Monthly Newsletters - June 2023
Articles for this month include "Join the Fun this Summer - Music Rocket Program, Upcoming Events & More" , Student Spotlight - Elena and Isabel Vila , Student News, and more!...
Join the Fun this Summer - Music Rocket Program, Upcoming Events & More
Dear Students and Parents,
Another Summer is now in full swing, and just like this past May, there is a ton going on this month, so I’ll try to give you the quick run down!
First off, congratulations to our Musical Theatre and Drama faculty and students who put on some amazing showcases and productions this past month! From monologues, to musical scenes from “The Lion King”, “Shrek”, “The Little Mermaid, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Matilda”, “Les Miserables”, “Encanto”, and more to a full scale production of William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”, you have all outdone yourselves. Special thanks to all of our staff and parent volunteers who have spent countless hours creating flyers, programs, set/lighting design, moving really heavy props, and assisting with snacks for students in between rehearsals and shows. You are all an asset to our program!
A special acknowledgement also goes out to senior drama student, Alex Fowler, who took his final bow on stage with us and will be headed off to college this Fall. Alex has been featured in numerous lead roles at LAAPA as well as on LAAPA TV. Also, for some unknown reason, his classmates have a longstanding tradition of pouring water on him after each show. For both entertainment and sentiment, we have placed a video of his final soak on our social media pages! We’ll miss you Alex! Another big congratulations goes to long time piano student, Bryce DePino, who we’ve watched grow into a fantastic pianist over his time with us. Indeed, we wish all of our graduating seniors the very best and will cherish your final performances with us during our Summer concerts this month. It has been a joy to watch all of you grow in your talent and love for the performing arts.
Next, a huge congratulations to all of our LAAPAFEST Virtual Recital performers who have been featured at laapa.com/liveas well as on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/laapatube. We had well over 100 performers at LAAPAFEST this year and we documented and recorded each student performer and were extremely impressed with how well they were all prepared. What we really enjoyed about our student performances this year was the diversity in styles – rock, jazz, classical, country, modern, Christian, and more. We hope you get a chance to check them out! On Sunday, June 4, we will be featuring 30 of our music students and 10 of our dance students chosen by the festival judges to perform in a special Honors Recital at Fuhrmann Auditorium – 1 PM (Music) and 3:15 (Dance).
If you have a chance, be sure to check out long time students, Tyler Steffen and Lily Vita live in concert with special guest student, Layne Collier, on Friday, July 2 at 8 PM at the Mandeville School of Music & Dance Elwood J Dufour Hall. They will be performing an evening of classic rock and some original music as well backed by an all star faculty band featuring Christy King on piano/vocals, Nicoli Hutchison on guitar, Ryan Tingle on bass, and Christian Thorne on drums.
Rehearsals for our summer musical “Cinderella” are now underway, and we look forward to an awesome production this August! Stay tuned to our social media channel for progress updates!
Our June Music & Dance recitals are completely booked! We’ll be holding 16 performances over 4 days this month! We’re extremely excited to see all of our students perform! If this is your first time performing in a recital with us – please check out our full guide on “What to Expect at the Summer Concert” posted at https://www.laapa.com/blog/what-to-expect-at-the-summer-concert.
Finally, we’d like to thank our entire community for your amazing support! As I write this, we’re closing out the month with a new record enrollment of 1,900 students as well as completely sold out July Summer camps with over 240 campers joining us soon! This is important to us not really for the numbers, but because being able to spread a love of the performing arts to so many families in the Greater New Orleans area is such a true privilege to us. Your referrals are truly the highest compliment we can receive, so again thank you all so much!
See you at your next lesson!
Ryan Cullen, Executive Director
Discover Your Talent This Summer - Learn to PLAY-DANCE-SING!
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
Student News
Congratulations to Mandeville School of Music & Dance student Gabriel Blanchard! He played piano in the talent show at St. Peter’s School this past month and won third place! He performed “Believer” by Imagine Dragons.
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!
Happy June Birthdays!
We'd like to wish the following Students a very Happy Birthday this Month!
