Private Music Lessons

General Information

Private Lessons are open to students of every grade level, and at every skill level, from beginner through advanced. Lessons are given once per week (40-45 minutes); it is expected that each student will practice approximately three hours per week. Culver offers private music lessons in the following (with course numbers in parentheses):

• Piano, Voice (L610, L650) Organ, Carillon (Prior consent of instructor required: L612, L613)
• Violin, Viola (L620, L621) When instructors are available: Cello, String Bass (L622, L623)
• Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Saxophone (L624, L625, L626, L627, L628)
• Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Tuba, Percussion (L629, L630, L631, L632, L633, L634)
• Harp, Guitar, Bass Guitar (L635, L636. L637)
• Bagpipes (under "Other Instrument" as L639)

Lesson Fees

Those interested in signing up for lessons are encouraged to contact Mr. John Gouwens, Coordinator for Private Lessons (scheduling and billing), who will either follow up directly or forward the inquiry to the appropriate teacher.
For all of the above, there is a Private Lesson Fee charged to the student's account (and billed to the student's family). The fee is $1,080.00 per year; $270.00 per term.

The lesson fees are billed one Term at a time. There are no partial refunds for students who do not finish the term. (Since lessons are courses, dropping past the first two weeks of the term is rarely permitted at all. All Private Lessons are taken as classes, with grades. A student who takes Private Lessons for two full years at Culver satisfies Culver's graduation requirement in Fine Arts.

With one lesson per week, students receive roughly 8 lessons per term, 32 lessons per year, based on the rate of $30.00 per lesson, the going regional rate. 

In the interest of having our ensemble students work toward individual improvement; and conversely, having those students taking lessons involved in our ensembles, we offer significant discounts (2/3 off) to the lesson fees for ensemble students. 

• Voice lessons for Choir members are $360.00 per year ($90 per term)
• Wind and percussion lessons for Band members cost $360.00 per year ($90 per term)
• String lessons for orchestra members cost $360.00 per year ($90 per term)

Note that no student may receive more than one discount for the same ensemble. (A student in Band taking Trumpet and Oboe would pay 1/3 price for one and full price for the other.) 

Since Piano and Guitar ordinarily do not tie into school ensembles, the discount does not apply to those lessons. 
For students who are on need-based financial aid, there are some discounts available for lessons that would otherwise be full price. (No one pays less than $90 per term.) Contact Mr. Gouwens for more information: gouwenj@culver.org

Mr. John Gouwens is the coordinator for scheduling Private Lessons, and is involved with the billing of lesson fees. Those interested in signing up for lessons are encouraged to contact Mr. Gouwens, who will either follow up directly or forward the inquiry to the appropriate teacher. 

Instructors

The instructors who teach lessons at present are listed below. Those who are represented on web pages include links to the appropriate web locations.

Full-Time Culver faculty and staff who teach lessons:

• Mr. John Gouwens: Piano, Organ, Carillon
• Mrs. Mary Lynch-Weirich: Piano, Flute
• Miss Stacey Warren: Voice
• Major William Browne: Brass Instruments
• Mr. David Weirich: Woodwind Instruments, Composition
• Mr. Chad Gard: Percussion
• Pipe Major Brent van Norman: Bagpipes

Adjunct instructors (contact through Mr. Gouwens for lesson inquiries):

• Mr. Jae-Sung Lee: Violin, Viola
• Mr. Justin Southard: Guitar
• Mr. Thomas Wentworth: Woodwind Instruments
• Mr. Matthew Daniel: Voice