Studio Policy

Tuition/Schedule

~ Lesson tuition should be paid monthly, at the first lesson of every month. Payment may be cash or check, made payable to Susan Kirchhausen. The current rates are:

30-minute lessons: $140/month ($175 for 5 wks) (beginners only)

45-minute lessons: $200/month ($250 for 5 wks)

60-minute lessons: $260/month ($325 for 5 wks)

~ Monthly tuition reserves your weekly time throughout the year.

~ Lesson rates for students who choose to have an occasional drop-in lesson (this is mostly for adult students) are:

45-minute lessons: $60/per lesson

60-minute lessons: $75/ per lesson

~ Lesson Cancellation must be made at least 24 hours in advance (excluding emergencies). Please contact me by phone or text. You may follow up with email if you need to give more details.

~ Cancellations due to illness or family emergencies will certainly be made up. Unless there is a major life event that is the cause for the canellation then the lesson is still to be paid for and suggestions for make up times offered. All other cancellations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but may be forfeited. I do my very best to accommodate students' busy schedules. Please do not schedule other appointments or activites during your child's lesson time. Students may switch lesson times with another student, if necessary. I will certainly excuse school performance related absences (with sufficient notice); however, please do not assume that I know when these will occur, as my students are from many different school systems. Please be sure that I have written notification at least one week in advance in order to be credited the make up lesson (and also so that I might arrange my schedule in a way that I might attend said performance).

~If necessary, one credit will be issued per semester due to inclement weather. All other lessons need to be made up within the week and possibly via FaceTime or Zoom. We will plan to keep lessons at the regularly scheduled times; however, it is possible that these lessons can be moved to earlier in the day when school is cancelled. Email / text to coordinate a time.

~Students deciding to discontinue lessons mid-school year must give one month's (4 weeks) written notice and are expected to pay for those four weeks whether lessons are taken, or not.

~ Please be sure to leave extra travel time to ensure that your child's lesson starts promptly. The meter starts to run at the scheduled lesson time, not the arrival time. (That said, please drive safely down my street if you are running a little bit late!)

~ In most cases, if a student has sustained an injury that prevents him/her from being able to use one hand for any reason or if the instrument is damaged or has a broken string, we can generally still have a lesson. We will take the time to focus on the technique for the uninjured arm and study other aspects of their musical education (including theory/ perhaps some time on the piano for string players) and will adapt practice strategies accordingly.

~ I am also a professional violist. In order to be a most effective teacher, I must fulfill that part of my musical life. There are times of the year that get very busy, and there are some performance opportunities that I cannot refuse. In the event that I need to cancel a lesson for a rehearsal or performance, a make up lesson will be scheduled at the earliest possible time.

Lessons

~ Students are expected to come prepared to all lessons having practiced the assignment to the best of their abilities.

~ Parents are more than welcome to attend lessons or to enjoy some down time in my living room. Please be considerate of my neighbors when parking - we are all a bit more sensitive about this in the winter months! I will be able to show you the best places to park at your first lesson.

~ Students who arrive late will end their lessons at the scheduled time. If I am running behind, the student will receive a full-length lesson.

~ Students are asked to bring a notebook to their lessons so that we can make notes as to what should be practiced throughout the week.

~ Please be sure to bring to my attention any special circumstances that may make it difficult to adhere to the above policies. I welcome your questions and concerns, and am glad to accommodate special requests as best I can.