Grinnell School of Music provides access to some of Iowa's best music instructors... right here in Grinnell! Our Associate Teachers teach a variety of instruments and styles.
Music Together® Grinnell gathers babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grownups who love them together to play musically. Little ones love playing along in class, and caregivers love being a part of their children’s growth into confident music-makers. And everyone loves our songs that’ll have you tapping along in no time. Music Together® is the perfect family activity.
Students from all of our studios share their music with family, friends, and guests.
Whether you want to be in the spotlight or operating it from behind the scenes, there's something for everyone! Through interactive classes, workshops, local excursions, and hands-on experience, campers will create everything from sets, props, and costumes to original staging and choreography. At the end of the week, we'll perform a showcase for family and friends.
More comig soon.
Classical guitarist Alex Aldridge is an educator, soloist, and chamber musician from West Des Moines, Iowa. He earned his Bachelor’s in Music at the University of Northern Iowa in 2015 under the tutelage of Robert Dunn, and his Master’s in Classical Guitar Performance in 2019 at the Hartt School with Richard Provost. Alex has performed internationally on a handful of occasions, and throughout the New England area. In addition to concertizing, he was an educator at several music studios in Connecticut from 2017-2022, before returning to Iowa.
Alex has performed in master classes for internationally acclaimed guitarists Christopher Parkening, Antgoni Goni, Gaelle Solal, Scott Tennant, Thibaut Garcia, Andrew York, Jason Vieaux, Christopher Ladd and Oscar Ghiglia.
In 2018 Alex and his duo partner, flautist Sierra Schmeltzer, were awarded 2nd place in the annual Hartt chamber music competition. Additionally in spring of 2018, he was a featured soloist with the contemporary music ensemble “Foot in the Door”. Most recently, Alex performed on a promotional video for Luthier Toby Rzekpka, which was featured during the 2020 Guitar Foundation of America’s online convention. He currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa, where he works as a teacher and performer.
For more than 20 years, Juli Bey has been a professional musician and educator. She received her degree in music from Central College and since has specialized in sacred music and choral accompanying, playing for churches, choirs, and musical theater productions across the Midwest. In addition, she has taught junior and senior high school and music lessons to people of all ages. Juli has been an accompanist for Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools since 2013 and is currently Organist and Handbell Choir Director for Westminster Prebyterian Church in Des Moines, where she was recently a featured performer on KCCI and Iowa Public Television.
Cornelia Di Gioia is a violist and violinist from Evanston, Illinois, studying music at Grinnell College. She began violin at age six, primarily studying with Sheila Hanford, and continues her studies at Grinnell College with Tracy Engman Finkelshteyn and Charles Miranda. Throughout her youth, Cornelia was a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, where she played in the orchestras and chamber ensembles. She has also soloed multiple times in a chamber orchestra run by retired principal violist of the Chicago Symphony, Charles Pikler. As a member of the Io Quartet, she participated in multiple competitions, as well as having the opportunity to perform in masterclasses given by the Lincoln Trio, Risus Quartet, Jupiter String Quartet and the Cavani String Quartet. Cornelia is also very interested in music history and early music, and formed a baroque chamber orchestra at her high school.
Saxophonist and ethnomusicologist Mark Laver is an Associate Professor of Music at Grinnell College, where he directs the jazz band and teaches classes on jazz and popular music. As a performer, Professor Laver has shared the stage with such leading jazz and improvising artists as Lee Konitz, William Parker, Dong-Won Kim, Seamus Blake, NEXUS, Kurt Elling, Eddie Prévost, Hugh Fraser, and Phil Nimmons. He has also been a featured soloist with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble. He was profiled in the “Canadian Rising Stars” issue of The Music Scene/La Scena Musicale in 2005.
Cirène Mourad is a first-year student at Grinnell College studying English and music. A native New Yorker, Cirène attended a music high school where she trained in classical voice performance. From the age of ten, Cirène was a member of Manhattan Girls Chorus, with whom she performed at Carnegie Hall several times under the batons of renowned conductors, Zubin Mehta and Leon Botstein, and sang backup for Sting as well as other major recording artists. In New York Cirène had the privilege of teaching voice lessons to children, and she is excited to continue doing so at the Grinnell School of Music.
