February’s Local Small Business
Highlight is Music to Our Ears: Opus Music Academy
This month’s featured small business highlight is all about an amazing music teaching service in the Twin Cities called Opus Music Academy. First launched in 2018 by now president, Kathy Petersen; a musician, piano teacher, and graduate from Augsburg College in Minneapolis with a bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy, Opus Music was born to bring teachers and students together in a way that had never been imagined until that moment.
Kathy had been teaching students through another well-established brand-name music school in the Twin Cities for several years, but during that time she experienced, first-hand, the struggles of sustaining a strong teacher-student relationship in that environment. The largest, of many challenges, was scheduling time and meeting students at the one music facility and at times and frequencies that were effective for everyone.
She envisioned a better way to bring professional musicians and music teachers together with students of all ages - and from all over the Twin Cities region - in a format, schedule, and location that made sense for both student and teacher alike. And her mission would become even more important during Covid shutdowns and where access was limited by distance and/or health restrictions.
Slowly introduced through limited social exposure and networking, the concept of Opus Music Academy and its mission took off and quickly united tutors and teachers with students of music in a whole new way… expanding interest across both subgroups rapidly over the next couple of years.
In 2019, Kathy started developing music camps, and group lessons and themes to attract more students who were looking for a different approach to learning an instrument, vocals, or music studies in general. She continued that expansion into 2020 to incorporate special education programs and recitals, and she started expanding to multiple physical locations so students had a place to go meet their teachers if they were unable to meet at their own home or school due to space, distance, or environmental restrictions.
The Opus Music Academy platform gives a place for independent teachers to stand out and shine while connecting with prospective students and gives students the opportunity to learn music on their own terms in their own space.
It also reaches more students at more levels. Kathy, herself, also provides an Adaptive Lesson Program geared to teaching those with limited abilities to still learn how to play an instrument through different approaches than the traditional, by teachers who are educated and passionate about adaptive lessons.
Opus Music Academy has over 30 teachers now teaching over 15 different instruments as well as studies in audio & musical production, music theory, songwriting & composition, and vocal studies to-date. And Kathy vets each and every teacher that signs on with her under the Opus Music Academy brand name to ensure everyone is invested in bringing the best music learning experience to the students of the Twin Cities region today.
You can learn more about Opus Music Academy by visiting www.opusmusicacademy.com.
Opus Music Academy is also part of the Homes by Ash Concierge, which provides you with links to service providers relating to the housing industry.
