Christopher Laughlin School of Music Open House, January 27

The Christopher Laughlin School of Music will host an Open House on Sunday, January 27, from 1 - 3 PM at their facility at 1955 Raymond Drive, Suite 113, Northbrook, IL. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet with instructors, try out various musical instruments, and learn about CLSM's private and group lesson programs. All who attend will receive a $25 tuition credit toward a Yamaha Music Education System class.

Admission is free. For more information call 847 205 4689.

The Christopher Laughlin School of Music (CLSM) has been providing private lessons, ensemble training and performance opportunities in the North Shore for over 20 years and is now expanding its offerings with the addition of Yamaha Music Education System (YMES) classes.

For over 50 years, Yamaha music schools in the United States and around the world have taught over 6 million children and adults how to play, appreciate and create great music. Many have become professional musicians and music teachers but more importantly, they all develop a love for music.

CLSM owner Chris Laughlin saw firsthand the positive effects of the Yamaha program through his niece and nephew who have been taking YMES classes in Spain for years. "I was always impressed with both the technical musical skills they were learning and their enthusiasm for music." Based on this, he began looking into offering YMES classes at his school as a way of providing quality music education to younger students.

What Laughlin found is that the only YMES Authorized school in Illinois is in Wheaton. After visiting the Wheaton Yamaha School and seeing the quality of the training and the excitement of the kids and their parents, Laughlin decided to pursue offering Yamaha Education classes at his school.

As part of the rigorous process of becoming an authorized Yamaha music school, Laughlin selected, and Yamaha certified, two CLSM teaches who went to Los Angeles for extensive YMES training. All Yamaha teachers are college-trained musicians and educators who passed demanding tests in musicianship. Most importantly, they are teachers who are committed to providing children with a happy rewarding musical experience.

The YMES classes are taught by CLSM instructors Audie Lomboy and Michelle Wong, who received their YMES teacher training during the summers of 2017 and 2018. "The listening techniques used in YMES classes really develop the ear and a lot of students develop perfect pitch," said Lomboy. One of Wong's many take-aways from the training was, "The parents are partners, and we sing a lot of songs together with gestures and actions which help develop a child's imagination."

"The kids like it that they have a partner to practice with at home," added Lomboy. "The teachers will say 'Oh you get to practice this at home with your parents!'"

The CLSM YMES program consists of two courses – the Junior Music Course, for ages 4 – 5, and the Young Musicians Course, for ages 6 – 8. Parental participation is encouraged for both and is required in for the Junior Music Course. YMES classes meet once a week for one hour.

The Christopher Laughlin School of Music also offers private lessons to students of all ages in piano, guitar, voice, violin, cello, bass, and drums.

For more information on the Christopher Laughlin School of Music visit www.laughlinschool.com, or call 847 205 4689.