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Community School sets registration for music lessons, youth chorus

The Piedmont College Community School of music will hold registration Aug. 17 for music lessons and a new Youth Chorus. Sign ups will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Brooks Hall in the Center for Worship and Music in Demorest.

The Community School offers private music lessons for children and adults wanting to study piano, guitar, woodwinds and brass, and voice. The cost of the 13 half-hour lessons is $195 and lesson times are scheduled at the convenience of the student and instructor. The fall session will run from Aug. 21 to Nov. 17, with a recital at 3 p.m., Nov. 18.

Community School director Melinda McClenahan said the school is also planning a Youth Chorus for boys and girls in grades 3-6. Chorus rehearsals will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, with a concert scheduled for 3 p.m., Nov. 11. The cost for the chorus is $150.

The chorus will be directed by Dr. Lauren Ringwall and accompanied by Barbara Luhn. Ringwall is a native of Athens and received her bachelor of music and master of music degrees from Georgia Southern University. Ringwall is a member of the music faculty at Piedmont College, where she teaches education and music education courses and supervises apprentice teachers. She is in frequent demand as a regional adjudicator and clinician for choral and solo competitions and festivals. In 2007, she will conduct the Georgia All State High School Mens' Chorus.

Luhn has served as a church musician (organist, pianist, and choir director) for the past 25 years, working with choirs of adults, children, and handbells. She has a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College and a master of music in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. Musical theatre is also one of her loves, and she has served as music director for several productions in White and Stephens counties.

The Community School classes are conducted at Piedmont College in the Center for Worship and Music. "This school is a fantastic way for children and adults in northeast Georgia to take advantage of the talent and facilities available at Piedmont," McClenahan said. "It can also help music students who are preparing for regional or state music festivals."

For more information about the Community School programs, call McClenahan at 770-402-2907 or e-mail csm@piedmont.edu.