Uptown Music Collective begins Summer Enrollment

The Uptown Music Collective, the area’s premier nonprofit school of
music, will be enrolling for the upcoming Summer Semester starting May
9th 2011.The school will be holding their annual Summer Open House on
Saturday, May 14th, from 11am-2pm, at their facilities at 848 West
Fourth Street in Williamsport.  Prospective students will able to tour
the facilities, meet with teachers, and register for lessons, classes,
and workshops. There will be light refreshments served and entertainment
by student groups.

Established in April of 2000, the Uptown Music Collective has developed a
reputation as the premier source of music education in the area.
Offering private lessons at all levels on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards
and vocals, as well as classes and workshops in music theory,
songwriting, and styles such as Blues, Jazz, Classical, and Rock. The
primary age range of the Collective is 10 – 18 yrs old, but is open to
all ages and levels.

Along with private lessons, the UMC offers a myriad of programs,
including its flagship Performance Program. This free program educates
students about the ins and outs of major and minor performances,
including direction, production, preparation and technical aspects of
the performances. The program also brings outstanding student run
performances to the area, including the most recent, “The Unforgettable
Fire: A Tribute to the Music of U2 and Irish Rock.”

The Uptown Music Collective is currently enrolling for their 15 week
Summer Semester, which will run from May 16th through August 27th. There
are openings for students of all levels who are looking for private
instruction on the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and voice. The Uptown
Music Collective will also be offering its popular workshop series which
includes an introduction to blues, the new and improved Rock Workshop
and its popular Jazz Workshop, as well as more advanced performance
workshops for the same styles. This summer’s classes include Music
Theory 1 – 3 and Harmony.

At Saturday’s Open House, prospective students will also be able to
enroll in the very popular Summer Music Camp Series. These week long
workshops run from 10am to 4pm and are separate from general enrollment
and open to all interested students. Students do not have to be enrolled
in lessons or classes to take part in these high impact workshops. 
This year’s workshops topics include Beginner Guitar, I Wanna Rock,
Intermediate Guitar, Vocal Performance, Bass Guitar, Drum Technique
(w/styles and tuning), Introduction to the Blues, Jazz Improvisation,
and Advanced Guitar.

Other programs available include the iOn Uptown Program, which is a free
program open to the public, that teaches students the ins and outs of
video and audio production via a monthly webcast.  Students learn all
aspects of production from writing to shooting to editing to final
production. The summer semester will include “Rhythm Nation: A Live
Music and Dance Tribute to 80’s Music Videos,” an upcoming collaboration
with the Millissa Augustine Dance Academy. Also, this summer will see
the third annual “Blues – A – Thon, a 24 hour blues jam that raises
money for the non-profit school.  The summer semester will culminate
with the Uptown Music Collective’s Summer Music Fest at the Brandon Park
Band Shell in Williamsport. This free day of music on Aug 7th will
feature student groups, student recitals, local bands, clinics, and much
more.

For more information about the open house, enrollment, or if you just
have general questions about the school please visit them at
uptownmusic.org or call 570-329-0888