Stiefel Theatre is incredibly honored to launch The Mike Finnigan School of Music. Mike Finnigan was a beloved musician, often called the "musician's musician." He loved music, was passionate about education, loved playing at the Stiefel and was a good friend, and loved Kansas.
Mike was an American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ. Working primarily as a freelance studio musician and touring player, he played with a wide variety of musicians in pop, rock, blues and jazz. Finnigan toured with and sessioned for Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Sam Moore, Crosby Stills and Nash, Dave Mason, Buddy Guy, The Manhattan Transfer, Taj Mahal, Michael McDonald, Maria Muldaur, Peter Frampton, Cher, Ringo Starr, Leonard Cohen, Tower of Power, Rod Stewart, David Coverdale, Tracy Chapman, Los Lonely Boys, and Bonnie Raitt. He was born in Troy, Ohio, and attended the University of Kansas on a basketball scholarship.
Thank you so much to Mike Finnigan’s family for their support, and to everyone for their gifts that will make this school possible. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the school please contact the Stiefel box office.
We will offer group music lessons (see listings below) and a variety of summer workshops (to be announced - some of Mike's friends have offered to teach workshops.) There will also be opportunities occasionally for children to attend concerts at the Stiefel and learn about the bands. More to come, stay tuned.
A complete description will be online at www.stiefeltheatre.org by Thursday, December 16 (we are launching a new Stiefel website - same address: www.stiefeltheatre.org.) You can sign up for classes online once the new website launches or stop by or call the Stiefel box office now and sign up. 785-827-1998 M-F, noon-5pm.
How our classes are structured:
All lessons will be taught in a group format. A complete description will be online at www.stiefeltheatre.org by Thursday, December 16.
50 minute classes offered in 8 week sessions plus a short informal concert/recital on the Stiefel stage at the conclusion of each session.
A minimum number of students must be signed up to offer the class. Each class also has a maximum number of participants so sign up soon!
Classes will meet in the Watson Room / Green Room of the Stiefel Theatre.
$200 tuition is due upon enrollment. This can all be done online on the Stiefel website or by calling the Stiefel box office at 785-827-1998.
Why should you choose the Mike Finnigan School of Music at the Stiefel Theatre?
The Stiefel employs some of the region’s best music instructors. When you enroll, you receive the very best instruction from the most qualified instructors in the area. Music is a collaborative art form - Playing together is essential to becoming a good musician and the group lesson format provides that opportunity while also giving students plenty of individual feedback.
Each class will include essential learning objectives that will be assessed by the instructor to help focus instruction and aid students in their practicing.
Students are learning in one of the nation’s premier performance venues and will receive a chance to perform on the Stiefel stage. The Stiefel’s work in bringing in the nation’s top performing artists may also bring chances for students to work with some of America’s greatest musicians or chances to see a live concert at the Stiefel while enrolled.
COURSE CATALOG
MONDAYS
4:30 Beginning Violin with Manda Deegan (WATSON ROOM)
5:30 Intermediate Violin with Manda Deegan (WATSON ROOM)
6:30 Ukulele “Im Learning Ukulele” for all ages with Thad Beach (WATSON ROOM)
TUESDAYS
4:00 Ukulele “I Got a Ukulele” for ages 8-12 with Thad Beach (WATSON ROOM)
5:00 Beginning Guitar for ages 8-12 with Matt Gerry (WATSON ROOM)
5:15 Beginning Piano for ages 7-10 with Stephanie Gerry (GREEN ROOM)
6:00 Intermediate Guitar for ages 10-18 with Matt Gerry (WATSON ROOM)
6:15 Intermediate Piano for ages 10-14 with Stephanie Gerry (GREEN ROOM)
There will be a RECITAL for all classes on March 3rd at 7pm on the Stiefel Stage.
THIS FIRST SESSION RUNS FROM JANUARY 10th to MARCH 1
There will be a parent informational open house on January 4 between 7-8 pm where parents can meet the teachers and ask them questions about their student’s instrumental needs.
