all it took was an idea & time...

7/7/2024

-Stathia Orwig

A year ago, our five year lease was coming to an end soon and we were running out of room. To think Music SO Simple started with 2 teachers teaching out of our homes and travel teaching to then renting a room at a nearby church to a commercial space with 6 rooms! All in 6 years! And now, 8 years later we needed more space.

This is a story about our expansion and the vision I have for Music SO Simple.

We did look around at moving for about a year prior. Honestly, my moving radius was SMALL! I love where we are and it feels very central to our families. So, ultimately when I was able to secure the deal to expand into the empty space next to us, it was a done deal.

Our current layout was 6 teaching rooms (with one being my office), 2 waiting areas, and our teacher workroom. I, somehow convinced my brother, Dimitrios, to be the lead contractor. Together, we designed a layout that fit in the rooms I needed. He drew up the plans and we were able to get started.

The space on the left is our existing space, adding in the 4 rooms on the right with the hallway.

THE CHANGES:
We moved our teacher workroom to the back of the studio. The old teacher workroom was renamed "crescendo" and is now our Music Together & Merry Musicians room. The shape of this room is perfect for both of these classes and is allowing us to add more of them since they have their own dedicated space. The mood of the room is also wonderful since it's super preschool friendly with the carpet & art on the walls!

My office is now "our office". This allows me a space to work and Gayle, a space to get quite work in & phone calls!

The keyboards have been moved to the front of the studio into a slightly larger room. We have been able to make room for all 6(!!) digital keyboards AND a table for students to work on written assignments. In addition to Studio Kids ensemble classes, we are adding a new curriculum called Piano Express, which is a wonderful group piano program! We are planning to offer classes throughout the week!

Most full-time teachers now have their own spaces to teach in & each picked a musical name assigned to a room. It was super fun to involve everyone in the naming of the rooms!
Ms. Lynne--> Rubato with her own Petrof grand piano
Ms. Emily--> Vivace with the Boston grand piano
Ms. Jean--> Dolce with the Boston upright piano
Ms. Logan--> Rhapsody with the blue Boston upright
Ms. Meredith--> Treble with the Steinway grand
Mr. Large--> Largo (which is very appropriate, don't you think?) with all of the string instruments

The old keyboard room is now for guitar and has been named "Bass".

Even the restrooms have a name!! RESTrooms...and they each have their own artt, thanks to one of my talented students, Susu, who brought my vision to life! Look closely for the rests...

In the front on the new side, we now have a bigger room, named Glissando, which will be used for teaching, but also recital prep classes, small recitals, meetings, and small yoga classes. My dream was to have a Steinway Spirio in this space. It's a Steinway grand that also plays by itself & records. Imagine being able to have our students listen to amazing artists from all over the world play right in our own school! And, we can make recordings of our students and be able to edit. Thanks to Steinway Hall- Dallas, this dream has come true! More coming on that later!!

Lastly, we have some amazing custom touches to our space, thanks to Dimitrios. Not only did he share my vision of MSS and what we bring to the community, he put in his own creative touches which have literally blown me away.

In the back waiting area, we have an old grand piano turned into an amazing bookshelf! And in the front waiting area, he made a coffee table.

I want to thank a few key people:
To my team of teachers: Thank you for covering pianos, dealing with dust, things being out of place, going with the flow, and making things work. Your patience and excitement helped propel me forward into this dream becoming our reality.

To Casey: Thank you for all that you and Steinway Hall do...for helping us teach on the best instruments and for making my dream a reality. You seriously are the best.

To Gayle: Thank you for being at MSS when I couldn't be, for letting in workers, cleaning up after workers, moving pianos, covering up pianos, moving pianos back, changing the room schedules endlessly, coming up with alternative ideas when I couldn't see clearly, and listening to me. You are irreplaceable.

To Dimitrios: Thank you for your honesty, your sarcasm, & your humor. You answered most of my phone calls & texts, and you treated MSS like your own. Thank you for the electricity & plumbing- all of the stuff we needed but can't see. And for all of the things we can see: the finishes, the cameras, tvs, bookshelf, and coffee table. Your work is truly amazing. Love you so much and I owe you more than I could ever pay back.

To Brian, my biggest cheerleader: I could have never done this without your help, wisdom, guidance, and patience. Thank you for the late nights and weekends at MSS. You're the best tech support and checkbook ever!! lol

And lastly, to our students, parents, families & friends who have all cheered us on, dealt with the mess, shared the excitement, & helped decorate...thank you!!