P.L.A.Y. Music
Piedmont Learning Academy for Youth (P.L.A.Y. Music) is the Winston-Salem Symphony’s El-Sistema-inspired music education program which places an emphasis on the teaching of the whole child: head, heart, and hands.
The P.L.A.Y. Music program was established in 2015 after an in-depth study of music education in public and private education. The central focus of the curriculum is to instill in each student a thankfulness for their background and place in the world, an appreciation for those different than themselves, a motivation to work with others in a team, and to better themselves holistically through active contribution and participation in an ensemble.
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Info & Teams | Enrollment | Teachers | Maestro Mentors
Questions? Contact Sara Beth Lane by email.
Affecting Literacy through Music
In addition to learning to play a musical instrument, students at each location participate in literacy activities led by the P.L.A.Y. Music teachers. Reading books, teaching students to read notes and rhythms, and singing songs are all ways that literacy is integrated into the P.L.A.Y. Music curriculum. Students are taught songs that help develop the brain’s ability to memorize, hold attention to, and follow a story. By teaching stories in song form, children develop the brain connections to understand a story line.
Playing an instrument develops fine motor skills in the arms, hand, and fingers. This develops the muscles and attention the child needs to write.
Watch Team Mozart as they graduate from paper violins to their own real violins!
Registration and Tuition Information
Currently, the P.L.A.Y. Music program operates at the following schools:
Cook Literacy Model School
Diggs-Latham Elementary
Jefferson Elementary
Ward Elementary
Wiley Magnet Middle School
Enrollment takes place in the fall of each academic year. Classes meet regularly throughout the school year and follow the WS/FCS calendar. Spaces are limited for beginner classes.
Tuition
The current cost for classes is $350 per student per semester. This is paid at the beginning of each semester and is non-refundable.
Tuition Includes:
- Two 16-week semesters of instruction with highly qualified musicians and educators. Students will receive two hours of instruction per week.
- Fall and Spring semester performances held at the schools.
- Spring semester performance held at a professional venue.
Free Tuition
Students who attend a Title 1 school in the WS/FCS district (i.e. Cook, Diggs-Latham, Wiley, Ward) receive free tuition.
Scholarship
Scholarships and payment plans are available for families not attending a Title 1 school in the WS/FCS district.
Special Discounts
Special discounts are offered for siblings and to those who own their instrument.
Ready to P.L.A.Y. Music?
To sign up, use our online application below:
P.L.A.Y. Music Teaching Artists
Alex Dashkevych
Olesya (Alex) Dashkevych, a lead teaching artist with P.L.A.Y. Music, was born in Ukraine. She earned her first Master’s Degree from the State Music Academy of Lviv, Ukraine. Alex received her Doctorate in solo performance from Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy, and shortly thereafter received a second Master’s Degree in Chamber Music Performance from Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. Alex was the winner of the AGIMUS, Rome Chamber Music 3rd place, Note di Roma 2nd place, and a solo performance of the Brahms Concerto with the Rome Orchestra in Italy. Since then, Alex has played in various orchestras in Italy, New York, and the Carolinas. When she’s not performing, Alex works for Acute Surgical Care for Novant.
Corine Brouwer
Corine Brouwer enjoys an active career performing and teaching. She is currently the Concertmaster of the Winston Salem Symphony.
Brouwer has been involved in the commissioning and performances of new works, including the premieres of Doppelganger, a concerto for two violins by David Dzubay and Here, the Cliffs, a concerto by Hilary Tann. Her projects have won numerous awards including selection for a national Meet the Composer Award. Brouwer has appeared as Soloist with the North Carolina Symphony, the Portland (Maine) Symphony, Arizona Musicfest Orchestra, Sunriver Festival Orchestra, and the Winston-Salem Symphony, among others. Chamber music performances have included the Eastern Music Festival, the International Bartok Festival, and performances in Cusco, Peru. Brouwer has taught violin at Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Catawba College, and the National Suzuki Institute in Wisconsin. Currently, she maintains a private studio in Winston-Salem. She is also the owner of Allegro Music, Inc., providing musicians for events.
Danté Thomas Assistant Teaching Artist
Danté Thomas is a freelance musician and educator within the Piedmont area. He attended The University of Southern Mississippi for a Bachelor’s in Music Education, where he studied with Dr. John Wooton. During his time at USM, Danté was a member of the marching band, various concert ensembles, and the steel band (SoMiSPO). After undergrad, Danté then moved up to the Winston Salem area and over the course of the next few years, would later become a double graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, studying with Mr. John R. Beck. Danté has performed with include: Piedmont Wind Symphony, Winston Salem Civic Orchestra, Triad Area Medical Orchestra, Winston Salem Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Wake Forest Ensembles (Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Gospel Choir). Danté also is a member of the Mosaic Jazz Quartet where he plays vibraphone.
David Mullikin Assistant Teaching Artist
David Mullikin is graduate of UNCG School of Music. He has formerly attended the University of North Texas, and University of Houston- studying violin performance. He is a musician in the Greensboro Symphony, and he currently teaches music/orchestra at Diggs-Latham Elementary.