The following is the listing of all classes
Class Name: Beginning Guitar Class
Instructor: Matt Gerry
Schedule: Tuesdays at 5 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 8-12; this class is for absolute beginners to guitar
Class Size: Minimum 5; Maximum 25
Materials Required:
Guitar: Preferably an acoustic or classical guitar, but an electric guitar will work, as well. If the student only has an electric they will not be able to plug into an amplifier during group lessons and will be very quiet during class. Guitar needs to have relatively new strings and be able to hold a tune. Questions about guitar and string quality can be directed to the instructor or S.M. Hanson music store.
Picks: 3 to 4 medium gauge picks
Music: All music, including accompaniment tracks, will be available to students online. If the student does not have internet access, please inquire about having physical copies made for the student.
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• How to properly hold the guitar • Proper fretting technique
• Various right hand picking techniques, including: rest stroke, free stroke, and using a pick • How notes are laid out across the fretboard
• Basic rhythms, including: whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and sixteenth notes.
• How to read both standard notation and tablature
• How to perform both with a group and individually
• Bass guitar root playing
• At least 3 musical pieces to be played in front of an audience.
Class Name: Intermediate Guitar Class
Instructor: Matt Gerry
Schedule: Tuesdays at 6 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 10-18; Students who enroll for Intermediate Guitar will need to be able to understand and demonstrate the following:
• How to hold a guitar properly and use proper left and right hand technique
• A basic knowledge of reading treble clef notation for guitar
• How to read tablature and understand how it relates to the fretboard
• Be able to play a variety of chords and understand how to read a chord diagram
Any student who attended South Middle or Lakewood Middle School and had an introduction to guitar in music class should be ready for this class.
Class Size: Minimum 5; Maximum 25
Materials Required:
• Guitar: Preferably an acoustic or classical guitar, but an electric guitar will work, as well. If the student only has an electric they will not be able to plug into an amplifier during group lessons and will be very quiet during class. Guitar needs to have relatively new strings and be able to hold a tune. Questions about guitar and string quality can be directed to the instructor or S.M. Hanson music store.
• Picks: 3 to 4 medium gauge picks
• Music: All music, including accompaniment tracks, will be available to students online. If the student does not have internet access, please inquire about having physical copies made for the student.
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• How to play chords in the keys of G, A, and D
• Demonstrate a syncopated strum
• How to improvise short solos using the pentatonic scale
• Realise and demonstrate the different guitar roles in a rock band: bass, lead and rhythm
• Playing various popular riffs by reading tablature
• Be able to play at least one piece using standard notation
• Be able to perform both individually and with a group
• At least 3 musical pieces to be performed in front of an audience
Class Name: Beginning Piano Class
Instructor: Stephanie Gerry
Schedule: Tuesdays at 5:15 in the Green Room
Age Range: 7-10; this class is for students with no previous piano experience
Class Size: Minimum 3; Maximum 8
Materials Required:
• Folder or binder for collecting music and other handouts; all music will be provided by the instructor
• Pencil
It is recommended to have a piano or keyboard for practicing at home, but not required
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• Rhythms, including: quarter, eighth, half, whole and dotted half notes
• Keyboard geography: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B on the keyboard
• Sharps, Flats, and Naturals
• Notes on the staff, including: Middle C, D, E, F and Eb
• How to play with both hands using the Treble and Bass Clef staffs
• Playing music both individually and as a group
• At least 3 piano pieces to be performed in front of an audience
Class Name: Intermediate Piano Class
Instructor: Stephanie Gerry
Schedule: Tuesdays at 6:15 in the Green Room
Age Range: 10-14; this class is for students who have had an introduction to piano, either through private lessons or music class at school
Class Size: Minimum 3; Maximum 8
Materials Required:
• Folder or binder for music and other handouts; all music to be used in class will be provided by the instructor
• Pencil
It is recommended to have a piano or keyboard for practicing at home, but not required
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• Review of all notes on the staff
• Proficiency in playing with both hands
• Finger numbers and how those are used in music notation
• How to read Time Signatures
• How to play staccato notes
• Using finger cross-overs and cross-unders
• Playing music both individually and as a group
• At least 3 piano pieces to be perform in front of an audience
Class Name: Beginner Ukulele 1 (“I got a ukulele!)
Instructor: Thad Beach
Schedule: Tuesdays at 4 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 8-12, or with teacher approval
Class Size: Minimum 5; Maximum 12
Materials Required:
• Ukulele: soprano/concert or tenor sized. Baritone ukuleles will not work.
