Tahoe Music Institute

June 11, 2014 by trudilee

By Tim Hauserman

Recently I attended a classic music recital put on by the Tahoe Music Institute. The institute is a local group of musicians who teach classical music to kids and adults in North Tahoe. The performance was an opportunity for the teachers and other community members to play in front of the public, and introduce the TMI to the community.

Like most things Tahoe, the performance was relaxed and a good portion of the performers were familiar. Stephanie Fountaine, the piano player is a good friend who when she is not giving piano lessons works with me teaching kids how to cross-country ski in the winter through the Strider Glider program at Tahoe Cross-Country, while North Tahoe High School student Jaycee Lanza I could have sworn was one of those Strider Glider kids a year ago, but it has to be at least five. Now she is all growed up and belting out opera. Gordon Shaw is a local transportation planner who was playing clarinet in a trio with an emergency room doctor from Tahoe Forest Hospital, and Shauna Righellis, who used to teach my kids at North Tahoe Middle School, and is the Director of the Tahoe Music Institute. The recital began with Wolf Schaffer, a nearly 50 year Tahoe resident, who was playing flamingo guitar.

The performance confirmed that while Tahoe is known for it’s incredible natural beauty and outdoors recreational opportunities, you can also find culture here. You can take music lessons from the Tahoe Music Institute and then play or sing at a performance, join in a local band, or just enjoy making music. Almost every night in the summer at Tahoe you can see music being played somewhere. In the fall, you can join a choral group and train to sing glorious Christmas songs with the Sierra Nevada College Choir.

Not into music? There are groups of writers to join, or you can go to one of the many book signing or author presentation events staged at local bookstores or other venues. There are writing and art classes you can take at Sierra College. There is a lot of stuff going on in Tahoe that one might call culture, you just have to seek it out.

For more information on the Tahoe Music Institute, or to sign up to take a class, go to www.tahoemusicinstitute.com. Or call 530-581-0618. They are located at 2810 Lake Forest Road, on the outskirts of Tahoe City.