TMC Policies

Please take the time to read through our policies. If you have any questions or concerns, we would ask that you contact us directly so that we may provide whatever assistance is necessary. 

Communications:
Written notices will be sent home regarding Winter Break, Spring Break, all statutory holidays, and all special events.  As well, we always have information available to families in the waiting area of The Music Cellar. Every effort is made to have our yearly schedule correspond as closely as possible to the school calendar.

Tuition Fees:
There are several different pre-payment options which reduce the monthly tuition rate. Those who choose one of the pre-payment options are also entitled to a discount on the annual registration fee. Please contact us for details on fees and program costs.

Lessons:
Most lessons are scheduled on a once-weekly basis, with a total of 38 lessons, or lesson equivalents during the year. Examples of lesson equivalents include: educational workshops, festival rehearsals, the Keyboard Concert and annual festival in June.

Attendance & Policy Regarding Make-up Lessons
Regular attendance is one of the most important components of steady progress. With that in mind, we have always tried to consider the individual scheduling requests of our students, as much as possible. This applies to the scheduling of lesson slots, festival rehearsals and performance dates. The goal is to help students achieve consistent attendance, and to maximize their participation in events and programs.

Realistically, there may be times when illness or conflicting schedules require a student to miss a lesson. When we are notified at least 24 hours in advance, we will make every effort to offer an alternate lesson slot. However, please note that we cannot guarantee that there will always be another slot available to offer. (Each of the teachers at The Music Cellar has a fully-booked schedule and therefore, we can only offer those slots that have been vacated by other students who have notified us of their upcoming absence.) As much as we would like to continue searching for an alternate slot until we find one that matches the availability of the student, this is not practical considering the full schedule of the teachers, and the many activities of the students.

There is considerable administrative time required to monitor messages regarding missed lessons, match absences with the availability of alternate slots, and then contact those involved. We have a system in place to manage these tasks, and we consider it a high priority.

In summary, we understand the financial implications of missed lessons to all concerned. Although we cannot guarantee that we will make-up all missed lessons, we will do our best to offer an alternate lesson slot whenever possible.

Re-scheduling:
There may occasionally be times when a lesson is re-scheduled at the teacher’s request, but you have our assurance that this is kept to a minimum. If required, it is generally because of a playing engagement or conference. Sometimes the teacher may choose to plan a special event, such as a master class, or a workshop to replace the missed lesson. Events such as these greatly add to the variety of innovative opportunities offered at The Music Cellar, and have been very well received by the students.

Cancellations:
One week’s notice is required to terminate lessons at The Music Cellar.