The music of stringed instruments fills the air and greets each guest upon entrance at the Harmony School of Arts. As you approach the former church building, you might think there are angels inside practicing on their harps.
“Harmony School of Arts was a vision inspired by God in the mid-80’s, but it was the 90’s that the dream became a reality,” said Barbara Bend, founder/executive director of Harmony School of Arts.
Bend began implementing her dream by teaching piano at her home and later incorporated violin and voice with the help of an instructor who would travel from Austin to Marble Falls to hold classes at Bend’s home. With the help of the Seriff Foundation, grants provided by community service organizations, local businesses, and state-funded programs, Harmony School of Arts became a non-profit organization, purchased a building and began incorporating a larger staff, new programs and a board of directors.
“Ten percent of our current enrollment numbers are adults,” said Bend. “We used to say that our enrollment age was 3 to 93 because we actually had a woman who began learning piano at the age of 93 and remained a student until she was 96. Music is a lifelong enjoyment and enriching for young and old alike.”
Currently, there are two schools that are offered. The School of Music is directed by Keenan Fletcher and offers a choral program, string orchestra, musical theatre, and kindermusik for children 18 months to 3 years. The School of Dance is directed by Alicia Sommer and offers creative movement, pre-ballet, ballet, pre-pointe, pointe, jazz and tap.
Summer is a busy time for Harmony School. Summers camps offer one-week programs that run throughout June and July. The dance courses include dance intensives and open dance technique. Fine arts courses include musical theater, exploring fine arts and into to French. Visual arts include focus on drawing watercolor and pastels, as well as intro and intermediate photography. There is also a music course that offers string classes for beginners, piano intensive, private music lessons and the art of recording.
One of the highlights of the summer is the Chamber Music Festival of Marble Falls. Harmony School of Creative Arts, along with the Uptown Marble Arts Alliance and the Historic Main Street Association bring the first ever Chamber Music Festival to Marble Falls. The festival is geared toward classically trained musicians to provide performance opportunities within a wide range of musical styles. Students of all ages will be grouped together to participate in daily training on how to co-exist among other instrumentalists.
“The Chamber Music gives kids confidence and skills to work in groups and challenges them in many ways,” said Bend. “The community gets to experience a different flavor of music and is a niche we would like to fill.”
The festival, which runs June 23-28, will encourage groups to study a variety of musical styles including classical, folk, Christian praise and jazz. The 2008 Artist-in-Residence, the Blue Rose Trio, will join violinist Keenan Fletcher to lead each chamber ensemble. Students will be the focus of Saturday’s performance. Volunteers are appreciated and should contact the school for more information.
Along with the school, Harmony School of Arts has a thrift store at the same location. The proceeds from the store supplement tuition for ongoing programs, provide funding for scholarships and helps aid in general operating expenses.
“We are working toward building a new dance studio to offer more classes,” said Bend. “Currently, we only have one studio in our building, so we will be initiating a campaign to raise funds for an additional studio building that will house three separate studios with spring floors. The second phase includes a music building as well.”
Harmony School of Arts is working to begin a community outreach campaign to gain funding for the new building. Those interested in the school are invited to stop by to meet the staff and tour the facilities. Community members and businesses can also make a tax-deductible gift toward the building fund by contacting Barbara Bend at (830) 693-1791 or by e-mail to Barbara@harmonyarts.org.
Read more articles from the Summer 2008 issue.