CEDAR PARK, Texas — Longtime Austin music school, the Orpheus Academy of Music, opened a new location in Cedar Park this week.
“Our goal is to give students such an amazing experience that they just can't wait to play their instrument,” owner Klondike Steadman said.
Last year, the academy’s first location in Northwest Austin exceeded $1 million in gross revenue. It hit capacity with 500 students.
“All of our students get a comprehensive music education,” Steadman said. “They get private lessons, they get group musicianship lessons – that means they get to learn to sing beautifully, they learn to read music, they learn to improvise, compose.”
One star student, 8-year-old Kenai Prentice, has been a student for five years.
“My mom and dad just told me to do it, and I just stuck with it like glue and a piece of paper and another piece of paper stuck together,” Prentice said.
In 2018, he traveled to New York City with the academy to perform at Carnegie Hall.
“Whew, it was a great experience,” he said. “I was so nervous that I almost did a backflip. But my belly was doing backflips, obviously.”
Prentice said he won’t become a musician when he grows up, but he’ll always play for fun.
PHOTOS: Kenai Prentice performs at Carnegie Hall with the Orpheus Academy of Music
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Steadman hopes the lessons from the academy will transfer into other parts of students’ lives.
“[Music] really challenges us on a multiple of levels. Physically, it's hard. Mentally, it's hard – emotionally, spiritually. You have to invest your whole self in getting it right,” Steadman said. “If you're ever going to do anything meaningful, you need to learn how to invest your whole self into a goal and nothing teaches that better than music.”
The academy will host free Saturday Jam sessions for people of all ages and abilities.
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