Addison G. (10) , Adrian M. (6) , Aiden B. (9) , Alex F. (18) , Alexander H. (7) , Sasha F. (20) , Alexis D. (11) , Alijah B. (6) , Allison C. , Andressa F. (7) , Anjalie C. (16) , Atasha T. (10) , Bentley J. (6) , Carol M. , Cecilia L. (9) , Charleston W. (9) , Charlie E. (12) , Charlotte C. (8) , Chase P. (10) , Chikara P. (11) , Christian L. (9) , Claire E. (7) , Claire L. (16) , Claire R. (13) , Clare B. (5) , Cole R. (8) , Colston K. (9) , Coraline J. (7) , David B. (12) , Devin B. , Djuana S. , Dylan S. (17) , Elena E. (6) , Eli N. (7) , Eliza M. (13) , Elizabeth H. (11) , Elizabeth L. (10) , Ellie A. (18) , Alliot P. (22) , Elowyn V. (6) , Emanuel L. (18) , Emerson L. (10) , Emily W. (13) , Ethan S. (18) , Evelyn C. (12) , Everlee C. (9) , Felicity T. (8) , Gabriella C. (18) , Gloria D. (12) , Hailey L. (7) , Hannah B. (12) , Iliana C. (15) , Iris S. (6) , Isabel M. (7) , Isabella S. (8) , Isabelle W. (6), Jace W. (7) , Jack E. (13) , Jackson B. (10) , Jackson D. (9) , Jackson O. (9) , Jacob E. (15) , Jakob A. (14) , James J. (14) , Jasmine R. (16) , Jeneen S. , Jessica W. , Jionni W. (10) , John S. , Joseph E. , Jove B. (10) , Julia F. (7) , Julianne S. (17) , Kaiyah M. (8) , Kamiya C. (15) , Kevin C. , Kevin S. , Krista P. , Leah E. (15) , Lena K. (8) , Lenny H. (25) , Lexi D. (9) , Leyann N. (8) , Lila M. (10) , Lillian R. (11) , Lilly V. (18) , Lily B. (4) , Lina B. (10) , Logan B. (2) , Logan R. (10) , London G. (8) , Londyn M. (10) , Lucas K. (12) , Mackenzie D. (10) , Macyn C. (12) , Madeline D. (7) , Mae K. (12) , Manuela C. (8) , Marcelle O. (4) , Margaret B. (18) , Mara H. (7) , Margarita K. (17) , Maria O. (9) , Mary D. (17) , Megean S. , Meru D. (11) , Mia B. (12) , Miles B. (10) , Nathan R. (12) , Nolan v. (15) , Oliver P. (10) , Olivia B. (8) , Olivia V. (11) , Owen M. (3) , Petra R. (7) , Reese W. (6) , Remi A. (2) , Rhea Y. (5) , Rihawna S. (12) , Ronan G. (14) , Roy R. , Sami H. (6) , Sarah S. (14) , Sebastian B. (4) , Sebastian G. (5) , Sidon C. (16) , Skylar A. (4) , Skyler S. (12) , Sophia E. (12) , Steed P. (9) , Theresa L. , Thomas H. (11) , Tommy H. (11) , Valentina C. (7) , Vaughn W. (9) , Vera P. (11) , Zach V. , Zackory K. (11) , Zoe L. (14)
Video of the Month - "The Music of Elton John - Patrick Cullen"
Piano/Vocal student Patrick recently presented a concert at the Mandeville School of Music & Dance featuring the music of Elton John!
Performing with him are faculty members:
Brian King, bass
Christian Thorne, drums
Nicoli Hutchison, guitar
Special guest, Lucy, vocals
Special thanks also to Patrick's teachers, Dr. Vera Zholondz, Carter Elkins, and Rebecca Posey.
Important Dates
Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:
June 4:
Honor's Concert - Fuhrmann Auditorium
June 10 - 11:
River Ridge Music & Dance Recitals - Solomon Theatre
June 10 - 11:
Mandeville/Covington Music & Dance Recitals - Fuhrmann Auditorium
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 $850
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!
Student Spotlight - Elena and Isabel Vila
This month’s Student Spotlight showcases Covington School of Music students Elena and Isabel Vila. They both take piano lessons!
Outside of LAAPA, they both like to do gymnastics, and Isabel likes to read or play at the playground. Elena’s favorite song is Old McDonald, and her favorite singer is Idina Menzel because she plays Elsa in “Frozen”! Isabel likes to listen to movie soundtracks, especially Encanto. Her favorite singer is Diane Guerrero who plays Isabela in “Encanto”.
Thanks to lessons, they’ve learned how to play their favorite songs! They love getting tickets to trade in for prizes.
Thanks for being a part of the LAAPA family, Elena and Isabel! We love having you as students here!
A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in May!
We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!
Adalynn B.
Adrian M.
Alexa P.
Alexander R.
Apollo D.
Ayasha C.
Bala Vrinda R.
Bridgett B.
Caleb B.
Carmyn W.
Charlie P.
Christofer R.
Daci B.
Daniel A.
David L.
Dominic C.
Eleanor K.
Eliana C.
Elie B.
Ellie W.
Emanuel L.
Emma O.
Ethan V.
Evangeline W.
Evelyn R.
Everett B.
Gilen B.
Grant W.
Harper J.
Isabella C.
Isaiah D.
Island T.
James C.
James E.
Jasper V.
Joseph M.
Joshua H.
Joshua W.
Kassidy L.
Katherine C.
Kayleigh M.
Kennedy S.
Keydy C.
Kinley B.
Layla M.
Layla S.
Lena H.
Lex O.
Liam Z.
Lucas P.
Lucy B.
Luke O.
Madelyn W.
Marley M.
Monoka M.
Nicholas L.
Nixon L.
Nolan V.
Olivia B.
Parker L.
Passion P.
Reign J.
Reuben W.
Riya B.
Ronan G.
Ryohei H.
Sabella Q.
Savannah M.
Sebastian B.
Sebastian D.
Simone W.
Sophie Z.
Veronika C.
Victoria L.
Vihaan K.
Vincent A.
Violet F.
Yhsabel M.
Zachary L.
Zionna V.
Zoe A.
Student "Shout Outs!"
“Thank you to Ms. Reshanda for always hosting such an amazing toddler class for my son Matthew. She is so patient and caring to the little ones and is willing to go with the flow so every class is enjoyable. I can’t thank her enough for allowing my son the ability to explore instruments. He looks forward to class each week.”
~ Madelynn F.
“Joining LAAPA has be a great decision! Everyone we have spoken with has been kind and informative. My son is learning to play the guitar. He looks forward to his weekly session with Stephen!! It is amazing how Stephen is able to connect with my son and help him to learn and encourage him to do his best!”
~ Lacey K.
“Very good music school, nice staff, very professional teachers! I‘ve been with them since 2017 when my daughter was toddler.”
~ Rola J.
“We have three children taking different lessons at LAAPA Mandeville and they each love it. Our older son Jaxsen has been taking Piano lessons with Brian King for several months now and he has learned so much so quickly! He looks forward to his lessons all week. He really gets along well with Brian. These lessons have given him a great outlet to channel his energy into, so for us it is much more beyond just piano. It has had an overall positive effect on his behavior and mindset. My only regret is that we haven’t looked into music lessons sooner.”
~ Candi L.