Stewart Music Studio

We have developed a comprehensive program for children ages 2–6, taught in a small-group format, designed to prepare them for private piano or string lessons. This method focuses on building foundational skills such as fine motor development, early music language (note reading, ear training, sing-back, etc.), focus and attention, emotional regulation when “getting things wrong,” and processing skills through imaginative, familiar tools. The goal is for students to gain the independence and confidence needed to practice on their own once they begin private lessons.

This program is designed to fill a gap that, historically, parents were able to provide when households typically had a stay-at-home parent. We now live in a different time—one where dual incomes are often necessary and parents should have the freedom to choose whether to continue their careers. It truly takes a village to raise a child, and education and enrichment activities need to reflect that reality.

Over the years, we have found that private music lessons cannot be treated the same way as sports or many other extracurriculars. Music is a literal language, and there is a baseline level of fluency required. In simple terms: you can’t become fluent in French if you only attend class once a week and never practice. We also are seeing a significant delay (by years) in basic fine motor, reading, language, and processing skills due to the reliance on technology. This program is intentionally structured to build those essential skills within a once-a-week class format.

For the past seven years, students who have gone through this program consistently continue with lessons and reach mastery on their instruments without requiring constant parental micromanagement. Parent feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many noting that these skills transfer into other academic areas. The most common “complaint” we hear is that the kids become overly confident—something
we would much rather work with than a child who is afraid to try.

We are looking to expand this program and potentially a prerequisite for private lessons at the studio, as it significantly increases both student and family success.

Group Classes are FULL for the 1st Session!

After moving around kids we do have FEW openings for private lessons for the 2025-2026 Academic Year! Registration for the school year closes on July 28th!

Signup below!

www.stewartartsacademy.com

A Google spreadsheet will be emailed to you tomorrow! Please check it and sign-up for a makeup time.

Our group courses are finally live for enrollment! This year, we have some awesome options ranging from piano, guitar, ukulele, and formal professional training for actors, beginning with the Adler Technique I! Classes are for ages 3+, depending on the course. These courses are specifically designed and tailored to be a solid foundation for mastery with the developmental age in mind. (Meaning: Your child will actually learn something.)

We believe in clear pricing meaning the course price includes everything. You will never see garbage fees of “enrollment,” “new student,” “hand clapping,” “cat sitting,” etc. Taxes have also been included in the course fee. The only supplies needed are a binder (all courses), a ukulele (ukulele courses-one recommended in the course description when enrolling), and a guitar (guitar courses-one recommended in the course description when enrolling).

Classes run from September through December each week except the week of Thanksgiving which has been factored into the tuition.

We hope to see you and your children in one of our courses! And for a limited time, we’re offering 10% off all courses with the code FALL2024.

We’re excited! We hope you’re excited, too!

DIRECT LINK: StewartMusicStudio.Square.Site

TEXT: 678.268.7715

WEBSITE: www.StewartMusicStudio.com

EMAIL: [email protected]

LOCATION: 1470 Ben Sawyer Blvd, Suite 29, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 (Across from Santi’s in Old Village in the Mount Pleasant Business Center)

All classes are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students enrolled in group classes receive priority over the general waitlist when transitioning from group classes to private lessons.

This Music History Day, we are celebrating the fierce, magnetic, and talented Gloria Estefan!
Gloria's story spans over decades of various life experiences in the music industry and in other art forms. Her creative and loving influence remains in the music industry and in the world. The jukebox musical On Your Feet! tells the life story of Gloria and her husband, Emilio, and the growth of their musical careers and their family. She continues to make music with her husband (Emilio), her children and grandchildren, act in TV shows and movies, and grows her restaurant business in Florida. Swipe through the slides to learn more about her remarkable story!

Happy March! ☘️
Here's our mural for the month! We would like to give a special Stewart Music Studio shoutout to Mr. Gerome and Rocco the Cat who both have birthdays this month.
Happy birthday, Mr. Gerome and Rocco, and happy St. Patrick's Day!

This week's Music History icon is William Dawson!
William Dawson was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1899. He has a very interesting life story and involvement with Southern music and African American music... swipe left to learn more about his story! As mentioned in the slides, his work Negro Folk Symphony is being rediscovered by orchestras across America, including the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO). You can hear the CSO play Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, pieces by Margaret Bonds, Charleston native Dr. Edward Hart, and Dvorak's Eighth Symphony on March 24-25 at The Gaillard Center. All pieces will be conducted by Kellen Gray, the Assistant Conductor of the CSO; some pieces will feature artwork of another Lowcountry native Jonathan Green. You won't want to miss this exciting musical opportunity!

