Group meetings
About the group
This group is a non-profit which means that all monies raised in excess of expenses will be redirected back to the group for the benefits of its members. Members will be adults (age 18+) learning music - all instruments, all levels and inclusive of all learners as long as the group member is taking private one-on-one lessons or is actively searching for the appropriate teacher.
When
Group meetings are held twice a month and will have 2 components : 1) discussion and 2) performances by group members. Discussion will always open with introductions of all group members and a brief intro of everyone's music journey if a new member is joining. After opening introductions, we will first determine if there are any challenges that any member is facing and share insights and solutions. As our first mandate is that of social and emotional support, this is of the utmost importance to this group.
Performances
Performances by group members follow the discussion portion of the meetings. Group members are encouraged to introduce their pieces and discuss what they like about the piece. Performance participation is optional but it is a great opportunity to perform for a very supportive peer audience. Our policy with regard to the order of the performances will be that of 1) the performers at the lower levels perform first, then 2)those who are newest to the group can perform next 3) the performers who are intermediate next and 4) those at the highest levels can perform last.
Covid response
The appearance of Covid19 in the world in 2020 forced us to pivot to Zoom in April 2020 which was a blessing in disguise as we were able to still meet in spite of the virus and all members agreed to increase the meeting frequency to twice a month. (We used to meet only monthly at Steinway in the past.) We grew closer as a result of the increased frequency and for many of us, it was our lifeline to combat the isolation imposed by Covid19. As more of us got vaccinated in 2021, we were able to meet again in person at Steinway Piano Gallery in Calgary. So we currently have one meeting via Zoom and then 2 weeks later, we will have a meeting in-person at Steinway.
We currently have seven members who do not live in Calgary and another member who has her family’s music lessons ending right when our meetings begin. These members join us exclusively via Zoom. We will be “Zooming” our in-person Steinway meetings so these members will also be able to participate at our in-person meetings in Calgary. Due to the fact that we have been able to purchase a pro Zoom subscription with our members’ fees since 2020, we will now be able to support more adults learning music as long as they live within Canada. As of May 2023, we hit a milestone high of 18 members - 7 live outside of Calgary - in northern AB and in BC, SK and ON. (If you are Canadian who still has Canadian citizenship who has moved to the USA for work, leisure or study purposes, you are also welcome to join this group.)
Membership
There is currently an annual membership fee of $40 per person that will be used to pay for our group annual subscriptions such as our Wix website and domain, Zoom plan and any other administrative costs that are incurred for the year. The payment of this membership fee entitles a group member to attend all bi-weekly meetings for the entire year and to be given first access to participate in educational events organized by our group at subsidized member prices. Annual membership fees must be paid by email e-transfer by the due date. We collect each year’s fees at the beginning of the year during the month of January.
After May 31st, we will also pro-rate fees for the remainder of the year for any new member that would like to join. Potential new members that wish to join can participate in a trial meeting for free before deciding if they wish to join. This gives each new person an opportunity to get to meet some of the current group members, experience the format of the meetings and decide if they think the group would be a good fit and of benefit to them. We will pro-rate the annual fee by calculating the number of months left in the year multiplied by $5/month. The minimum pro-rated fee is $10 and will never be less than this amount.
How to join
If you are interested in joining this peer-to-peer learning support group, please go to the contacts page and fill out the e-mail form. Please include a little about yourself and your own unique music journey. If you want to volunteer, please indicate on the form as well. If you are a person that is seriously thinking of taking up music again or for the first time, just fill in the instrument that you are thinking of learning and if you have previous learning and why you stopped. We are happy to provide the support you need to start or continue your music journey.