Ollie Peterson grew up near Boston, Massachusetts, where they learned their love of music by attending Music Together® classes from an early age. They spent much of their childhood practicing ballet, dancing with the Boston Ballet School and the South Shore Ballet Theater, and they have played piano for 8 years. Currently studying at Grinnell College, they have helped re-establish Bob’s Underground as a center of student creativity, and are taking classes to further their study of music theory. After joining the Grinnell School of Music team as an apprentice teacher in October 2023, Ollie trained to be a certified Music Together teacher in January 2024. In their spare time, Ollie enjoys frequenting Saint’s Rest and getting to know the wonderful community of Grinnell. Ollie is a firm believer that music, especially when shared with others, has the power to fill our lives with delight, and is excited for the opportunity to spread this joy through Music Together!
From his formative years in the Des Moines Youth Symphony and Iowa's fiercely competitive show choir circuit, Joshua’s musical destiny was always to embrace diversity, oddity, and excellence. His eclectic path led him from extreme metal and hardcore vocals back to violin in 2008, where he found his niche with the art of fiddling.
Joshua began his professional fiddling career with regional country music sensation Cactus Hill and has become a linchpin in the Midwestern country music scene, lending his talents to acts like Emmett Bower Band, DJ Bridwell, and the Jason Earl Band. He is the principal player and band director for KC Cameron, and part of acclaimed folk/Americana ensemble, Jack Hotel, which earned the prestigious Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award for Album of the Year, as well as best band in their category for two years in a row. Joshua studied the Cape Breton style of fiddling under the guidance of renowned fiddler Mairi Rankin.
Joshua is also a skilled music producer and composer, specializing in the use of Ableton Live and iOS production tools. Not content with performing and producing, he is equally passionate about sharing his knowledge. He taught alternative strings and guitar at Nissa’s String Studio in Lincoln, NE, and refined his teaching methods, particularly in the iOS music production landscape, at Blue Raven Studios.
“My alternative approach to string music is simple: I don’t teach instruments - I teach students how to play them with a confident and creative spirit. Whether your goals are academic or artistic, I am eager to teach you the rules like a professional, before I teach you how to break them like an artist.”
Richard Tanimoto is a keyboardist originally from Dallas, TX, living in Grinnell since 2015. He received his BA in Music from Grinnell College in 2019, where he studied harpsichord under Jennifer Williams Brown and organ under Linda Bryant. In addition to harpsichord and organ, Richard plays piano and has taken lessons from renowned concert pianists since childhood. Richard currently serves as organist at Grinnell United Methodist Church.
In partnership with other local non-profits and with the support of our own generous donors, we aim to make all of our programs available for students and families in need on a pay-what-you-can basis.
The application process is entirely anonymous - all you need to do is ask.
Claire (Grinnell School of Music Student)
Grinnell Greenroom is a FUN, process-oriented, non-competitive program suitable for students who are brand new to musical theater as well as more experienced performers – and everyone in between! Our program is designed to be inclusive and enjoyable for those who want to be in the spotlight, and those who have more interest in behind-the-scenes and technical roles. All campers will participate in the ensemble; however, no camper will need to perform (sing, dance, or speak) on their own unless they want to do so.
Studio E (819 Broad Street)
Central Park
Grinnell UCC (902 Broad Street)
The Grinnell School of Music believes that arts education should be accessible to everyone and that professional artists should earn a living wage for their work.
$425 is the true-cost tuition per camper. This covers 45+ instructional hours by professional staff, supervisory staff, daily snacks, supplies and materials, and camp swag! Students are required to pack a brown-bag lunch.
We offer a sibling discount of $40 per camper for additional student(s) from the same household.
Reduced tuition is available on a pay-what-you-can basis and should be discussed at the time of registration. Reduced tuition is subsidized by generous support from donors. We invite those who are able to please consider a donation to help make Grinnell Greenroom accessible for another student.
If you would like to set up a monthly or bi-weekly payment plan, please just ask! We are happy to help set that up for you.
Tuition includes minimum of 8 classes, a CD and/or download code to stream the music, an illustrated songbook, and resources to help you continue making Music Together at home!
Music Together® Grinnell offers our community an internationally renowned curriculum, grounded in decades of research.
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