Policies and Procedures

Registration: Students and parents complete a registration form either online or in writing by the scheduled due date. The coordinator schedules lessons according to family preference when possible.

Lessons: Students in Grades 1-12 may take ½ hour, ¾ hour or 1-hour lessons on a weekly basis. Beginners or young children should take a ½ hour lesson. Students age 9 or older are encouraged to take 3/4 hour lessons. Lessons and classes are scheduled between the hours of  3:15 – 6:30 pm, Monday - Friday during the school year. 

Student Expectations: Students are expected to own/rent their own instrument, attend their lessons regularly, bring their instrument, lesson materials, and a notebook to their lessons, practice between lessons, and perform in one or more recitals held throughout the school year.   

Practice Habits: Practicing at home is a necessary key to success when studying a musical instrument. The actual amount of practice time varies, depending on the student’s age, experience, and practice environment. Parents consult their child’s teacher to get a recommendation on how and how often a student should be practicing. For younger students, developing at-home practice habits may require significant parental involvement. Until practice habits are firmly established, students often need help structuring their practice time.  Parents can help by asking about the child's assignment for the week, listening to the practice session, helping the child keep a steady beat, and reviewing note and letter names. Support is offered from the staff for parents seeking additional advice about practice.

Music and Materials: Students must own or rent the instrument they choose to study.  Students bring the following items to their lessons: their instrument (except piano and drums), a notebook to write assignments and announcements, and music books/sheet music.  Parents of younger students should check the lesson notebook to ensure it's proper use and to monitor progress. A variety of methods and materials are used in the Music Conservatory program. An emphasis on classical training often brings out the highest quality of performers of any style of music, though many styles and techniques are used to reach students. Giving Trevor Day School students a foundation in classical training provides a palette of techniques and concepts from which students can draw as they explore the wide variety of musical experiences available to them.

Missed Lessons: Make-up lessons are given when teachers are absent and when students attend Outdoor Education. Make-up lessons are not given for student absences because of scheduling constraints.  Parents contact the music teacher directly if a child must miss a lesson. West Campus students (grades 6-12) going home sick on a scheduled lesson day are asked to contact their teacher directly or tell the Music Conservatory Director. Lessons missed due to student absences are not be made up.

Music Club (Grades 1-5 only): The Music Club, which is part of the Core program of After School, is available for all Music Conservatory students in grades 1-5, Monday - Friday from 3:00 - 6:30 pm. Parents may pick students up after school and return them in time for their lesson, or they may opt to have students go to Music Club until their lesson begins.  Students may be picked up immediately following their lesson or may return to Music Club. 

Recitals: The Music Conservatory considers performance a natural part of music study, as in sharing one’s art.  Students may perform at one or several recitals at various times throughout the year. Recitals are held on either campus and generally run from 45-80 minutes. Trevor Day School students who study music with teachers outside of the Music Conservatory are invited to participate in these recitals. In many cases, students will be encouraged to memorize a piece of music they have prepared for performance. Memorization strengthens understanding of the music and allows students to experience the music more deeply when not dependent on the written page. It is important for teachers and parents alike to support the learning process as students develop practice habits, technique, and musical style.

Kindergarten: Parents with an interested Kindergarten student should consult the student’s music teacher and the Music Conservatory director before making a decision to enroll in lessons. 

Non-Trevor Students: The Music Conservatory is open to siblings and parents of Trevor students.  There is a non-refundable registration fee of $50 for non-Trevor students.    

Ensemble Classes: Participating in an ensemble improves children’s listening and rhythmic skills, and encourages collaboration and musical sensitivity. Ensembles also provide children with an enjoyable social time and a chance to share their musical discoveries and growth with their peers. These ½ hour, ¾ hour or 1-hour classes are offered to Music Conservatory students and other Trevor students who take private lessons.

Ensemble is not an alternative to private music lessons, but an enhancement of individual study. The ensembles perform in the winter and spring recitals. Ensemble choices include:

Financial Information: Tuition: Students enroll for a semester of private Instrumental or Voice lessons, generally starting in the second or third week of  of September. The Music Conservatory is a 30-week program. Students register for 1 semester (15 weeks) of lessons.  Students are automatically re-enrolled in the second semester (15 weeks starting on January 28, 2008) unless the director is notified prior to the start of the second semester.

Payment: Tuition is paid through students' school accounts.

Financial Aid: Financial aid is available, for up to 25% of tuition, for Music Conservatory lessons, for eligible students.

Withdrawals and Refunds: Informing the teacher of intent to withdraw or absenteeism is not considered notice of withdrawal. Telephone or email notification of withdrawal must be given to the director. Refunds for withdrawals will be made as follows: If written notification is received by the director 14 days before the first lesson, then 100% of the tuition minus a $50 processing fee is refunded. If notification is received  after the first lesson, the student will be charged for that lesson only. If notification is received after the second lesson, 75% of the tuition will be refunded. If notification is received after the third lesson, 50% of the tuition will be refunded. There is no tuition refund for students after the fourth lesson or who enrolled after the school year started and received prorated tuitions.

05/17/2007