Monthly Newsletters - May 2025

2025 Music Concerts & Award Ceremonies

Dear Students and Parents,

 

It’s hard to believe summer is almost here! Summer is our busiest season of all, with music concerts, dance recitals, summer camps, and, of course, new students eager to get started in music, dance, and drama!

 

We are also bursting with excitement in anticipation of our 2025 June Music & Dance Shows & Awards Ceremony and our Summer Drama Showcases! Our Honors Music & Dance Concert is also coming up soon on June 1! Tickets will be available soon for all productions at laapa.com/events! Please note that all seating is on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage you to plan ahead.

 

Around this time each year, parents tend to ask us how the summer works and if we continue lessons. The fun never stops here at LAAPA, and the majority of students continue progressing year round. We expect this summer to be one of our busiest yet!

 

The big thing to keep in mind is that students who love their current teacher and schedule and don’t want to lose it due to summer travel have a few options: 1) Zoom into your lessons – just let us know week to week how you’d like to attend. The process is seamless, and you can visit laapa.com/zoom for more information. 2) Your teacher can send you a pre-recorded makeup lesson video for you to either bring with you on your trip or to practice with once you get home! 3) Take advantage of scheduling a makeup workshop or attend one of our free weekly enrichment classes either after or in advance of your missed dates. Makeup options are available for an unlimited number of absences for as long as you are enrolled with us. 4) Lease out your spot to a friend or family member temporarily! So have fun traveling this summer – boy, do we all need it! – but there is no need to lose your prime spots with your teacher (especially those from 3:30-7:30 on weekdays!)

 

As I mentioned, summer is a popular time for new students to get started in classes here at LAAPA! If your children are anything like mine during the summer, they appear out of the blue, arms crossed, staring at you (after you just sat down to relax) and ask, “What can I do?” Do they follow you around the house each day exclaiming, “I’m bored!”?

 

This summer, let us help them focus on reality instead of virtual reality and have in-person, human to human experiences that will build their confidence, self-esteem, cognitive skills, and new friendships - all while having fun and beating the digital addiction! Instead of playing around with video games, let us put an instrument in their hands and show them how to play their favorite songs!

 

Instead of kicking back in the recliner in front of the TV, how about bustin’ a move in hip hop or one of our many dance classes!? Do you wake up each morning to the joyful sounds of your son or daughter endlessly singing or pounding away at random notes on the piano? Let us show them how to make beautiful music in your home! Does your child drive you crazy beating on the kitchen pots and pans? How about drum lessons instead? Guaranteed to put all of that energy to good use! We can also recommend some excellent silent drum sets like we have at our schools for a peaceful and happy home!

 

Already taking a program with LAAPA? The summer is an excellent time to add a program or increase your weekly lesson time. And don’t forget that this July we will be holding four exciting weeks of summer camp held at our Mandeville campus and River Ridge campus. So far over 100 summer camp students will be joining us this July! Many of them will be brand new beginners to the performing arts, so we are excited to welcome them and provide them with their first experience in music, dance, and drama!

 

Speaking of our summer camps, each year I often find myself thinking back to some of our first camps when I was a student. We had a blast getting to play all the instruments, doing ensembles, and Friday concerts where parents came to see us perform. That was all great, but for some reason what I remember the most is red Kool-Aid and cookies from snack time. Ah... Good times.

 

Whatever you do this summer - don’t just sit around - be creative and enjoy doing something new and fun! I hope to see everyone this summer at our many upcoming events!

 

~ Ryan Cullen, Executive Director

LAAPA in the Community - The Blake at Colonial Club

LAAPA faculty member Piper Hillerich (guitar, bass, piano, and voice) and students Grace G (piano), McKenzie F (piano), Wyatt D (piano), and Gregory O (voice, piano, guitar) performed recently at The Blake, giving its residents a wonderful show!

LAAPA in the Community - Recognition & Awards

Gregory O is the only 6th grader at Haynes Middle School to be accepted into the All State Middle School Choir for 2024-25 school year. He received acceptance letters after participating in two separate rounds of auditions. The All State School Choir was a fantastic weekend of being educated by professional musical conductors. We give LAPAA a big part of the recognition for this as Gregory started his voice lessons with LAPAA at the early age of 6. He not only learned how to sing, but also developed a confidence and willingness to perform music on stage and in front of judges

Student News - Got something to share? Send it to us!

We love getting your news, success stories, and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and on Twitter at @laapatweets.

Recording Studio

Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or book your session today!

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Happy May Birthdays!

We'd like to wish the following students a very Happy Birthday this month!

