
The Academy provides funding for students enrolled in private study who could not otherwise afford music lessons. This year, some 250 students will receive music instruction at little or no cost to themselves through partial or full scholarships or thanks to grant-supported outreach programs and presentations. In 2000, The Academy of Music was fully certified by the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts after meeting its rigorous evaluation criteria.
The Guild provides leadership and advocacy for some 300 schools of the arts across the country, sets quality standards and promotes public awareness of the value of arts education. The Academy is one of only two fully certified schools in Virginia.
Highlights and features
- Harp, Strings, Horn, Bass, Cello, Music Theory, Viola, Clarinet, Violin, Drums, Organ, Voice, Fiddle, Flute, Piano, Guitar, Saxophone
Rachel Ruth Crumbly
Piano
Mrs. Crumbly's teachers include Daniel Paul Horn, Louis Nagel, Joanne Smith, and Kelley Benson. While a student, she was awarded the William Phemister prize in piano and the Joanne A. Smith prize in Piano Pedagogy. Mrs. Crumbly was a full-time lecturer in the pedagogy department at the University of Michigan, where she began her teaching career. She has performed extensively as both soloist and collaborator, and has worked locally with other soloists and groups such as the Virginia Chorale and Virginia Symphony Chorus.
Carol Thomas Downing
Violin, Fiddle, Recorder
Ms. Downing is an experienced violinist, singer, children's choral director and an avid Celtic & Old-time fiddler. She has trained young musicians from preschool through the university level. She specializes in teaching ages 5 - adult, Suzuki Violin Books 1 - 7, and beginning through advanced fiddling. Her teachers include Berl Senofsky (violin) and Ruth Drucker (voice). Ms. Downing is former faculty member and chairperson of the Musicianship Department at the Peabody Preparatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where she taught violin, musicianship and chorus.
Rebecca Gilmore
Cello
Her teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Norman Fischer and Desmond Hoebig. Ms. Gilmore is currently a faculty member with The Academy of Music and Virginia Wesleyan College. She is an orchestral and chamber musician, and is currently Acting Assistant Principal Cello with The Virginia Symphony.

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