Jaette Carpenter and Ellie Fregni, two Northside teachers, shared the dream of a music school that could provide quality arts education while limiting the financial burden on students and families. In 2012 they made that dream come true when Hopewell Music opened its doors. In five short years the nonprofit school has doubled its private lesson students to over 100 eager learners, they’ve assembled seven community ensembles, and developed outreach programs and classes such as early childhood learning and group piano classes for all ages.
In order to keep lesson prices within a household’s financial limits, Hopewell Music has adopted a sliding scale for lesson pricing.
“The scale is based on the free and reduced lunch standards set by the Minnesota Department of Education – if you would qualify for a reduced lunch, you get a reduced lesson; if you would qualify for a free lunch, you get a free lesson,” says Executive Director, Brianna Farah.
To celebrate these five years of enrichment and community growth, Hopewell Music is hosting a concert and open house on March 31. The open house will begin at 6 p.m. and will include informal tours of the school, sample class lessons in our piano studio, and a pre-concert talk by co-founder Ellie Fregni.
“We’re not the new school on the corner anymore, so this event is really a celebration of the community by the community,” says Farah, “For those neighbors who may not know us yet, we hope you’ll come to the open house and see what we’re all about!”
5th Anniversary Concert at Hopewell Music Cooperative – North, 4350 Fremont Avenue North
Friday, March 31, 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. Concert
Article submitted by Shelby Joy Adams and Andrea Myers