Aaron W [12], Abigail N [17], Adam S [15], Addilyn S [7], Addison O [11], Adelaide S [13], Aivy B [16], Alayna M [6], Alexander D [7], Alexis H, Amani N [11], Amelia L [6], Angelina G [12], Ann W [15], Araceli D [14], Asher M [7], Ashley A [9], Aubrey R, Audrey C [11], Avery W [12], Aviv R [10], Benjamin B [15], Bennett R [11], Brielle S [2], Caleb H [16], Cara “Gracie” G [10], Caroline H, Carson H, Cecilia P [6], Charlie S [11], Charlotte S [12], Christabella M [15], Cohen P [13], Cora D [3], Craig H, David G, Derek F [8], Devan F [16], Dominique T, Drake L [8], Elianne A [4], Elienai R [11], Ella B [10], Ella U [13], Ellen L [7], Ellie P [17], Eloise S [10], Emma D [15], Emma K [3], Eric G, Ezekiel S [7], Felicity G [7], Finn T [17], Gabriel D [15], Gabriel H [7], Gabriel K [5], Gabriele M [6], Gerod M Jr [13], Gino G [6], Grey O [7], Hannah L [8], Hunter D, Jace F [15], Jack E [11], Jacob M [9], Jahzara B [8], James T IV [9], Jerome C, Joaquin N [13], Jordyn D [9], Joseph S [14], Joy B [6], Jude F [12], Julian L [10], Julie U, Kidd B [10], Kira T [5], Laina H [12], Laurie L, Layla H [17], Lincoln R [8], Logan L [12], Louie H [8], Lucas K [7], Lucas L [6], Lucy L [5], Luke H [9], Madilynn C [11], Maisie C [5], Marlee K [15], Mason B [7], Matthew L, Maya O [4], Mike C, Mikyla L [7], Nathan L, Nichole R, Noah S [12], Nolan K [13], Oliver C [11], Olivia B [4], Olivia G [6], Oscar V [8], Paisley S [9], Patrick E [7], Payton S [9], Pearce G [8], Quinn R [8], Rainah C [11], Raymond B IV [10], Roni R [7], Ronliyah D [16], Rosemary H [3], Sarah C, Savannah B [13], Savannah I [11, Sebastian M [9], Sofia M [13], Solana S [2], Sophia M [12], Tara S, Tera B, Thomas J [4], Valentina B [3], Winnie E [8] Wyatt A [12], Wyatt D [10], Wyatt J [11], Yarielis A [8]

Camp spots are filling quickly!

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Important Dates

Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:

New Artwork by Michaela Howell

We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!

Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850.

Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!

With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!

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Student Spotlight - Tripp, Hannah, & Daniel Wilson

This month’s Student Spotlight features Covington campus siblings Tripp, Hannah, & Daniel Wilson! Tripp has been taking guitar lessons for five years; Hannah, voice lessons for one year; and Daniel, piano lessons for one year! They’ve dabbled in various instruments since 2018 here at LAAPA.

Outside of LAAPA, Tripp enjoys photography and visual arts; Hannah - drawing, nature, and coffee; Daniel - vintage toys and being outdoors. Tripp and Hannah enjoy all genres of music, while Daniel is particularly fond of 80s era tunes. Tripp’s favorite artist is Adrianne Lenker; Hannah’s, Billie Eilish and Alex Jean; Daniel, John Williams. Tripp’s favorite band is Modern Color; Hannah’s, Big Thief, Nirvana, and The Pixies; Daniel doesn’t have one! Tripp wants to further his study in music, while Hannah wants to be a nurse practicioner, and Daniel wants to be an engineer.

Tripp’s favorite thing about his instructor, Ryan T, is that “he knows his stuff and is able to cater to [my] learning style while making lessons fun.” Hannah’s favorite thing about her instructor, Dr. Vera, is how fun and outgoing she is as well as making lessons fun. Daniel’s favorite thing about his instructor, Carter, is how he teaches - “better than [my] homeschool prerecorded videos.” Tripp’s favorite part of lessons is learning new songs; Hannah’s, warmups and “side quests;” Daniel’s, Carter’s teaching method via questions, either about how to play or about Daniel himself. Lessons have given Tripp a hobby turned career (he’ll be going to college for music). For Hannah, she’s become a stronger singer, more stable on stage, and more confident. For Daniel, his confidence has grown as well as his ability to play music. All three siblings have enjoyed LAAPA’s teachers, performance opportunities, and various program offerings. We can’t wait to see what the future brings to all three of you!

A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in April!

We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!