Taking Notes: New music academy set to open Sept. 9

Owensboro’s Steven Stewart, 34, and Jarrid Hollander, 24, of Evansville, local musicians with the award-winning bluegrass band Kentucky Shine, are introducing a new music academy to the community.

Stewart and Hollander are aiming to have Cadenza Performance Academy, 1359 Fourth Street across from Dee’s Diner, open on Monday, Sept. 9, for music tutoring and classes for all ages and abilities.

“We’re trying to use this Labor Day weekend to get everything moved into the studio space,” Stewart said. “I have a garage full of furniture just waiting to be put in the studio.”

Stewart, who has been teaching music lessons from his home for close to 10 years, finally came across the opportunity to move into a larger space, and he decided to bring Hollander along with him.

Stewart, originally from Leitchfield, started playing the violin in the fifth grade and continued playing throughout high school. He continued studying music at Western Kentucky University under the tutelage of Ching-Ui Lin where he received his bachelor’s degree and continued studying for his master’s degree.

“I didn’t quite get that master’s degree, but I got within a final thesis of completing it. But I also learned a lot and trained to teach music while in school,” he said.

Hollander said that he came from a semi-musical family and started learning to play instruments at an early age.

“When I discovered music and started teaching myself how to play, I was obsessed and I knew this what was I wanted to do,” he said.

Hollander has been helping to teach other musicians since his days in high school, and he’s also thrilled that he’s been able to turn working with music into a full-time gig.

“I couldn’t be more happy to help out Steven with this new venture,” he said. “And I’m even more thrilled that I can continue to make a living doing something involving music.”

Stewart said that he moved to the Owensboro area in 2016 and started playing in the band Blackford Creek. That gig lasted for three years.

“Then we formed Kentucky Shine in February of 2020, right before the pandemic, so the band, along with teaching lessons out of my home, has been my focus lately,” Stewart said.

The band was recently honored with a Hollywood Independent Music Award (HIMA) for Bluegrass Song of the Year for their original tune, “The Game.”

Stewart said that his goal with expanding into a larger studio is to offer more opportunities to the community, and share his musical knowledge to expand his teaching skills further.

“The arts scene in Owensboro is a big deal. We probably have one of the richest music scenes in the state of Kentucky and it means a lot to me that I could help contribute to the next generation of musicians coming out of Owensboro and Kentucky,” he said.

Cadenza Performance Academy will offer group and individual classes in musical theory and vocals, along with lessons for the violin, viola, guitar, bass and mandolin. Classes will generally be offered after 2:30 p.m., but Stewart said that he’s thankful to be able to have the flexibility to provide opportunities for other times as well.

“I do have a lot of homeschool clients, so I don’t mind offering day classes to accommodate those learners,” he said. “My goal is to have our schedules work around the clients and what best suits them.”

Hollander said that initial lessons will focus on teaching students basic, classical techniques that they can use going forward.

“We want to give these students the proper foundation that sometimes us self-taught musicians don’t learn, so that they’re not struggling to change their performance techniques later down the road,” Hollander said. “Proper technique also helps with not getting repetitive motion injuries, like carpel tunnel.”

Stewart said that the younger students will start with more classical material, but that he and Hollander both have backgrounds in other musical genres, so they can transition students into more bluegrass, country, rock, jazz, funk or blues styles in the future.

“I have experience with just about all musical genres,” Stewart said. “So, lessons can be flexible and evolve as long as we’re starting with a good, solid foundation and techniques.”

In addition to providing classes and instruction, Stewart and Hollander are also making studio space available to local bands who need somewhere to practice.

“Bands can come in at the end of the day, after we finish teaching lessons, pay a minimal amount of money and then get to use our space to practice,” he said. “They’ll just need to supply themselves and instruments, along with mics, but we’ll have a PA system set up for them to practice.”

Stewart said that he and Hollander can also help provide a listening ear to bands that might need to troubleshoot a situation or get feedback and advice about a project.

“In music, it can also be nice to have an extra listening ear in the room to provide feedback,” he said. “That’s how we all help each other grow as artists.”

Since announcing the Cadenza Performance Academy Facebook page, Stewart has been thrilled with the feedback and interest that he’s gotten.

“I already had some students from teaching out of my house, but in the two weeks since we announced the beginning of the academy, I’ve gotten interest from around 10 new students,” he said.

More information about Cadenza Performance Academy can be found on Facebook or the school’s website, cadenzaperformanceacademy.com.