Music Student Enrollment Increases at MacPhail in Apple Valley

If the enrollment levels of the MacPhail Center for Music are any indication, music is on the minds of more students every year in Apple Valley and the surrounding suburbs.

The esteemed music school, based in Minneapolis, opened its Apple Valley satellite location five years ago and is approaching the first anniversary of its new facility near Cedar Avenue and 147th Street West.

“It’s funny, when we first opened down here five years ago we had about 20 students or so for our first week of lessons,” Justin Hartke, the site coordinator for the Apple Valley location, said. The space's nine soundproof studios now accommodate more than 300 students per semester.

“This has been significant growth over the last five years and certainly over last year’s numbers, so it’s really exciting to see,” Hartke said.

Hartke has worked at the Apple Valley location since it opened, when lessons were held at Paideia Academy. He's the primary administrator at the location, one of three in Minnesota (Minneapolis and White Bear Lake are the others).

In Apple Valley, MacPhail offers private music lessons for any age and skill level in piano, guitar, violin, viola, oboe, trombone, trumpet, clarinet, percussion and voice. Instructors also host specialized music workshops and camps, music therapy, group lessons and early childhood education classes.

Although the Minneapolis location has been established for years, the downtown site isn’t necessarily convenient for suburbanites. Hartke said he believes the Apple Valley site makes music education more accessible for the students in the area.

“Students who might not ordinarily think, ‘I can go to MacPhail,’ they have some image of MacPhail as being this untouchable conservatory level of education,” Hartke said. “We have fantastic teachers and the educational experience is fabulous, but at the same time, we want it to be accessible. It’s a community music school and we plenty of involvement.”

One of the programs that has gained popularity over the years is the Suzuki talent education program, aimed at encouraging parental involvement and the integration of music into their daily routine.

Kathlin Poon, of Burnsville, has been taking her oldest son, Jaden, 8, to Suzuki violin lessons for four years at MacPhail in Apple Valley. Now, Jaden and Darren, her 5-year-old son, both are enrolled in the Suzuki program and visit MacPhail once a week for private lessons and again for group lessons.

“Personally I like the instrument and I always knew they would learn an instrument, so I started them with the violin,” Poon said. After researching music education options, she decided on MacPhail because of the instructor expertise and the convenient location.

“I couldn’t have made it to downtown Minneapolis for lessons all the time,” Poon said. “It just happened that they started this satellite location the year I started looking so I really got lucky. When they started we were one of the first families to join," she said. Jaden and Darren work with Suzuki violin instructor Heather VanderLey.

“The teachers are all very well qualified,” Poon said on a break from attending Jaden’s lesson with VanderLey in one of the studio suites at the music center. “I really like that the Suzuki program is about nurturing your kids and starting them early.

“For the Suzuki program to work, parents have to be a part of it. At such a young age, you basically have to hold their hands and practice with them daily.”

The Poon family's investment aligns with the philosophy of the Suzuki program that they are enrolled in. But the versatility of the offerings at MacPhail allow for students of varying musical interests and time commitments to get involved.

During the summer, MacPhail offers rock and jazz camps, string-specific camps and workshops, and will continue a fairly new hip-hop camp again this year.

Hartke said some parents also inquired about music production lessons; the interest keeps open the possibility to expand future offerings.

“MacPhail is always trying to find new elements for people to get out and experience music the way that fits best for them," Hartke said.