Studio Policies summary: the Important Points
- Tuition — Due the first of each month; automated invoices are sent the week before. Late fees apply after the first.
- Canceled lessons — Illness, weather, or emergencies may be made up during open spots or Makeup Weeks. Other absences are not guaranteed a makeup. No credits/refunds.
- Makeup weeks — Reserved for unavoidable absences (illness, weather, emergency). Not intended for voluntary absences.
- Performance weeks — Six times/year (plus one optional during the summer). No regular lessons; instead, students gather and perform in a low-pressure setting. Four Performance Weeks double as Makeup Weeks. Adult students have the option of performing with/for fellow adult students.
- Discontinuing lessons — Two weeks’ notice required.
- Sickness — Please cancel if sick! If illness is in the household, switch to virtual.
Studio Policies: More Detail
Lessons/classes in the year
Summer is typically mid-June through the end of August. Summer lessons are scheduled flexibly, whenever both teacher and student are available: 4 lessons and 1 performance class (if the student cannot attend the performance, a 5th lesson is available). September through June lessons and classes follow the studio calendar. Additional summer lessons are available for interested students.
For 2025-2026, there are 42 weeks: flexibly scheduled 4 lessons and 1 performance class June – August (the class may be replaced with a 5th lesson if student cannot make the summer class), and 31 lessons and 6 classes September through June.
Tuition
Tuition is due on the first of each month. Tuition is a flat monthly amount based on the number of lessons and classes in the year, from July of one year (or whenever student enrolls) through June of the next. A late fee is applied to payments sent after the first of the month.
Tuition installments due on July 1 and August 1 are the same as all other installments, despite the fewer lessons. These two summer payments cover summer lessons and act as a fall term deposit, guaranteeing the student’s scheduled day/time in the fall.
Monthly tuition reserves the student’s time in the schedule for the long term, and covers all scheduled lessons, semi-monthly performance classes, and time spent by the teacher outside of the lesson in weekly lesson preparation, long term curriculum planning, and repertoire research.
Cancellations
Since tuition reserves a student’s day/time for the long term, whether the student attends on a given day or not, canceled lessons are not credited or refunded. However, every effort will be made to reschedule for cancellations due to sickness, bad weather, or emergency. Lessons can be rescheduled as the teacher has openings in the schedule, or during four designated “makeup weeks” (see below, and see calendar).
If your student is sick, or has been sick and has not been symptom-free for 24 hours, please cancel the lesson or switch to virtual. If someone in your household has been sick and your student has not yet shown symptoms, please switch to virtual. Any sickness brought into the studio easily spreads among the other students, and if the teacher gets sick, this may mean several days of canceled lessons that are difficult to reschedule. So please be courteous to your fellow students and keep germs at home. Virtual lessons and makeup weeks are available.
Teacher cancellations that cannot be rescheduled will be deducted from the monthly bill.
To discontinue lessons mid-year, two-week notice is required. Piano lessons are a long-term commitment; if the student can no longer keep that commitment, the courtesy of a two-week notice allows the teacher time to find a new student to take the departing student’s spot. It also benefits the departing student, in that the final two lessons can be low-pressure and fun: wrap up a piece, try a new activity, or do something new. In cases where students have no time to practice at home, lessons can include homework-free or homework-light improv, sight-reading, theory, or other activities.
Makeup Weeks
There are four performance class weeks with no regularly scheduled lessons. Makeup lessons on these weeks are available for unavoidable missed lessons due to sickness, bad weather, emergency (including technological difficulties), or teacher absence, if such lessons could not otherwise be rescheduled.
Makeup weeks are not intended for cancellations for reasons other than sickness, bad weather, emergency, or teacher absence. Scheduling for all makeup lessons are based on availability and must be discussed and planned in advance.