10/05/2026
An update from String Celebrations, our Newsletter!
Greetings, Oldham County Schools Strings!
It is my pleasure to welcome you to another fantastic year of String playing at the Oldham County Schools Art Center! We are excited that all our school and community string programming has commenced and we are already hearing beautiful music. New this year, we began our “Tuesday Night” strings at the Art Center for those who are in LaPs, Sinfonia String Orchestra, and Suzuki Strings. We are reaping the benefits of having our strings programs all on one night and our students are enjoying the multiple ensembles they can be in without having to make another trip to the Art Center.
Another new addition this year is the South Oldham CAPAA - STRING program. This program meets every day during school time as one of the students’ elective credits. It has been well received by our students and we hope to make this class available to the other Oldham County Middle Schools as early as next year.
I hope you are enjoying the fall weather and foliage and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming concerts.
Wishing you a colorful Autumn,
Sam Meade,
Oldham County Schools Arts Center String Program Director
Beginning Strings and TAPS
Our Beginning Strings Programs are currently running at Buckner, Camden Station, Crestwood, and La Grange Elementary. The students in this program have never played string instruments before and are so excited to learn, starting with the basics of learning how to hold their instruments and their bows! This past week, students started placing their fingers on the fingerboard to change notes. “The first day of class is always so exciting, students are so happy to finally get to play an instrument!,” says string teacher Katherine Mercier who teaches two of the Beginning String Programs.
Talent and Performance in Strings, a private lesson program run by Brittany MacWilliams, is running at Harmony Elementary and Goshen Elementary. We are hoping to expand our beginning strings into Centerfield, Kenwood, and Locust Grove in November, so spread the word!
Tuesday Nights- LAPS, Suzuki, and Sinfonia Strings
Tuesday nights at the Arts Center are alive with the sound of strings. Three of our programs run on Tuesday nights: Sinfonia Strings Orchestra (formerly Junior Orchestra), Leadership and Performance for Strings (LaPS), and Suzuki Strings.
This year, we invited intermediate and advanced Suzuki Students to participate in the Sinfonia String Orchestra and enrollment has tripled! The orchestra is enormous! Sinfonia strings is an opportunity for students from all over the district and beyond, who go to different schools, and who all play stringed instruments to come together and make music as a group.
Suzuki group classes are also off to a great start. From our pre-twinkle beginners to our concerto playing advanced students, each child is making beautiful music. The group classes provide students with instruction time with peers that are at the same level so that they can encourage each other to reach new musical heights.
LaPS students are playing in masterclasses, chamber groups, and full ensembles that all encourage students to reach their highest potential. Our high caliber instructors are so thrilled to be working with such dedicated string students.
Campus Strings
OC Strings has a campus program after school at every middle school in the district. We are super excited to announce that for the first time in the district's history, we finally have an in school orchestra class at South Oldham Middle School directed by Sam Meade. The program has been a goal of OC Strings for a long time and it is amazing to see it come to life.
Sam Meade, the Oldham County Strings Director, is thrilled about the start of the program. When asked about his favorite part of the program he said that it was “seeing the satisfaction in the faces of the SOMS CAPAA Strings students when they finished their first orchestral piece of music.”
CAPAA
The Creative and Performing Arts Academy, CAPAA, is a unique program in that “it is a program during the school day that draws from all three high schools,” says director Elise Gambrell. CAPAA had a super exciting start to the year. Students helped promote and performed at the Art Center Gala on Saturday September 12th. The students only had a few weeks of rehearsal before they performed at the Gala and were featured in a WDRB Morning News segment. The Gala was an incredible success where students performed as a full orchestra and in smaller chamber groups.
