Private Lessons with Stephen Katz
P O L I C I E S • F E E S • I N F O
cell/text:
413-320-6087
email:
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website:
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home and studio address:
144 Nash Hill Road, Haydenville, MA 01039
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Tuition »
30 min @ $40
45 min @ $50
60 min @ $65
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Payment
- PayPal Address: stephenkatzmusic@gmail.com (send as friend/family to avoid fees)
- VENMO: @Stephen-Katz-4
- Write checks to Stephen Katz
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Cancellations »
Except for an emergency, sudden health issue, or snow day…
If you must cancel a lesson, please give me at least 24 hrs notice. I will do the same for you if I need to cancel.
- If you don’t show up w/o notice, you owe me for that lesson.
- If I don’t show up w/o notice, I owe you a ‘free’ lesson, TBA.
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Practice Guidelines »
I strongly recommend that students play their instrument every day, and practice a minimum of three times per week. Lessons and school ensemble would count as "playing" on those days. At home or elsewhere, playing the instrument could be with friends or family. I suggest that students and parents consider practice time as ten to thirty minutes of focused attention on improving skills and comprehension using the assignment/reminder sheet for each week. Sometimes the assignment won't be on a separate sheet because it's similar to last week's assignment with variations written in the margins of current sheet music.
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If you have questions or concerns about practicing and lessons, please contact me ASAP!
MY TEACHING APPROACH
Somewhat hidden within my flexible and informal teaching approach is a passionate interest in providing students with the structure needed to develop as well-rounded, sonically curious, freely expressive musicians. My goals as a teacher are to guide students through satisfying music-making experiences, fine tune their listening and problem-solving skills, and strengthen their ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings through music. I also compose and improvise with the cello (see more info here), and I work and play with students at refining these skills as well.
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I am guided by my own experience as the son of parents who fell in love playing chamber music; as a cello student since age 9; intensive, self-taught guitar, songwriting, and composition training, Bachelors and Masters degrees with cello at the University of Illinois and Cincinnati Conservatory (respectively) with Gabriel Magyar, Laurien Laufman, Zara Nelsova, and numerous other teachers, coaches, and orchestra conductors, including all members of the Tokyo and La Salle Quartets. As a member of the Essex Quartet I performed internationally and taught at the Meadowmount School, and had post-graduate roles at UMASS Amherst and Yale University.
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