Shaw Strings and 2022
As I am winding down the year I have so much to be grateful for!
This year saw my studio find it’s home when my family found the perfect home for us. I appreciate all the years and other locations I taught in over the years, but there has been something special about making music with my students and their families where my own family makes music outside of lesson times. I can share all my music library, musical children’s books, textbooks about composers, specialty music… All of it is at my fingertips and available to my students. I love that!
While moving lessons into our home studio was a massive undertaking, we were able to accomplish even more. Here’s a detailed list of our adventures this year!
Studio Happenings for 2022
Return to the Maryland Symphony Orchestra | Spring 2022
Students were invited to attend the “Silent Movie Night” and hear the Firebird Suite this spring as the MSO brought back live performances! Six studio families were able to take advantage of these performances and even more joined us in October for our fall field trip!
Shaw Strings Studio Recitals | May 13th and 14th
In person recitals made a comeback for the studio and it was so great to share live music together again!
Return to Shepherd University’s Community Music Program | May 2022
As Shepherd continued to open up their community offerings after COVID, it finally felt like the right time to start in person instruction on campus again! Getting back on campus allowed us to get used to playing in a recital hall again along with making music together. I was so glad to get back into the Eastern Panhandle of WV!
Junior Strings Camp | June 2022
After a two year hiatus, String Camp made a return to Shepherd. I was so proud to come back to direct the Junior Strings component and we had students from four different counties in Maryland and West Virginia.
Music on the Porch and Studio Opening | August 2022
Our first studio event at the Hagerstown studio was held along with the world wide “Play Music on the Porch” events and music lessons have been held here ever since! I’ve loved having students here, I hope you feel the same.
A-Caroling We Go To The Library | November 2022
Thanks to the help of some studio families with the right connections, we were able to welcome the holiday season at the downtown Hagerstown library! This was so much fun and I hope we can play there again sometime soon.
All of this happened along with group classes, the first theory club and Summer Serenades classes and more. Change can be a stressful time, but I truly feel this year has been one where the studio has been able to stabilize after the pandemic and my family expanding. Now that we’ve found the place where it can continue to grow unfettered, I’m looking forward to how we can participate in the arts community of Washington County in Maryland and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia!
Thanks for being along for the ride! Feel free to let me know what events were most fun for you this year in the comments below, by email at renee@shawstrings.co or on Instagram @shawstrings - I’d love to hear from you.
