Tuition & Policies
Students generally start with a 30-minute lesson. Sometimes it is better for very young children to start with a shared private lesson, so if you'd like you can share this lesson time (and split the fee) with another parent and child the same age as your child. If you'd like to do this, you can either find someone else to share the lesson with, or we can wait until someone else contacts us for lessons that would be an appropriate match. This kind of arrangement usually lasts for several months and then we eventually schedule an individual private 30-minute lesson for you.
Beginning students start with the monthly payment plan until we are sure the Suzuki Method is a good fit for your family. You can choose the two payments per year later if you'd like.
On this page: Payments Plans | Studio Policies | School Calendar | Performance Attire
Payment Plans
Choose from 3 payment plans with 2 payment options for each (we cannot offer a once/year payment option): a biannual option and a monthly option. See each plan below for more details.
30-Minute Lesson
$1,080 – Yearly private lessons fee
$300 – Yearly group lessons fee
$70 – Registration fee for entire year (facility rental and some supplies)
Total: $1,450 – Please do not pay this amount, we do not offer a one payment/year option. See payment options below:
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Biannual: $725 ($1,450/2)
Monthly: $162 ($1,450/9 months from Sep to May)
45-Minute Lesson
$1,620 – Yearly private lessons fee
$300 – Yearly group lessons fee
$70 – Registration fee for entire year (facility rental and some supplies)
Total: $1,990 – Please do not pay this amount, we do not offer a one payment/year option. See payment options below:
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Biannual: $995 ($1,990/2)
Monthly: $222 ($1,990/9 months from Sep to May)
60-Minute Lesson
$2,160 – Yearly private lessons fee
$300 – Yearly group lessons fee
$70 – Registration fee for entire year (facility rental and some supplies)
Total: $2,530 – Please do not pay this amount, we do not offer a one payment/year option. See payment options below:
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Biannual: $1,265 ($2,530/2)
Monthly: $282 ($2,530/9 months from Sep to May)
Studio Policies
CANCELING YOUR WEEKLY LESSON
Please contact us by email or text ahead of time if you need to cancel.
CHANGING THE TIME OF YOUR WEEKLY PRIVATE LESSON
Rather than canceling your lesson, it may be possible to switch lesson times occasionally with another student, and your teacher doesn't need to be informed of the change. Simply call the person you will be switching with (request a current schedule/contact list from us via email).
MAKE-UP OF WEEKLY PRIVATE AND GROUP LESSONS
Lessons missed by students cannot be made up except in the case of extreme weather conditions or unusual extended medical circumstances. Lessons missed by the teacher will be made up during makeup weeks, they will not be deducted from future payments. Makeups left over at the end of the spring session must be made up over the summer unless there are extenuating circumstances. Makeups will not be carried over from the spring calendar to the following fall. Please feel free to discuss this policy with us if you feel the need, but first read the article at this link which explains this policy in further detail: Makeup Lessons From An Economists Point of View:
http://ottawasuzukistrings.ca/makeuplessons/
Group lessons missed by the teacher will be made up during the make-up weeks in the schedule or during summer if necessary.
ATTENDANCE AT WEEKLY GROUP LESSONS
Group lessons are an essential part of the program and are not optional. If you are going to miss a group lesson, notify us before the class. Parents should also plan to attend these lessons.
CONCERNING SHARING A HALF HOUR LESSON
Shared lessons are sometimes a good choice for young beginners. Up to 3 young students can share a private lesson. In this case, the tuition is just divided by the number of participants. Lessons missed by students cannot be made up, so a shared lesson is held as usual even if one or more of the families is unable to attend.
WEEKEND WORKSHOPS, SUMMER INSTITUTES, AND LESSONS
Please make plans to attend our fall workshop (date TBA) and the Boone Suzuki Guitar Workshop held in April in conjunction with the Appalachian Univ. Guitar Festival.
During the summer we travel and teach at various Suzuki Institutes or summer camps around the country. Please consider attending one of these! If you come, you will not have one of us as a teacher, we bring in other teachers to work with our students. It is a very powerful experience for the student to hear from another teacher the same admonitions they are getting from us! The fun and motivation they get from these week-long events carry them throughout the year and make a big difference in their progress on the instrument.
Our procedure for offering summer lessons is this: when we are in town, we will send out an email to our students Sunday night with our teaching schedule for that week. You can respond if you are in town and would like a lesson, if not, no need to respond.
Calendar
Our calendar follows the schedule for the public schools and runs 36 weeks for the entire year. The exact summer schedule is announced in June. During the school year if public school is closed because of the weather or a teacher workday, lessons will usually meet anyway, however, please communicate with your teacher and a decision can be made whether or not to meet. Families have the option of not meeting on these days, and if the lesson is canceled, those lessons will be made up by the teacher.
Performance Attire
Informal Recitals & Concerts
Boys
Collared shirts, short or long-sleeved, no T-shirts or tank tops.
Long pants or shorts.
Informal shoes - tennis shoes or running shoes or sandals are ok but no flip flops.
Girls
Short or long-sleeved shirts, no tube tops or spaghetti straps, no t-shirts. Conservative necklines.
Long pants or long skirts, no shorts or stretch pants.
Informal shoes - tennis shoes or running shoes or sandals are ok but no flip flops.
Formal Group Concerts
Boys
Long, black, dress pants.
White long sleeve button down collared dress shirt, no polo or t-shirts.
Dark shoes (no running shoes or sandals).
Tall black socks (no short socks below the ankle).
No ties.
Girls
Long black dress pants or long skirt, (no leggings or elastic pants).
Solid colored (or black/white), short-sleeve or longer, conservative neckline.
Dress shoes.
Fiddle Music Group Concerts
Boys
White-collared shirts, short or long-sleeved, no t-shirts or tank tops, no logos on shirts.
Long blue jeans (not black).
Informal shoes - tennis shoes or running shoes or sandals are ok but no flip flops.
Girls
Short or long-sleeved white shirts, no tube tops or spaghetti straps, no t-shirts. Conservative necklines.
Long blue jean pants or long blue jean skirts (not black), no shorts or stretch pants.
Informal shoes - tennis shoes or running shoes or sandals are ok but no flip flops.
