Monthly Newsletters - December 2020

A Heartfelt "Thank You" to our Students, Familes, Faculty & Staff!

Dear Parents, students, faculty and staff:

As another year closes (our 42nd this year!), I always like to reflect a bit on our mission, and 2020 certainly brings many thoughts and emotions front and center. For all of us, it has been a time of reflection, making tough decisions, and trying to focus in on top goals, priorities, and what we really value day to day. So this year more than ever before, I don’t think it’s possible to say thank you enough to all of our parents, faculty, students, and staff who have allowed LAAPA to continue our mission here in the Greater New Orleans community. Being able to share what I consider one of the greatest gifts the world has to offer and see how it transforms the lives of our students and families is an awesome privilege. I believe our faculty and staff would concur on this point. So although it may come across as a bit sappy, I think it’s important that I go into a little more detail about what I’m thankful for here at LAAPA this year.

 

I’m thankful for our amazing faculty members who have really gone the extra mile to make the learning experience for students seamless, entertaining and progressive whether in-person or online. They are all some of the most genuine and qualified educators in the New Orleans, Mandeville, and Covington areas that you’ll ever meet and work with. We receive hundreds of applications each year from prospective educators (many times unsolicited), and while many are excellent performers or may be qualified, not everyone has the unique ability to communicate their experience and methods in a variety of intelligible and personable ways as our faculty do.

 

I’m thankful for our wonderful administrative team who have stood by us over this past year and have overcome numerous challenges on a daily basis – all with a “can do” attitude, smiling face and professional demeanor. While we receive hundreds of applications a year from prospective faculty, we receive hundreds of applications each time we seek out a new staff member. They are all truly the best of the best at what they do in my book!

 

I’m thankful to our students for their hard work and focus. Hearing and seeing them improve each week while having fun at the same time is an awesome experience. I’m also so thankful for our students’ willingness to share their talents with us virtually and in-person at our upcoming performances this Fall. This is a time of life where your performances will command even more appreciation from your audience; you will touch many lives this Holiday season (no pressure).

 

I’m thankful to our parents for their patience, support, and trust – especially now during recital time when we must again accept the challenge of structuring our in-person performances under the new modified Phase 2 regulations to comply with safety for all. Updated details will be provided as soon as we receive them from our contracted venues! We truly would not be here without your commitment to your children’s education. Whether they continue education in the arts at the professional level down the road or are just happy building their love for music and dance, we know that they will look back on their experiences with grateful hearts. Additionally, your children are building skills that will translate well and positively impact any future profession.

 

As we celebrate the accomplishments of our students in 2020, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our upcoming shows – both virtual and in-person! Our Virtual Recitals are being hosted by our staff once or twice a week on our main Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/laapaface. Please be sure to like our page, drop by and leave some virtual claps and comments – our students and faculty love the support!

 

Our concerts for the Covington and Mandeville Schools of Music will be held Saturday and Sunday, December 19-20 at the Fuhrmann Auditorium in Covington. Music Concerts for the River Ridge School of Music & Dance will be held on Saturday, December 12 at Victory Fellowship in Metairie. The Nutcracker Prince will be held Sunday, December 20 at Fuhrmann Auditorium in Covington. A Live Stream for all productions will be available at https://www.laapa.com/live as usual for all those who are unable to attend in-person.

 

Student Concert time assignments will be published very soon at: https://www.laapa.com/current-students. In years past, each December at our music concerts, we have supported the Teresian Sisters and their Mission in Batesville, Texas. Due to COVID-19, they are unable to accept our donations this year and we will instead be supporting a local charity with your donations.

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & see you at the concerts!

Ryan Cullen, Executive Director

Give the Gift of Music & Dance This Holiday Season!

This Holiday, give the gift that will last a lifetime. Music & Dance Lessons for kids, teens, and adults! Whether you're a brand new beginner or already experienced, our faculty and staff provide a welcoming and fun learning environment customized for your goals and interests.

Gift certificates are available for purchase here: gifts.laapa.com

At LAAPA, we offer the most comprehensive Music & Dance Program in the Greater New Orleans area with three campuses located in Covington, Harahan, and Mandeville. For over 40 years, we’ve provided lessons to tens of thousands of students in Piano, Guitar, Voice, Violin, Drums, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Brass, Woodwind, Bands, Preschool Music, and more!

Covington: 985-590-4545
Mandeville: 985-674-2992
River Ridge: 504-738-3050

Enroll Today!

Student News

Join us in welcoming our newest faculty members, Evan Gavry (left), Anne Elise Hastings (center) and Frank Convit (right)!

