Needham Music

Our student spotlight this month is Paul Good!

Get to know our summer program teachers!

Dr. Kevin A. Virgilio is one of our amazing brass teachers, and he will be the instructor for our Intro to Music Theory summer class!

Kevin has been playing and studying music for many years! He achieved a doctorate in musical arts at Boston University, made his solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2023 after winning the annual BU at Carnegie Spotlight competition for his performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Elégie, Op.3 No.1, and was named winner of the 2024 BU Soloists' Competition with his performance of Fantasma/Cantos II for Trombone and Orchestra by Tōru Takemitsu!

He is currently on faculty with the Handel and Haydn Society, Needham Music, and Brookline Public Schools. He performs regularly in theater productions at the North Shore Music Theater and the Cape Playhouse. He is a founding member of Run With the Winds, a running club for wind and brass instrumentalists to improve cardiovascular health. To date, they have run three marathons together.

To tap into Kevin's doctoral knowledge of music theory, sign up for our Intro to Music Theory class on our website (needhammusic.com) today!

Get to know our summer program teachers!

Reed Demangone is our fabulous, brand new piano and voice teacher, and he will be the instructor for our latest summer program: the Musical Theater Intensive!

Reed has been playing and singing for nearly his entire life. He was born deaf, and had to receive surgery and ear tubes in order to restore his hearing. For a long time after he recovered from the operation, his only method of communication was by singing. Eventually, with the help of a speech therapist, he was able to speak, but he never stopped singing!

Reed earned his Bachelors of Music at the prestigious College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (CCM), followed by a Masters of Music from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, a program specializing in early music. While his degrees are in the classical music style, his roots are in musical theatre with over 16 years of experience performing in musicals.

As a performer, Reed has portrayed a variety of characters ranging from standard countertenor repertoire, recently “Tirinto” in Handel’s Imeneo, to unexpected roles such as “L'Opinion Publique” in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers, or “The Sorceress” in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Most recently, Reed had the privilege to perform two roles with the Grammy-award winning Boston Early Music Festival as a resident young artist.

Outside of music, Reed loves eating paella, playing Minecraft, and fencing, including teaching fencing and working on fencing armor.

To learn from Reed's wealth of knowledge in musical theater, sign up for our Musical Theater Intensive on our website (needhammusic.com) today!

Get to know our summer program teachers!

Liam Compton is our fantastic instructor for Artist Live, our summer rock band program.

Liam has been playing music for over 20 years! His parents are both musicians, so he feels he was destined to follow in their footsteps. Today, he plays guitar with amazing bands like Tipling Rock, SpeechLess, and Silver Arrow Band.

In his teaching, Liam loves the "aha" or breakthrough moment when a challenging concept clicks for a student. He has experienced this many times with his guitar students here at Needham Music!

Liam is inspired by many different artists, including D’Angelo, Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith, Frank Ocean, Luiz Bonfa, and Julian Lage.

In his free time, Liam enjoys reading, exploring nature with his dog, and eating Indian curries.

To experience Liam's rock expertise, sign up for Artist Live on our website (needhammusic.com) today!

Don't forget to sign up for our summer recital!

This year, our summer recital will be held on Saturday, June 20th, with a 12pm start. The concert will be held in the sanctuary at the First Baptist Church of Needham (858 Great Plain Ave). This recital will feature our rock band class, Rockademy!

Signups for this recital are due by 11:59pm on Saturday, June 13th.

To sign up, scan the QR code, or paste this URL into your web browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9lFmUDTyLH3UEjPlkjNYNAKl9cEet0sjJfrbD5FnoTYGRlg/viewform

We can't wait to hear everyone's performances!

This month's product spotlight is the Stagg 5-string Deluxe Western Banjo!

This is the perfect instrument for any banjo enthusiasts out there. It comprises a beautiful mahogany resonator and pot, a maple/ebony bridge, a rosewood fingerboard, an 11-inch white coated Remo head, and a pristine Highgloss finish. It also features an impressive 24 bracket hooks, allowing for an exceptionally sturdy fit and a wide range of adjustability. These aspects combine together to create one of the best banjos we've ever stocked, and it can be yours today for $349.99.

Come check it out at the store!

If you plan on pausing your lessons during the summer, don't hesitate to reach out! Summer pauses require 30-day notice via email.
(see email address below)

We prorate July and August, and we will hold your time slot so you can start right back up at your normal time in the fall.

The last week of lessons before the summer period (where lesson pauses can occur) is June 22nd-June 27th. The first week of fall lessons is August 31st-September 5th, due to Labor Day being late this year.

If you plan on continuing your lessons during the summer, then no action is needed from you, as your lessons will then proceed as normal.

To put in a summer pause, email us at [email protected]!

We will be fully closed on Monday, May 25th, for Memorial Day. There will be no lessons that day, and the store will be closed as well.

However, we ARE open tomorrow (Saturday 5/23) both for lessons and in the store.

Whether you're here or away, we hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Come join our summer music theory class! It will be taught by Dr. Kevin A. Virgilio (DMA), our fabulous brass instructor and expert in music theory. In this program, students will hone basic theory skills, harmony and ear training. It's a perfect prep course for anyone planning to take AP Music Theory.

Scan the QR code or go to our website (needhammusic.com) to sign up today!

Come join our musical theater summer intensive! It will be taught by Reed Demangone, our fabulous, classically-trained piano/vocal instructor with extensive experience in opera and theater. In this program, students will learn musical theater songs, engage in acting and singing workshops, and perform in a wonderful showcase at the end of the program.

Scan the QR code or go to our website (needhammusic.com) to sign up today!