Students, Parents, Friends,
I hope you & your family & friends are all healthy, certainly Covid free.  I also hope this whole drama has not caused any serious problems, financial or otherwise, for you – though it surely has had an unwelcome impact on all of us.
IN-PERSON – We had been hoping that September would bring the return of in-person lessons.  Alas, it is not to be.  Considering the risks in-person lessons would bring, and after consulting with the faculty, I have decided that September is too soon to open.  The Philadelphia public schools will be virtual until at least mid-November.  Then, they may open 2 days a week.  Using their plans as a guideline, perhaps we will open around that time – mid-November.  We will assess the situation in a couple months.
VIRTUAL – I am pleased to say – and many of you know from personal experience – that virtual lessons are going very well.  For those of you who have not yet jumped in those waters, I do hope that we will see you soon virtually!  When we DO open for in-person lessons, virtual lessons will remain an option.  That option has some unexpected advantages:  it actually can make scheduling easier and even allows distance learning, for example.
LOWER FEES:  Because of the difficulties Covid continues to bring, we are offering lower fees.  For all continuing, returning or beginning students who take at least one lesson in September, there will be no yearly fee increase on 9/1 as was originally planned.  In addition, starting 9/1, virtual lessons will all be charged at Germantown rates (a bit lower than Ch. Hill).
VIDEOS – A reminder:  Check out our Facebook page!  We are now posting videos on our Facebook page – faculty at first, then students as well.  This is, in a way, in place of our April faculty concert & our June student recital.  It is, like live performances, an opportunity for us to show off a little, to inspire & delight viewers.  But it will be ongoing.  So it is also a historical document, marking something about who we are in 2020.  Perhaps we will add older videos as time goes on.  We will definitely add new ones.  All students are invited to submit videos (by email).
For those of you not currently taking lessons – I hope we’ll hear from you soon about your plans to start or to return.  For those of you who are continuing virtual lessons, we thank you for staying with us during these hard times.  We hope music lessons provide a bit of an oasis in a storm.
– Rich Rudin
Rich Rudin, Director
Maplewood Music Studio
215-848-8353

www.MaplewoodMusicStudio.com

Click to visit us on Facebook!

(in Germantown)
47 Maplewood Mall
Phila., PA  19144
&
(in Chestnut Hill)

8509 Germantown Ave.

Phila., PA  19118