Evan studied at Northeastern University in Boston, MA and moved to New Orleans in 2017. He has three decades of musical experience and is skilled in a wide variety of instruments, including guitar, piano, saxophone, percussion, mandolin, harmonica and accordion!

 

Anne Elise comes to us from Loyola University with nearly twenty years of musical training in guitar, piano and voice. Her patience and dedication allow her to cater to each individual student’s needs regardless of level of musicianship or style preference. In her free time, she volunteers with Songs for Kids Foundation at the New Orleans Children’s Hospital.

 

Frank Convit, voice and piano instructor, has a Master of Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Music from Loyola University. He taught as a choir director at St. George’s Episcopal School and St. Francis Xavier School and has spent several seasons working with the New Orleans Opera.

 

We are so thrilled to have you all as members of our LAAPA family!

Our first ever Virtual Recitals have been a huge hit! Thanks to everyone who participated. Thanks to our students for their hard work, our teachers for their dedication, and to our families for helping record and upload the videos! We appreciate you all and couldn’t have done this without you.

Mandeville School of Music & Dance student Jackson King recently saved up enough tickets from his piano lessons to purchase himself a LAAPA T-shirt! Keep up the great work, Jackson!

Send Us Your News!

We love getting your news, success stories and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and now on Twitter at @laapatweets.

Recording Studio

Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or Book Your Session today!

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Happy December Birthdays!

We'd like to wish the following Students a very Happy Birthday this Month!

Alison M. (9), Allison N. (9), Amelia R. (10), Anna C. (15), Apsara P. (9), Arivan S. (9), Audrey S. (5), Ava U. (5), Avery A. (13), Borne B. (6), Braden C. (10), Brighton R. (7), Burke D. (9), Carrietta Y. (13), Charlotte T. (9), Chloe B. (15), Cioni M. (18), Cristian C. (10), Daniel C. (8), Danny C. (49), David S. (13), Dax S. (6), Don C. (5), Drin P. (7), Elise B. (3), Elisha G. (6), Ella B. (10), Emma L. (13), Eviana R. (10), Fatima F. (27), Finley T. (11), Gabriel P. (15), Gabriel B. (6), Genevieve C. (11), George B. (75), Habeer S. (6), Hanafy S. (7), Hannah C. (12), Hannah W. (11), Hayden P. (8), Henslee S. (7), Hudson B. (9), Imani B. (6), Jace R. (11), Jaden B. (14), Jayla S. (8), Jennifer W. (44), John R. (58), Jordana C. (13), Julianna F. (7), Kaden M. (2), Kennedy B. (8), Khalil E. (16), Kinsley G. (4), Leigha S. (9), Logan K. (13), Logan T. (14), Lucas B. (9), Madison A. (10), Max L. (13), Megan T. (34), Mia P. (14), Michael T. (15), Michael C. (15), Nick V. (11), Patrick H. (18), Peyton L. (11), RileighC. (12), Sanjana S. (18), Sean M. (13), Shaan K. (6), Sophia L. (5), Sophia B. (12), SophieB. (5), Sujoy B. (5), Sylvia J. (7), Tanishka P. (10), Torence S. (17), Trace P. (17), Vivienne D. (10), Vivienne A. (8), Wrennie L. (4), Yousef F. (11)

Video of the Month - Virtual Recitals!

Our first ever virtual recitals have begun to air and they're a huge hit! Thanks to everyone for tuning in, sharing the videos and cheering our students on. We all appreciate your support! To tune into the upcoming recitals, visit https://www.facebook.com/laapaface. In the meantime, you can view two of our previous recitals here:

 

Important Dates

Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:

New Artwork by Michaela Howell

We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!

Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $425

Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!

With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!

View More!

Students Spotlight - Marina Vincent

This month’s student spotlight is River Ridge School of Music & Dance student Marina Vincent. Marina currently studies guitar with Mr. Bill and voice with Ms. Bethany.

Marina’s favorite part about taking lessons at LAAPA is being able to play and sing the songs she loves. She particularly loves to play and sing Country music and hopes to be a musician when she grows up.

Her favorite artist is Michael Doussan and her favorite band is St. Paul and the Broken Bones, all of which are New Orleans artists! Outside of music, she enjoys fishing, spending time with her family and riding her bike and scooter.

When asked why they chose LAAPA, Marina’s mom told us that after attending two summer camps here at LAAPA, she kept talking about how much she wanted to enroll! They both love how the teachers incorporate the ideas Marina has into the lessons and that they listen to her.

A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in November!

We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!