sea animal musicians and Brag Badge program in our upcoming newsletters and social media posts.
April 2021 Student of the Month!
Student Name: Aurelia X.
Age: 7
Instrument: Piano
Teacher's Name: Ms. Cindy
1. What do you like the most about taking music lessons at Opus Music School?
I like to learn new piano songs.
2. What do you like the most about your teacher?
I like my teacher because she is kind and patient.
3. What is your favorite piece to play and why?
I like to play "Lunar Eclipse" because it is a very satisfying song.
4. What challenges have you faced when learning music and how did you overcome it?
The metronome challenges me and I conquered it by focusing very hard.
5. What is your goal with music?
My goal with music is try to learn how to play a harp.
6. What makes you unique? What are some of your other interests?
Drawing makes me unique. I'm also interested in collecting shells and rocks.
Congratulations Aurelia! Great job staying focused and working hard to achieve your goals!
Did You Know?
At Opus Music School, you can send educational related notes directly to your teacher by using the "Comments" feature from your Opus web portal account! This can be questions about your homework, practice assignment, books, etc., or a reply back to a message from your teacher. Try it out!
If you have questions related to scheduling or your financial account, please contact our front desk team.
Phase One of In Person Reopening
Begins Monday, May 3, 2021
Memorial Day - School CLOSED
Monday, May 31, 2021
Summer Break - School CLOSED
Saturday July 3, 2021 to Sunday, July 4, 2021
School Reopening Bash & Live Performance Opportunity
Date in 2021 TBD
Check our Instagram page @opusmusicschool for more updates!
View full calendar:
www.opusmusicschool.com/calendar
Questions? Contact us today:
Opus Music School
Call/Text (626) 961-2625
www.OpusMusicSchool.com
info@opusmusicschool.com
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