Soundwave Academy

After our masterclass with Zsolt Eder, our students are ready to show off their hard work at our first recital of the 2022-2023 year! Please join us tomorrow at 1pm for our Fall Concert, featuring pieces by Beethoven, Vivaldi, Schubert, and a composition from one of our students! Hope to see you there!

We're extremely excited to be hosting Zsolt Eder as the first guest artist of our 2022-23 season! Zsolt will be giving a masterclass tomorrow afternoon to our four chamber ensembles:

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zsolt has established himself as an international soloist and chamber musician. Zsolt is in his seventh season as Concertmaster of the Topeka Symphony and is currently professor of violin and viola at Washburn University. He is also a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Academy and performs regularly in the Kansas City Symphony. As a violinist in the Opus 76 quartet, they hold performances locally and are the Artists-in-residence at the Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College. His new concert series "Zsolt Eder and Friends" launched in 2018. Zsolt's interest in different musical cultures and traditions led him to establish folk music group Ensemble Amarcord in 2014. He has a particular passion for educational outreach, having worked for City Music Cleveland and Harmony Project Kansas City. He now works for the Musical Bridges Program at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, providing free one-on-one lessons for inner-city children. Zsolt enjoys collaborating with Kansas City groups like Ensemble Iberica, the Kansas City Baroque Consortium and Spire Chamber Ensemble. He is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Not only are our students in for a treat, but you'll be treated to performances and a preview into what it takes to become better artists. Hope to see you there!

Hey VIOLINISTS! One final push to sign up for our fall classical chamber music session.

The session runs from September 3rd- October 8th Saturdays Noon-2pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Westport Rd.

Enrollment closes in 24 hours!

The fall semester is almost here! We’re excited to be offering two amazing sessions this fall - check out the details on our website @ soundwaveacademyKC.com

We have exciting new sessions coming this fall!!

We will be hosting a Classical Session which will focus on our usual areas including ear training, theory, and chamber music. We will also be adding WOODWINDS!

Additionally, we will be hosting our first ever Jazz Session starting in November! This will include theory, ear training, improvisation, and jazz style training for all levels!

Sign up now and receive $50 off one session tuition!!

https://www.soundwaveacademykc.com/apply.html

There’s no better way to spend your Saturday morning than seeing our students perform! Come see all of their hard work this Saturday at 10am at Immanuel Lutheran Church (1700 Westport Rd). Featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Martinu, and some traditional folk tunes, there’s something for everyone!

Can’t wait to see you there!

We had such a wonderful time hosting Elizabeth Suh Lane for our Spring Masterclass this past weekend. With so much great playing, artistry, and advice, we can’t wait for the next one!

Make sure to join us for our Spring Concert on April 23rd to see all of our students’ hard work and dedication come to fruition.

Also, if you haven’t already, make sure to check out and their next concert featuring Rodney Marsalis on April 29th.

Please join us for our Spring Masterclass tomorrow morning from 10am-12pm at Immanuel Luther Church. We are thrilled to be featuring Elizabeth Suh Lane (from ) as our guest teacher. Featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Martinu, and some traditional folk tunes, we are excited for you to see what our students have been working on this Spring!

We are thrilled to be featuring Elizabeth Suh Lane (founder, artistic director, and violinist of the Bach Aria Soloists) as the final guest artist of our 2021-2022 year. On April 9th, she will be giving a masterclass at Immanuel Lutheran Church from 10:00am-12:00pm featuring all 3 of our students chamber ensembles.

“Elizabeth Suh Lane has been described as a “phenomenal musician” by the renowned violin pedagogue Max Rostal and “among the finest chamber musicians in America today” by San Francisco Symphony’s Director Emeritus Michael Tilson Thomas. She has performed across the globe as a chamber and orchestral musician in the world’s top concert halls. She toured the world with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gidon Kremer; and with the Academy of St. Martin-in the-Fields under Sir Neville Marriner. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has been invited to numerous international festivals: Tanglewood; Britten-Pears; Schleswig–Holstein; Japan’s Pacific Music; the Carmel Bach Festival. She recently served on the faculties of Snowpond Chamber Music Seminar in Maine and Brian Lewis Young Artists‘ Program instructing advanced violin students.

Elizabeth is Founder-Executive-Artistic Director-Violinist of the critically acclaimed Bach Aria Soloists. Her leadership has brought world-class collaborations to Kansas City to partner with BAS, incl: the world’s preeminent scholar of Bach Dr. Christoph Wolff; Associate Director of Parsons Dance Elizabeth Koeppen; Guggenheim-award winning composer Narong Prangcharoen whom she commissioned for BAS’ 15th Anniversary and BAS debuted his DIALOGUE composition in Thailand at the International Composition Festival.”

We cannot wait for our students to work with such an incredible musician and teacher! If you haven’t already, you should take a look into - their concerts are a one-of-a-kind experience that everyone in Kansas City should experience!

A huge thank you to Mike Block for his inspiring class last night! The smiles alone were worth it. We can’t wait to have you back again soon!!

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out his website mikeblockmusic.com for upcoming performances and educational opportunities.

Please help us in welcoming back Mike Block as one of our guest teaching artists this spring semester! We can’t wait to see how Mike inspires our students during their class on March 8th!

“Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer and educator. Passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music, Mike is committed to inspiring individuals and connecting communities. Acclaimed by the New York Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing”, and by Salt Lake City Desert News as “a true artist... a sight to behold”, Mike Block “is one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene.” (Gramophone). Mike's performances offer a rich mixture of classical repertoire, folk music, original compositions and songs. Since 2005, Mike has been a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, with which he has been featured as both cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album Sing Me Home.

As an educator, Mike is passionate about creativity and collaboration among performers of all ages, and is the founding director of Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop and the Mike Block String Camp, and is on faculty at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory of Music.”

-Take a look at Block’s full bio on his website: mikeblockmusic.com

We hope you’re all enjoying the snow and some relaxing time at home! ☃️

After an eventful weekend full of learning and performances, we’re so thankful for our amazing students and staff while also having some time to reflect and relax ❄️

Stay posted for more info - we’re excited to be hosting some phenomenal guest teachers this spring!

So proud of our representation at the MMEA conference this weekend. Huge congrats to our students on an amazing concert this afternoon! ⠀
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As we complete the first week of our spring semester, we are incredibly grateful that we get to see our new and returning students for the next 15 weeks! Keep your eyes peeled as we continue featuring some familiar (and new!) students throughout the semester.

Welcome to week 4 of our Student Spotlight Series™️ (we hoped you all enjoyed your holiday week)! This week we’re featuring Ella, one of our fabulous violists!

Ella has been with the Academy since January of 2020, and we are incredibly proud of the musician she has become! You’ll get a chance to hear how awesome she is, in addition to our other fantastic students (and some wonderful guest students) at our concert on December 11th @ 1pm at Olivet Baptist Church, featuring the illustrious Eboni Fondren.

We think our students are awesome, and we hope you do, too!�

Welcome to week 3 of our Student Spotlight Series™️! This week we’re featuring Carter, one of our student cellists.

If you missed hearing Carter at our master class with Christine Grossman , you’ll get the chance to hear them (and all of our students!) at our December concert with Eboni Fondren on December 11th.

We think our students are awesome, and we hope you do, too!�

A huge congratulations to ALL of our students, who each placed in their district orchestra after auditions in early November. How lucky are we to have such amazing students?

Join us for the next installment of our Student Spotlight Series ™️ featuring Savannah!

Savannah has been with us since the Academy was started and we’re so proud of the progress and growth she has made over the years!

We think our students are awesome, and we hope you do, too!

Join us for our first Friday Student Spotlight featuring violist, Lexi.
We think our students our awesome, and we hope you do, too!

We are so excited for today! Our students are having a masterclass with amazing !

Immensely proud of our students and incredibly thankful for the for providing such an amazing opportunity last night. We hope you check out the rest of KCJO’s concert season and join our students at our winter concert on December 11th!!

Getting ready for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra concert next Friday (October 8th at 8pm)! We hope you're as excited as we are!

Get your tickets for "Bird Lives!" at the Kauffman on Oct. 8th @ 8p here: https://buff.ly/3AuGlhT

Help us in giving a warm welcome to our newest member - our program coordinator - Mark Adair.

Mark, a bassoonist and teacher from Wichita, KS, holds undergraduate degrees from UMKC, and a graduate degree from Indiana University.

Mark has performed with the Aspen Music Festival as a Contrabassoon Fellow, Jefferson City Southside Philharmonic, Northland Symphony, Lee’s Summit Symphony, and the Midwest Chamber Ensemble. During his time at Indiana University, Mark taught contrabassoon and assisted in designing studio curriculum. As an active educator, he has been a teacher in the Farmington and Shawnee Mission School Districts, and UMKC’s Double Reed Institute.

Welcome, Mark!!

We are ecstatic to welcome Christine Grossman as our first guest artist and teacher of the 2021-22 season on October 23rd.

Heralded as an “Artist to Watch” in KC Studio Magazine, Ms. Grossman is a celebrated orchestral musician, chamber performer, and teacher. She began playing the violin at the age of five, piano at the age of ten, and viola at sixteen, and pursued both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in viola performance at the Juilliard School.

Ms. Grossman served as the Principal Violist with the Kansas City Symphony from 2008 until 2019 and enjoyed several solo appearances with the orchestra. Before moving to Kansas City, Ms. Grossman previously held positions with the Pacific Symphony, Delaware Symphony, and was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Grossman was formerly in the California Quartet, based in San Diego. She can be found concertizing across the country and teaches violin and viola privately.

We cannot wait to have you here with us!

Calling all of you “Ornithology” lovers out there, “Now’s the Time” to get tickets for KC Jazz Orchestra’s Charlie Parker concert - Bird Lives! - on October 8 at the Kauffman Center.

We are thrilled to be playing alongside the KCJO for an amazing post-“Summertime” concert. Bring your family and “Just Friends” for a “Rocker” performance including some of the iconic “Easy to Love” album: Charlie Parker with Strings.

You may be thinking “I’m In The Mood For Love”, but what you’re really thinking is - I’m sure in the “Parker’s Mood” for some “Yardbird Suite”. Did we mention the concert’s in the best venue “East of the Sun”?

Tickets are selling out - get yours now! https://buff.ly/3AuGlhT

This semester at Soundwave we are lucky to have the amazing for our Winter Concert on December 11th, and as our guest artists for the October 23rd Masterclass! We can't wait! ENROLL BY SEPTEMBER 6th!

We are thrilled to get to perform side-by-side with the on October 8th! Space is still available for enrollment. Sign up now!