Welcome back to our Music History series! Today, we are focusing on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born on August 15, 1875 in Holborn, London, England. His father was a musician and taught Samuel to play the violin at an early age. He began his studies at the Royal College of Music when he was 15 years old, crafting his composition and conducting techniques. The experience and skill that Coleridge-Taylor performed at helped him build his reputation as a composer and connected him to Edward Elgar as a mentor later on in his life. Elgar recommended him for the Three Choirs Festival and Coleridge-Taylor’s career expanded from there! He went on to complete three tours in the United States in the early 1900s. He also worked as a political activist by fighting racial prejudices and discrimination through the beauty of his compositions, and was even invited to perform at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. Despite the common tendency of composers to sell the rights of their compositions, Coleridge-Taylor was able to continue the ownership of his rights and royalties for his music. He passed away at the age of 37; his headstone includes four bars of music from his best known work, Hiawatha.

Have you ever heard of “ring shout?” Or “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool? Snoop Dogg’s child empowerment and affirmation songs? What about the show Gullah Gullah Island? Better yet, what do all of these things have in common? They all draw inspiration and themes from the music of Gullah Geechee!
But the question above all that you may be asking yourself: who are the Gullah Geechee? 🧐 The Gullah Geechee and a community of Black people who are descendants of enslaved people along the Atlantic coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the northern part of Florida. In today’s music, the styles and traditions of the Gullah Geechee are common, strong, and endlessly influential. One of the most prominent and notable Gullah Geechee styled musical groups is two time Grammy winning Ranky Tanky, based in Charleston, SC. In fact, if you want to see Quentin Baxter - Ranky Tanky’s drummer 🥁 - in action, you can see him performing his work Art Moves Jazz at the Charleston Gaillard Center on Thursday, February 9 at 7:30 PM. Check out the slides above for more information about this unique group of people and how their history continues to impact the arts and culture in America and around the world!
More resources about the Gullah Geechee are available through the Avery Research Center, KnowItAll.org, and other reputable sources.

This Music History post honors the legacy and influence of Florence Price 🎹
Florence Price was born on April 9, 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a child, she showed musical talent on the piano and was taught by her mother who was a music teacher. She gave her first piano performance at the age of four and published her first composition at the age of eleven! Graduating as her high school’s valedictorian at the age of 14, Price was too young to go away to college but she was able to enroll at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Here, she faced the obstacles of being a female musician and being a Black woman attending a predominantly white college. Price was able to push through these hardships, earned degrees, and began working at Clark Atlanta University as the head of the music department. Price and her family decided to move to Chicago when segregation and violence towards Black people in the South began to worsen and became part of the Chicago Black Renaissance. She was the first Black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra! This landmark was made on June 15, 1933 with help from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played her Symphony No. 1 in E minor under Music Director Frederick Stock. Today, orchestras across the United States and the world perform her pieces.

CHARLESTON FAMILIES: If you have nothing to do this evening and want to see a phenomenal performance of Elijah, we highly recommend heading out to Hilton Head to see this amazing performance with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Chorale, and the Georgia Southern Chorale. (For those looking at colleges, Georgia Southern has a phenomenal music school.) Can you spot Mr. Gerome in this picture? 😊

A GLORIOUS evening with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra performing a (nearly) complete, semi-staged performance of Mendelssohn’s ELIJAH. Our INCREDIBLE Georgia Southern Chorale and HHSO Chorus, Michael Preacely, baritone, and son Benjamin; Bernard Holcomb, tenor; Victoria Okafor, Soprano; Krysty Swann Mezzo Soprano; Michael Roemer, Tim Reynolds ALL gave STELLAR performances…one more performance—Mon@7:30, with a LIVELY preconcert chat with Rabbi Brad Bloom, and Reverends Jon Black and Greg Kronz @6:30. First Presbyterian Church Hilton Head https://www.hhso.org/event/mendelssohns-elijah

Stevland Hardaway Morris was born on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. He became Blind shortly after his birth, but did not let it negatively impact his musical abilities as he aged. He was known as a child prodigy and began his musical journey while singing in the choir of the church his family attended. Stevie also learned piano, harmonica, and drums in his youth. Stevie was signed to Motown Records by Berry Gordy Jr. at the age of twelve and debuted his first single “Fingertips (Part 2)” which was recorded in front of a live audience. Gordy Jr. gave him the stage name “Little Stevie Wonder,” which was then changed to Stevie Wonder as he got older. Wonder’s songwriting career took off after writing for himself, and for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. He also wrote songs for Chaka Khan, The Beach Boys, Whitney Houston, and Paul McCartney. His albums Talking Book, Innervision, and Songs in the Key of Love are all notable releases. His tours have taken him to many continents, and he even performed at the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. Wonder has won several Grammy Awards and has received seven honorary doctorate for his contributions to music. He continues to make appearances, perform, and release songs with other artists today!