Bay Area Music and Arts Conservatory for Teens Fall Enrollment

CASTRO VALLEY, CA — Enrollment is now open at the Conservatory of Music, Movement, and Arts, (COMMA), for high school and middle school students interested in studying at the Bay Area-based music and arts conservatory during the 2018 Fall Semester. The weekly classes meet in Castro Valley on Saturday mornings, from Sept. 8 until the Fall Semester Showcase on Dec. 8.

COMMA faculty members include professors and instructors from Stanford, Saint Mary’s College, San Jose State, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as music and arts professionals, ranging from vocalists, instrumentalists and composers to writers, dramatic directors, painters and other visual artists.

"While the artistic and musical training, the exposure to arts professionals, and our interdisciplinary arts approach includes much of what we do at COMMA, they’re not an end in themselves," said Danielle Naler, a professional musician and a founder of COMMA. along with her husband Micah. "Our ultimate vision for young musicians and artists is about what all that exposure will produce within them, which is something we hope will ultimately flow out of them. Our emphasis is really on inspiration and creativity, so that through the semester, each COMMA student is able build his or her own portfolio of artwork, music composition, poetry and other creative pieces."

Financial aid is available.

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Founded earlier this year, COMMA is the only interdisciplinary school of music and the arts for middle school and high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"When you think 'conservatory,' you typically envision a school where a musician or performer goes to train intensively in their particular instrument or art form, and there are excellent university-level programs that do just that, many right here in the San Francisco Bay Area," said Micah Naler. "While part of the COMMA program is definitely focused on developing excellence in your art form, we also believe that—especially in the teen years—we can hone a young artist or musician’s excellence in their field by actually broadening their artistic exposure and helping them better understand the collaborative interactions between the various fields within the arts, both in today’s world and in history."

The Saturday morning classes open every week with a seminar covering a range of themes in music appreciation and special topics, sometimes preparing the students for a professional arts experience, such as a live theater or dance performance, a concert, an art gallery viewing, or a poetry reading. The Saturday program continues with coursework in the student’s chosen area of focus, such as Drama and Theater or Music Theory and Composition, and it finishes each week with a variety of workshops focusing on Voice, Creative Writing, Art, and Creative Movement.

COMMA offers full scholarships to students in California’s foster care system as well as to those whose families qualify for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In addition, COMMA has financial assistance to any family who needs it. After submitting the COMMA Registration Form, families for whom tuition is a financial challenge are asked, to complete COMMA’s Scholarship Application.

Read more about COMMA.

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