• A ukulele tuner or phone app tuner would be helpful for the student
• Folder or notebook to keep papers is recommended: the teacher will provide links or handouts to lesson worksheets and instructional materials.
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• Uke care and tuning
• Easy chords, scales, strums and tricks to get our fingers and hands working
• How to sing and play fun songs and exercises while we learn how to read chords and tablature
A checklist of topics/lessons and weekly progress that can be self-evaluated by the students, and a practice diary/log will be included, plus a teacher progress report both midway through classes and at the end of the session.
Class Name: Beginner Ukulele 2 (I’m learning the Ukulele!)
Instructor: Thad Beach
Schedule: Mondays at 6:30 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 10-adult, or with teacher approval
Class Size: Minimum 5; Maximum 15
Materials Required:
• Ukulele: soprano/concert or tenor sized. Baritone ukuleles will not work.
• A ukulele tuner or phone app tuner would be helpful for the student
• Folder or notebook to keep papers is recommended: the teacher will provide links or handouts to lesson worksheets and instructional materials.
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• Chords, fingerings and right hand techniques to play songs in a few keys
• Reading songsheets with chords and tablature
• Easy licks, tricks and runs that will help you “Make it fun and make it your own!”
A checklist of topics/lessons and weekly progress that can be self-evaluated by the students, and a practice diary/log will be included, plus a teacher progress report both midway through classes and at the end of the session.
Class Name: Beginning Group Violin
Instructor: Manda Deegan
Schedule: Mondays at 4:30 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 5-9 or in elementary school, but not yet started school instrumental music lessons
Young students must understand these concepts:
• Left and right concept of reading
• Recognize and be able to write numbers 0 to 4
• Recognize and be able to write letters A to G
• Class Size: Minimum 3; Maximum 10
Materials Required:
• Quality student violin and bow: violin must be correctly sized to the student with strings in good condition, and the bow must have a clean, full ribbon of hair which loosens and tightens correctly
• Shoulder rest or sponge which is appropriate height for the student
• Rosin
• Book: Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1
• Pencil and spiral notebook
Concepts to be Learned in Class
• How to correctly hold the violin on left shoulder and keep it correctly positioned while playing
• How to play pizzicato on all four strings
• How to correctly hold the bow: thumb under frog for young beginners and thumb under stick for older students
• Playing with the bow on all four strings
• Understanding the difference between an Upbow and a Downbow
• Counting notes and the relationship between eight, quarter, half and whole notes
• Playing a one octave A Major scale beginning on the open A string
• Recognizing the written notes of the A Major scale on the staff and being able to play each note on sight with correct fingerings
• Play at least 3 short pieces in A Major
Class Name: Experienced Group Violin
Instructor: Manda Deegan
Schedule: Mondays at 5:30 in the Watson Room
Age Range: 9-12 with some violin experience, either in school or other lessons
Class Size: Minimum 3; Maximum 10
Materials Required:
• Quality student violin and bow: violin must be correctly sized to the student with strings in good condition, and the bow must have a clean, full ribbon of hair which loosens and tightens correctly.
• Shoulder rest or sponge which is appropriate height for the student
• Rosin
• Books: Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1 and The Doflein Method, Volume 1: The Beginning
• Pencil and spiral notebook
Concepts to be Learned in Class:
• How to correctly hold the violin on left shoulder and keep it correctly positioned while playing
• How to correctly hold the bow
Playing with the bow on all four strings
• Understanding bow concepts, including: Recover/retake, hooked upbows, staccato on the string, and slurs
• Count note values and understand the relationships between sixteenth, eighth, quarter, half, whole, and dotted half notes.
• Play one octave Major scales beginning on the open G, D, and A strings
• Recognize the written notes for finger in their home positions on all four strings
• Be able to play each note on sight with correct fingerings, including both open strings and fourth fingers
• Play at least 3 short pieces
$200 tuition is due upon enrollment for all group classes. Registration can be done online at the Stiefel website @ www.stiefeltheatre.org (beginning Thursday, December 16) or by calling the Stiefel box office today at 785-827-1998. Thank you for your support!