CORE VALUES - Ascension
Happy New Year to everyone! I’m hoping everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve!
I wanted to start our year off by revealing what our Core Values mean to me. Ultimately, our Core Values are what keep us in business and set us apart from every other music studio. When developing our Core Values, I wanted to make sure people know we focus on both the product AND the people. We don’t just teach music lessons so people can learn how to play or sing. While that is a worthy goal in and of itself, it lacks a fundamental element of artistry: humanity. I know plenty of people who play excellently, who can pick up almost any piece of music and play it without mistake. I don’t know very many people who can immediately play that piece with an element of humanity and heartfelt empathy. Art is meant to provoke emotion in us, but how can it do so without the artist's humanity showing through? So while we have goals for the music, we also have goals for the musician.
Our first Core Value is for both the music and the musician - Ascension. Each musician should be able to rise to the next level. We should be looking at both the musician's skill and maturity. Nobody should stay on “Hot Cross Buns” forever, but we do have to start somewhere. Wherever you begin, you should aim to reach the next level, the next challenge. This ambition doesn’t mean we get to diminish the level we’re on, or not celebrate how far we’ve come! On the contrary, we get to appreciate how far we’ve come, breathe in the beauty of where we’ve been, and know that we are still working on moving forward. We see this expression of Ascension in recitals and performances, where we encourage everyone in attendance to celebrate the performer and the hard work they’ve put in.
It includes moments in lessons, like the one I had a few weeks ago, with a student who is working so hard to understand music theory concepts in practice. He chose to apply a concept we’ve been working on for a few months while improvising completely without prompting from me . I was shocked and very loudly (and shockingly to him) stopped him to exclaim: “NOW you’re thinking like a musician!” His mother, in a totally separate context and conversation, mentioned how much she appreciates his time with me because she can see that I mentor him on top of just giving him lessons.
Every person who comes through ASCEND Music Studios is met with the same intention: Their musical AND personal ascension. Through every struggle, every joy, every missed note, every frustration, we are here to help lead and guide our students to the next level.