We’re back for our annual Silent Auction fundraiser at The Mule at Devil’s Foot Brewing. Put Thursday October 15 on your calendars, 5:30pm, and we’ll see you there! Lots of info to come about items, entertainment, food, etc.
Workshop for AMS Teachers – Aug 26
In an effort to help our teachers continue to improve their craft, we are offering a free workshop to help teachers implement Alexander Technique into their lessons.
Teachers – please sign up here: programs.ashevillemusicschool.org/class-offerings/15248
More info:
What to Do When Adjusting Technique Doesn’t Work: A Body Awareness Workshop for Music Teachers
Taught by: Joseph Arnold
Wednesday Aug 26
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
FREE workshop for AMS teachers and staff (use discount code at checkout)
When a student shows up tense, most of us do the thing we were trained to do: adjust their technique. Sometimes that works. Often the tension comes right back, or moves somewhere else, because the tension was never really about the technique.
This workshop is about what to do in that moment instead. You’ll experience the difference in your own playing first – a short, practical sequence you can feel in your own body – and then leave with specific language and interventions for the moment a student grips, freezes, or fights their instrument.
Bring your instrument.
Structure
The tension you can’t fix by fixing technique (why the default intervention often fails)
Your own body first: a short experiential sequence, instruments in hand
What to say and do when a student grips – specific language, specific moments in a lesson
What this looks like across instruments (strings, voice, percussion)
Teachers will come away with
A practice framework they can use right away. Most of us were taught to say “play it six times until it’s right,” which is not effective for learning and tends to instill effort and tension with technique. Instead, I teach them how to make a passage feel easier at the end of a practice session than it did at the start, and how to hand that to a student.
How to spot the physical habits behind discomfort early, and what to do before it becomes a reason a student quits.
How to teach ease, sound quality, and expression directly, rather than hoping it arrives through repetition.
Joseph Arnold is a violinist & Alexander Technique teacher, director of the Soulforce Arts Institute and author of the award-winning Soulforce
Learn more at SoulforceArts.com
Give Back Night – Sept 22
Book Your Reservation!
Tuesday September 22
P.F. Chang’s
Biltmore Park Town Square
11am-10pm
Asheville Music School Give Back Night
10% of sales donated to Asheville Music School. Reserve your table online here: www.pfchangs.com/reservations
Adult Ukulele Jam Class starts Sept. 18
This class is designed for ukulele players who already have a basic foundation on the instrument and are ready to continue building confidence, technique, and musicality. Over the course of 8 weeks, we’ll deepen our skills through more varied strumming patterns, introductory fingerpicking, chord transitions, and musical phrasing, while learning new songs together in a supportive group setting.
Students will have opportunities to expand their repertoire, strengthen timing and rhythm, and develop a clearer understanding of how chords, melody, and song structure work on the ukulele. The class emphasizes practical playing, listening, and ensemble skills, with space for questions and individual growth.
Whether you’re looking to solidify your fundamentals, gain momentum in your playing, or simply enjoy making music with others, this class offers a relaxed and encouraging environment to help you progress.
Prerequisite:
Students should be comfortable with basic chords, simple strumming, and tuning their instrument.
Juilliard + Asheville Music School – Aug. 7
Juilliard’s New Amsterdam String Band comes to Asheville
We are very excited to bring this group to Asheville to work with Asheville Music School students! Student of all ages and skill levels are invited to attend the August 7 workshop/performance at AyurPrana Listening Room, just up the street from AMS. This event coincides with the finale of our Appalachian Music Camp week, led by teachers Paul Stroebel and Jason McCoy, and is free for AMS students.
More info about the Juilliard group and the event
Rosette Chamber Concerts, a new Asheville-based concert series dedicated to Baroque music, period instruments, and intimate live performance, launches its inaugural season August 7-9 with a public opening weekend featuring the New Amsterdam String Band. The weekend introduces Asheville audiences to Rosette’s central mission: presenting outstanding Baroque musicians from around the United States and abroad in small, resonant spaces throughout the Asheville area.
As a special opening program, the New York City-based ensemble New Amsterdam String Band will explore one historical thread connecting music of Baroque Europe with the traditional music that later flourished in Appalachia. The weekend begins Friday, August 7, with an interactive public workshop at the AyurPrana Listening Room in West Asheville. Musicians of all experience levels are invited to bring acoustic instruments and learn the traditional tune “Squirrel Hunters.” Listeners are also welcome. Members of the New Amsterdam String Band will combine teaching, storytelling, and short performances to illuminate connections between Baroque-era musical practices and Appalachian fiddle traditions.
“Rosette was created to bring extraordinary Baroque artists and instruments into intimate spaces where audiences can experience this music up close. For our opening weekend, we wanted to invite Asheville into that world through a program that shows how European musical ideas traveled, changed, and took root here, before our season turns fully toward the repertoire of the Baroque period.” — Jessica Honigberg, founder and artistic director of Rosette Chamber Concerts.
Friday August 7
AyurPrana Listening Room
4:30pm
All ages and skill levels
Summer Camps still enrolling, including Harry Potter-themed strings
We have a few summer camps still enrolling, including Harry Potter-themed Suzuki Strings, Video Game Music Camp, Audio Architects, Jazz Camp and more.
More info below, or click here to inquire and/or enroll.
