Thursday, August 17, 2006

By KELLEY YOUMAN
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Powell native SaraMarie Eichenberger is set to teach children and adults everything from piano to voice to dance and modeling next month when Prestige Music Studios open its doors.

A ribbon-cutting and open house will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 23, at the studios, 46 Village Pointe Drive in Powell. The studio will officially open for instruction Sept. 5, Eichenberger said.

Eichenberger has taught lessons for various companies since 1992. She is opening the business together with her parents.

Although it will be a state-of-the-art facility, Eichenberger said the focus will be on avoiding the stuffy stereotypes of most music studios.

"We're really focusing on being welcoming and being known as something different from the typical studio," Eichenberger said. "Our goal is provide excellent lessons by highly-qualified teachers but also to make sure that every single customer is treated like gold."

Instrumental instruction will be alongside dance, voice and modeling and polishing classes for boys and girls ages 10-18.

"The studio has a really neat layout. We have a 1,200 square-foot dance room with mirrors and proper acoustics, that will be good for dance classes and show choirs," Eichenberger said. "In the front, we have several studio rooms that are nice, big, open rooms -- not the jail-cell size that most people think of when they think of studios."

The studio will feature up to 20 teachers, and will also offer in-home lessons.

In-home private lessons will require students have their own piano.

Prestige has teamed up with Graves Piano and Organ to offer students in need of a piano the option to rent a new, upright model from Graves for $40 per month, Eichenberger said.

Prestige instructors will travel to about any suburb around I-270, but will also travel as far as Ostrander, Marion, Johnston and Granville, as part of their extended service area, Eichenberger said.

Prestige will also offer group piano lessons for adults, in a few different skill levels. Most adult classes will be for three-month timeframes, Eichenberger said.

Suzuki piano, violin and guitar lessons will be available. Suzuki is a teaching method recommended for children under 8 and starts by teaching children to play by ear before learning to read music, Eichenberger said.

"Young children will usually be able to progress quicker because they're not confined to only being able to play what they can read," she said.

Soon after opening, Prestige will also begin auditioning for its Musical Masterpiece Showchoir, in hopes of beginning performances throughout central Ohio in early 2007, Eichenberger said.

For more information call (614) 764-4000 or log onto http://www.prestigemusicstudios.com/

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