THE STORY: MAY 2026

SUMMER I SEMESTER: MAY 3RD - JUNE 27TH

Student Achievements
IN Recital - Upcoming Student House Recitals
Summer 1 Enrollment
IN Curriculum - Performance Classes
Champagne Showcase and Adult Performance Class
StringStravaganza!
Concerto Class Performance
NMS Happenings

Student Achievements

Mika Matsuyama (17), student of Jeffrey Panko and coached by Sean Bennett, was awarded 1st Place in the Senior (Grades 10-12) Division of the 2026 NSMTA Karen Tobias Piano Competition

Beatrice Valenzuela (14), student of Desirée Ruhstadt, won the 2026 Illinois State Music Teachers Association E-Competition Non-Piano Junior Division.

Upcoming Student House Recitals

Welcome to Summer 1!

The weather may still be chilly, but we’ve rolled into our Summer I Semester! This enrollment period runs from May 3rd-June 27th.

Questions? Email billing@newmusicschool.com!

IN Curriculum - Performance Classes

We encourage all NMS students to join us for Performance Classes!

Upcoming String Performance Classes:
Who: Under 18 String Students
When: Saturday, May 30: 12:00PM-2:00PM with MingHuan Xu

• If your student is interested in performing in String Performance Class, please fill out our Google Form, and be sure to send a scanned PDF copy of your piece’s piano part to join@newmusicschool.com.

Upcoming Performance Classes:
Who: Under 18 students of any instrument type
When: Sunday, June 7th: 4:00-5:00PM with Jeffrey Panko

• If your student is interested in playing in Performance Class, please sign-up on your MyMusicStaff calendar under “Find & Book,” and email join@newmusicschool.com with what they’ll play and a scanned PDF copy of your music.

Champagne Showcase Sign-up &
Adult Performance Class

Sign-up for our Adult Recital Champagne Showcase is now open!

The NMS Champagne Showcase is a delightful evening for our Adult Students to show off everything they've been working on over the past semester. Bubbly* and snacks are provided, and the atmosphere is joyful and celebratory!

Our next Champagne Showcase will be held on Friday June 5th at 7:00PM in our NMS Concert Hall.

To sign-up, please navigate to your MyMusicStaff calendar under “Find & Book,” and claim a spot - and please be sure to fill out our Champagne Showcase Form to let us know what you’re performing by Friday May 29th. Students in need of an accompanist can book a rehearsal** with Summer Baek on their MMS calendar as well.

*This event is for students and audience members age 21 and above.
**Our standard accompanist fee will apply.

We’re also excited to announce that we will be hosting an Adult Performance Class on Friday May 29th from 6:00-8:00PM.

Led by Piano Faculty Member, Dana Brown, this class is the perfect opportunity to prepare for our upcoming Champagne Showcase on Friday June 5th, or to get some great feedback and insight on a piece from your repertoire. This event will be $50 per student, and will be added to your account should you decide to participate. 

The class will be capped at 8 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please sign-up on your MyMusicStaff calendar at your earliest convenience, and fill our our Adult Student Performance Class Form to let us know what you plan to work on by Friday May 22nd!

StringStravaganza Sign-up!

It’s back! Our All String Departmental Recital, StringStravaganza! will be held Saturday June 6th in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University!

This event will happen in correlation with our Concerto Class Performance, also in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University! We will start at 4:00PM, allowing our String Students to watch and be inspired by the students who are playing with a professional orchestra in our Concerto Class Performance. 

Then, the rest of our students will take center stage of Ganz Hall for our annual All String Department Recital. Please navigate to your MyMusicStaff calendar under “Find & Book” to sign-up, and use our StringStravaganza Form to tell us what you’ll perform by Friday May 29th.

Summer Baek will be our collaborative pianist for this event, and you can book a rehearsal with her on your MyMusicStaff Calendar under "Find & Book" (our standard Accompanist Fee will apply). 15 minute rehearsals are available for String students in Suzuki Book 1 or 2 up to "Witches Dance" - please email join@newmusicschool.com to set this up. 

Concerto Class Performance

Join us on Saturday June 6th in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University for our Concerto Class Performance! The event will take place in two time frames: 12:00-2:00PM and 2:30-4:30PM. We invite all NMS students and families to join us for both!

A selection of NMS students of a variety of instrument types have been involved in this class opportunity, working on a concerto movement throughout the Spring Semester. 16 students will be selected by video audition to perform with a professional orchestra and conductor. It’s a remarkable opportunity for our students to gain collaborative skills, and we hope you’ll support their journey! Mark your calendar, and we’ll hope to see you there!

NMS Happenings

Congratulations to our Spring 2026 Showcase Recital participants! We had a lovely afternoon recital on Sunday May 3rd, and enjoyed all the performances given!

Pictured L-R: Felix Calegari (16) voice, Summer Baek (accompanist), Zoie Gosiene (13) violin, Arinav Kutty (17) violin, Reagan Young (7) piano, Eli Kramer (15) guitar, Penelope Mendez (8) piano, Francisco Ybarra (founder), Rebecca Zhou (9) piano, Jonathan Truong (12) piano, Waverley Van Buskirk (17) viola, Annikki Jurva (18) flute, and Leo Ma (13) violin.

Pianist Antonio Pompa Baldi joined us IN Residency for two days of lessons with our piano students. He’s pictured working with House of Mozart Piano student Sonia Aravind (13).

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine joined us IN Residency for an inspiring Masterclass! Participating students included (from left to right) Issac Lau (11), Leo Ma (13), Olivia Fazio (14), and Beatrice Valenzuela (14).

Daniel Razminia (15), student of Jeffrey Panko, performed his House of Beethoven Recital on Sunday April 19th. He presented a full hour-long program, featuring works by Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Bach, Mozart, Scarlatti, and Chopin.

Roosevelt University Professor of Conducting Benjamin Firer led a Concerto Workshop for our NMS students participating in our upcoming Concerto Class.

Nathan Ng (5) (pictured lower-left), student of Clinton Velman, was selected to perform in the Chicago Music Teacher’s Association - Spring Student Recital. David Schrader, former Roosevelt University CCPA professor of harpsichord and organ (pictured far-right) played on the later half of the recital’s program.

New Music School Events, Spring 2026

• May 15: Concerto Class - Strings/Winds Recording Session (6:30-8:00pm)

• May 22: Concerto Class - Piano Recording Session (6:30-8:00pm)

• May 23: IN Recital - Joseph and Kenneth Gallwas (4:00pm)

• May 30: String Performance Class (12:00-2:00pm)

• May 30: IN Recital - Tong-Bai Deng (3:00pm)

• May 31: Jury Make-up Day (select students only) (4:00pm)

• June 5: Champagne Showcase (7:00pm)

• June 5: Concerto Class Rehearsal - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt (9:00am-5:00pm)

• June 6: Concerto Class - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt University (12:00-4:30pm)

• June 6: StringStravaganza! - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt University (4:00-6:00pm)

• June 7: Performance Class (4:00pm)
  
  NMS Academic Calendar available on google calendar here.