HELLO ALL! MY STUDIO HAS MOVED TO WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. I AM NOW SERVING MERCER, GROVE CITY, SLIPPERY ROCK, NEW CASTLE, HERMITAGE, AND BEYOND. I AM CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS FOR ONLINE LESSONS. MY NEW STUDIO WILL BE OPENING FOR IN PERSON LESSONS IN NOVEMBER. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES! THANKS!
Voice and piano lessons are currently available online Monday through Thursday between 4pm and 7:30pm. Lessons will also be available in studio at 58 Courtney Lane, Mercer, PA on Monday through Thursday between 4pm and 8pm starting in later November. Online lessons are through FaceTime or Zoom.
Voice lessons are available for beginner to advanced students ages 8-adulthood. Piano lessons are available for beginner to advanced students ages 6-adulthood.
Studio Policy:
Payment Agreement:
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Payment in full is required by the beginning of the month for the entire month’s lessons.
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Payment must be full amount for month, unless another amount was agreed upon by you and the lesson teacher.
- CASH , CHECK, VENMO and CASHAPP are accepted as payment. I am no longer taking payments via PAYPAL. If paying by check, please make it out to Sara Courtney. If a check bounces, you will owe the amount of the check and any bounced check fees related. All must be paid in full within 5 business days of occurrence. A convenience fee of $4 will be added to lesson fee for anyone using Venmo goods and services. If sending through Venmo ‘friends and family’, there is no convenience fee.
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A late charge of $25 will incur if lesson payment is not received on or before the 15thof the month. If full payment plus late fee are not paid by the end of the lesson month, lessons will be discontinued until full payment is received. Additional late fees may occur if all charges are not paid in full by the end of the lesson month.
Cancellation Policy:
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A 24-hour notice is needed when canceling a lesson. Lessons canceled in less than 24 hours
will be forfeited and will not be reimbursed. This includes makeup lessons.
(Except in an emergency-see below). Please notify me by cell phone (570-407-3641), text
message, or email: saramariemusicstudio@gmail.com
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Emergency Cancellations : Examples may be death in family, traffic issues, car trouble, sudden illness, family emergency, etc. can be rescheduled on a case by case basis.
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Cancellations for illnesses: Must be made no less than 2 hours prior to the scheduled lesson/makeup lesson or the lesson will be forfeited. Scheduling makeups due to emergency cancellations will be done on a case-by-case basis.
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No-shows for regularly scheduled lessons will not be reimbursed, prorated, or rescheduled. Failure to show up for 2 consecutive weeks without notice of cancellation or communication will result in loss of time slot and access to the membership portal. If you wish to come back for lessons, I will be more than happy to work with you again if a slot is available. If there is no slot available, you can add your name to my waitlist.
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Canceled or no-shows for make-up lessons will not be rescheduled, prorated, or reimbursed.
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Teacher cancellation- If the lesson teacher must cancel a lesson with a student, the teacher is responsible for rescheduling at the student’s convenience. If, for some reason, we cannot make up the lesson, payment from that lesson will be prorated or reimbursed.
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*See Health and Safety policy for more info about cancellation information.
Make-up lesson Policy
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Parents/students are responsible for contacting teacher to reschedule ALL canceled lessons. Parent/student is responsible for keeping track of all lessons missed. This includes emergency cancellations. Parent/student must contact teacher to schedule a canceled lesson within 45 days from the date of the missed lesson. If makeup lesson is not scheduled within this time frame, the lesson will be forfeited.
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Makeup lessons can be done in person or online via Facetime, or Zoom.
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Teacher is not responsible for keeping track of a student’s missed lessons. Parent can request to be notified if openings due to cancellations become available.
- If your lesson falls on a day of the month that occurs 5 times, you may:
- Choose to skip the 5th lesson and have a break that week
- Use the 5th lesson of the month as a makeup lesson
- pay for 5 lessons for that month.
*You must inform the teacher of what you would like to do at the beginning of the month otherwise the slot will be filled for other makeup lessons.
Termination/Hiatus from lessons:
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A month's notice is required to terminate lessons completely. No refunds will occur for remainder of paid lessons or makeup lessons outstanding if you terminate lessons in under a month's notice. If you have not already paid for the month and do not give a month's notice, you will still owe full payment for that month.
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If you choose to take a hiatus from lessons, your slot will not be held. It will be filled and when you choose to restart lessons, you will have to wait for another slot to come available or be added to the waiting list. Outstanding makeup lessons are forfeited if not made up before hiatus begins. No refunds will occur for remainder of paid lessons or makeup lessons outstanding if notice of hiatus is given in less than a month. If you have not already paid for the month and do not give a month's notice for taking a hiatus, you will still owe full payment for that month.
- In the event that a student is not showing commitment, demonstrates a lack of interest in learning, is excessively canceling lessons without reason, or has not shown progress, teacher reserves the right to discontinue lessons.
Online Portal 'MyMusicStaff'
- Online portal is available to all students and parents. Parents can check balances owed, view the calendar, read announcements, send messages, and cancel/reschedule lessons. Students will have access to recordings for all warmups, keep a practice log, and view their calendar. Please make sure to create a login password and log on regularly. The website is www.saramariemusic.com.
Lesson Options
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In-person lessons: Students can take piano or voice lessons in person in studio at my home studio at 58 Courtney Lane, Mercer, PA 16137.
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Online lessons: Students can take piano or voice lessons online using Zoom, Facetime, or Skype.
*Please make sure you have the updated version of Zoom
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Facetime- You can use my phone number to reach me through FaceTime. 570-407-3641
Additional things:
- If your child forgets to bring music to a lesson, they should still attend. They will always have something to do. If you choose to cancel anyway, no reimbursement will be given and the lesson will not be rescheduled.
- No Lessons during the following Holidays: Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Halloween, July 4th
- Inclement weather: In case of inclement weather, all lessons will be moved online. If you choose not to do your lesson online, you have the option to reschedule it.
- Recitals – There will be 1-2 studio recitals per year for anyone interested. Recitals allow students the opportunity to put to practice what they are learning in lessons. It is also a good time for family and friends to come and see how students have progressed. Participation is greatly encouraged! =D
- All students must sign the agreement below under this policy. All students must provide a completed contact information form. All students must read and sign the health and safety policy form. These are required to begin lessons.
Forms/info:
2025 Studio Policy-downloadable
Studio Info Sheet-downloadable
Health and Safety Policy-downloadable
2025 studio calendar-downloadable