John Beck Lead Teaching Artist
Principal Percussionist John R. Beck served for 25 years as Professor of Percussion at the UNC School of the Arts and is now the UNCSA Coordinator for Arts & Health Partnerships. As president of the Percussive Arts Society in Indianapolis he began facilitating drum circles in healthcare settings and received the League of American Orchestras Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service for his community drumming in Winston-Salem that included a research study using group drumming with stem cell transplant recipients. Beck earned degrees at Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music and is a former national tour soloist with the US Marine Band. He has also performed regularly with the National and Baltimore Symphonies and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra before moving to North Carolina.
Kate McFarland
Kate McFarland began playing viola at the age of 10 in Austin, TX. She has been involved with the Winston-Salem Symphony’s P.L.A.Y. Music program since 2017 when her children joined the program as students. She volunteered with the program for years before coming on in an official capacity in 2021. Kate studied music education at Texas State University and has a degree in Philosophy from Salem College, which heavily informs her SEL-focused teaching style. She has played with community and civic orchestras across Texas throughout her early career, but has called North Carolina home since 2005. Kate shares her time between the P.L.A.Y. Music program and the Winston-Salem Symphony’s Youth Orchestras programs. When not teaching, Kate enjoys sewing, reading, creating art and spending time with her two amazing teenagers and her two wonderfully twerpy dogs.
Katiana Bruce Assistant Teaching Artist
Katiana Bruce is a Winston-Salem native. She began playing viola and violin at the age of eleven under the instruction of Lauren Kossler whose loving teaching inspired her commitment to the craft. She later continued her musical studies at the Conservatory of Annie Moses and studied viola with Alex Wolaver and violin with Annie Dupree. She has participated in numerous chamber groups, quartets, music festivals, and symphonic ensembles. She led and coached several groups and has continued to nurture her love for teaching and music in her work as a strings technician, choir teacher, and private strings teacher. She is excited to continue to teach in WSFCS as a P.L.A.Y. teaching assistant and hopes to foster the same love for music in this new generation of young creatives.
Lisa Morris
Lisa Ashton Morris has served as a lead music teacher and an assistant in P.L.A.Y. Music since 2017. Lisa maintains a private studio and has been a full-time orchestra teacher in WSFCS since 2014. Her teaching experience spans pre-K, elementary, middle, and high school. Her work with her students on the George Vance Progressive Repertoire has earned her students top honors in the county, region, and state. She is an active member of the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the American String Teachers Association, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Lisa Morris graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2004. Lisa taught privately in the Charlotte area for eight years before moving to Winston Salem in 2011. Her teaching is heavily influenced by the Suzuki Method. She received her Suzuki training in 2010 from Virginia Dixon. Lisa performed with the Western Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra, and the Charlotte Philharmonic. She is most proud of her three children who have grown up in the Winston Salem Forsyth County Schools.
Naiara Sánchez-Kissick
Naiara Sánchez-Kissick started her violin studies at the age of eight in Spain. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the Royal Conservatory of Granada and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn. She started teaching violin in Granada where she also developed her career as a chamber music and orchestra musician. As the concertmaster of Granada University Orchestra, she had the opportunity to perform across Europe and Morocco. She also had the chance to work with main conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Pablo Gonzalez, Jean Jacques Kantorow, and Bernard Haitink among others. She recorded several CDs with the Granada Baroque Orchestra and the Baroque Ensemble Oniria. In 2011 Ms. Sánchez moved to the USA where she received a graduate assistantship and earned her Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During this time she worked as a teaching assistant for the UNCG School of Music. Currently, she combines teaching violin and being an active performer playing at several orchestras across North Carolina as Greensboro Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony and Charlotte Symphony.
Ryan Keith
Originally from Kansas, Ryan Keith is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Violin Performance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the tutelage of Kevin Lawrence. Ryan earned his Bachelor’s in Performance from Kansas State University, where he also taught at a local string project and a community arts center. He is a member of the American String Teacher’s Association and presented at their 2022 conference. Beginning violin at the age of ten, Ryan aims to instill in his students a passion for learning and sharing music with others.
Maestro Mentors
With our 2023-2024 school year, P.L.A.Y. Music introduced its new youth development program, Maestro Mentors! Maestro Mentors is for our P.L.A.Y. Music students, 8th grade and older, who would like to learn more about how P.L.A.Y. Music operates and get valuable work experience in this field while doing so.
The Maestro Mentor program is designed to help develop leadership, communication and interpersonal skills in its Mentor participants. Our goal is to create meaningful opportunities for our Mentors to contribute to the P.L.A.Y Music program while also gaining an understanding of how both classroom education and not-for-profit businesses operate. We hope our program will offer students the ability to recognize their own unique strengths and to build their self-confidence while helping to develop the abilities of our younger students. We hope that this experience will assist our Mentor students with connecting their interests to future career pathways and post-secondary education opportunities.
With those goals in mind, we have high expectations for our Mentor students. We expect Mentors to regard this opportunity like they would a regular employer, to be reliable and responsible. We also expect our Mentors to continue participating in their regular P.L.A.Y. Music classes and to continue to display musical excellence and to grow and develop as musicians and individuals.
Beyond the critical skills and experience we hope our students will gain from our Maestro Mentors program, after 50 hours of training, our students who are 9th grade or older will be eligible to be hired as assistants for our regular P.L.A.Y. Music classes.
P.L.A.Y. Music is supported in part by a grant from the LA Phil Partners in Learning program.