Video Game Music
7/6 – 7/10
9am-12pm
Ages: 8-14
Led by: Mary Steinbrecher
Video Game Music Camp is a great way to play your favorite compositions in a group setting! Explore the music of Mario, Zelda, Minecraft, and others all while learning how to play and arrange compositions in different types of ensembles.
This camp will include an end of the week performance and a video game character costume contest! All instruments are welcome.
Minimum 6 months of playing experience required.
Song Studio
7/13 – 7/17
1pm-4pm
Ages: 12-14
Led by: Rachel Hansbury
Grow your singing skills in Song Studio camp! Singers age 12-14* who love to sing in choir, theater productions, lessons, and more will love the enjoyable and fast paced Song Studio camp. Prepare and polish solos, duets, and group songs from popular songs, musical theater, or other genres while building your technique, musicianship, and stage craft.
Singers will support and learn from each other while preparing for future auditions or performances, learning to sing in a masterclass style setting, and more! We’ll also have a lot of fun sharing techniques and honing our craft together.
Harry Potter-themed Suzuki Strings
7/27 – 7/31
9am-4pm
Ages: 5-12
Led by: Holley Ross, Paul Stroebel
Come join in on the magic, music and merriment of Hogwarts Camp of Violin and Musicality. We will have wand practice, a Quidditch game, and plenty of music making.
This camp is for string students with at least 6 months of experience on their instrument. But, we do have a new Harry Potter themed camp for very beginners, the previous week! Scroll back up to learn more.
Jazz Camp
8/3 – 8/7
9am-12pm
Ages: 13-18
Led by: Andy John
Jazz Camp is a great place for the advancing musicians to learn how to play jazz. Reading music is recommended but not required. Available for all instrumentalists and singers, we will explore standard jazz repertoire and styles, music theory, improvisation, common jazz rhythms, phrasing, and song forms.
Open Jam Camp
8/10 – 8/14
9am-12pm
Ages: 9-16
Led by: Mary Steinbrecher
Open Jam Camp is a great way to get started with improvisation and playing in a rock band. Any instrument welcome! Whether you’re building confidence on your instrument, or you’ve been rocking out for years, this camp is a great way to expand your musical horizons and collaborate with your peers.
Audio Architects: Intro to Recording & Production
8/10/2026 – 8/14/2026
1pm-4pm
Ages: 14-18
Led by: Guinevere Thorn
Camp is 1pm-4pm with the exception of Wed. Aug 12: 1pm-7pm
This hands-on, in-the-recording-studio camp covers the fundamentals of a music recording, with a focus on basic recording and mixing techniques. Campers will learn essential signal flow, mic placement, Digital Audio Workstation usage, and approachable tools to help bring their recordings to life. No instrumental or vocal skills required, only an interest in the production side of music making. In this half-day camp (plus one full-day recording session), campers will become acquainted with the gear in AMS’s Sound Lab; plan out a recording session in which they’ll be their own lead engineers; produce, mix and even master their work into a finished song.
Now Auditioning – bass, keys, guitar, vocals
Minør seeking new members
Our flagship student band Minør is auditioning new members! Four spots are up for grabs – guitar, bass, keys, and vocals. The band rehearses year-round on Saturday mornings.
Email outreach@ashevillemusicschool.org to inquire.
Adult Guitar Class begins May 6
This welcoming group class is designed for adult learners of all levels—whether you’re picking up the guitar for the first time or returning to it after some time away. Together, we’ll explore the fundamentals of playing in a relaxed and supportive environment.
You’ll learn essential skills like basic chords, strumming patterns, rhythm, and simple song structures, while building confidence in your playing. We’ll work with accessible, enjoyable songs and focus on developing musicality, coordination, and ease in the hands and body.
This class is not just about learning songs—it’s about learning how to play, so you can continue growing on your own.
No prior experience is necessary—just bring your guitar and a willingness to learn.
click for more info…
New Adult Ukulele Class starts April 17
This class is designed for ukulele players who already have a basic foundation on the instrument and are ready to continue building confidence, technique, and musicality. Over the course of 7 weeks, we’ll deepen our skills through more varied strumming patterns, introductory fingerpicking, chord transitions, and musical phrasing, while learning new songs together in a supportive group setting.
Students will have opportunities to expand their repertoire, strengthen timing and rhythm, and develop a clearer understanding of how chords, melody, and song structure work on the ukulele. The class emphasizes practical playing, listening, and ensemble skills, with space for questions and individual growth.
Whether you’re looking to solidify your fundamentals, gain momentum in your playing, or simply enjoy making music with others, this class offers a relaxed and encouraging environment to help you progress.
Prerequisite:
Students should be comfortable with basic chords, simple strumming, and tuning their instrument.
Sound Effects 2026 at The Orange Peel
Asheville Rockestra celebrates 1976
Thursday April 30 at The Orange Peel
Songs In The Key Of Life opening set by AMS teachers
Doors at 6:30
Show at 7:30
All ages
$20 advance/$25 DOS
It’s been 50 years since 1976, a year of music that celebrated huge records from Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Queen, ABBA, The Ramones, Heart, and so many more. Each year for their annual benefit concert Sound Effects, Asheville Music School selects a musical focus. For 2026, students and teachers alike have spent months studying and rehearsing some of the greatest hits of 1976. They’ve created a huge band – the Asheville Rockestra, made up of dozens of students, and some teachers, to celebrate (and perform live) the 50th anniversary of 1976.
Sound Effects Benefit Concert raising funds for music scholarships and outreach programs at Asheville Music School.
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