Since 1997, the First Baptist Church of Ocala has been running a music school for kids who are at least 4 1/2 years old. The school provides instruction in clarinet, flute, guitar, mandolin, percussion, piano, violin, viola and voice in 30-, 45- and 60-minute sessions once a week. During the spring semester, students work toward performing in a recital at the end of the semester. The shorter summer semester does not have a recital -- students simply receive instruction. During the fall semester, some students have the opportunity to play at a Christmas recital or at nursing homes.
More than 25 years ago, Charlie Remillard founded the Remillard School of Piano. The school was recently bought out by Charlie's partner, Jenna Handley, and it's now called the Handley School of Music. There are three teachers on staff at the downtown school who provide piano instruction in jazz, classical, Suzuki and theory to kids of all ages. The school also has one violin teacher on staff who can teach Suzuki violin.
A Better Music Lesson is a music school in Ocala that is run by Frederick Mansour and his wife, Monica. Kids can learn guitar, keyboard and vocal instruction at the school in 30-minute increments at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. For vocal students, the school provides a PA with three Shure SM58 microphones. For keyboard students, the school has a Yamaha baby grand, a Casio CTK-691 and a Roland RD-700 electric keyboard. For guitar students, there is an Eric Clapton Stratocaster for students to use and a Junior Strat for younger students with smaller hands.
Leslie Hammes founded the Ocala Piano Conservatory (OPC) in 2002 to teach students how to perform and play the piano. Hammes has been teaching for more than 20 years and holds two music degrees and a master's degree in educational psychology from Harvard University. Kids that enroll in the program take 55-minute private lessons with one teacher or master classes with one teacher and a group once a week. Although the OPC program is intense, students are not pressured into performing competitively or pursuing a career in music.