UPDATES AS OF JULY 14, 2020

TUNE IN TO MERIT'S VIRTUAL SHOWCASE CONCERT Join us for Merit School of Music's Virtual Showcase Concert on Friday, July 17 at 5pm CT! This exciting school-wide concert will feature a selection of Merit students from all experience levels and instrument divisions. Tune in on Facebook Live to watch them perform from their homes across Chicagoland. LEARN MORE & RSVP

FALL REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST 3 SAVE THE DATE! Merit Fall Registration opens August 3. All ages and experience levels welcome. We'll be sharing more information about fall registration in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL MASTERCLASS FEATURES MERIT STUDENT Tune in live to Grant Park Music Festival's masterclass hosted by world renowned pianist Andreas Haelfliger and featuring Merit Conservatory pianist Luke Magee. The virtual event takes place on July 24 from 12-1:30pm. LEARN MORE & TUNE IN

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Summer Classes are still accepting registrations! Click here to enroll. BONUS! Sign up for your preferred Early Childhood class today and get unlimited access to ALL of Merit’s virtual classes until Merit is able to resume in-person programming. Summer Class Schedule Family Jamboree (0-5 years) Thursdays 11-11:30am (6/18-9/17) with Ms. Jan Fridays 10-10:30am (6/19-9/18) with Ms. Kristen Sundays 12:-12:30pm (6/21-9/20) with Ms. Annaeka Music Masters 1 (3-5 years) Sundays 10-10:30am (6/21-9/20) with Ms. Annaeka Virtual Storytime on Facebook Missed Merit’s latest Musical Storytime? Click here to watch the recording on Merit’s Facebook. Stay tuned for more Storytimes to be live-streamed throughout the summer!

GROUP CLASSES | INSTRUMENTAL & VOCAL MUSIC

Virtual Summer Classes Continue Summer beginning and intermediate group classes end the week of August 3rd

CONSERVATORY

Conservatory Registration Deadline Registration deadline for the 20/21 Conservatory ends July 15th. Please contact abischoff@meritmusic.org if you have any questions or concerns! 2019/2020 Graduation – Aug. 8 th at 11:00 am Please join us online for a virtual commencement ceremony. Stay tuned for the livestream link, which we'll be sharing next week and will also be available here on our website . Seniors: Please be sure to fill out the updated senior survey here . Even if you have completed this form earlier, we ask that you fill this form out again. If you are a 2019/2020 senior but have not been receiving graduation updates from Merit via email, you are somehow not currently included on our senior list. If this is the case, please c ontact Ms. Bischoff TODAY at abischoff@meritmusic.org to confirm that you are a graduating senior. We want to make sure you're a part of our commencement festivities!     Personal Finance for Students: Tuesday, July 14 from 7:30-8:30pm Merit’s Associate Board is putting on a Virtual Leadership Institute session on Personal Finance for Merit students via Zoom video. The session will cover all things related to finance and budgeting, and will be an opportunity to ask Merit's Associate Board members all your questions on this topic! All attending students will receive a PDF packet with helpful materials. The session is geared towards high school students and will cover topics such as: Apps to manage your money What to know about credit How to create a budget And more! Students can RSVP at www.meritmusic.org/leadership to receive the Zoom link. Save the date for the August Virtual Leadership Institute session on Preparing for your First Year of College : Tuesday, August 11 from 7:30-8:30pm .

MERIT MUSIC IN COMMUNITIES

Week of 7/13: Summer World Percussion classes begin with By the Hand Club at Moving Everest Charter School

SUMMER CAMPS & CLASSES

Virtual Summer Camps and Electives are up and running! This summer, Merit is excited to present:  Piano Camp: 7/7-8/6 Clarinet & Saxophone Workshop: 7/13-7/17 Trumpet Camp: 6/23-7/23 Solo String Workshop: 7/6-7/17 Percussion Camp: 6/30-7/30 Guitar Workshop: 7/13-7/16 Summer Electives: 7/6-7/30

PRIVATE LESSONS

Sign up for Virtual Private Lessons at Merit Work one-on-one with our skilled and supportive faculty to explore your individual talents and interests, develop skills, and overcome challenges. Lessons are scheduled at a time that is convenient to both the student and teacher for either 30, 45, or 60 minutes once per week. Learn more and register today!

STUDENT SERVICES & LIBRARY

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Merit's physical Student Services office will be closed until further notice. Summer registration for elective classes, workshops, and camps with a July start date are still open and available online . If you have a question or need assistance with registration, we’re still here for you virtually! Please email us at studentservices@meritmusic.org with any questions or concerns.   We care deeply about the welfare of our Merit families, and we understand current events may have impacted your family financially. Any suspension notice or accompanying deadlines that you may have received should be considered postponed for the academic year but will resume beginning in the summer within our new temporary policies. We adjusted some of our policies to provide more leniency during this time. If you would like to receive an electronic copy or have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to  esalgado@meritmusic.org .

Library Merit's physical library will be closed until further notice. We're still here for you virtually! Please email library@meritmusic.org with any questions or concerns.   The 2019/20 Library Instrument Rental Session expired on May 31 . If you currently rent your instrument from the Library, you should have received an email detailing next steps regarding instrument return or renewal from Annaeka Johnson. If you did not receive that message, please email Annaeka at library@meritmusic.org to renew or return your instrument.  Planning on signing up for summer camps or classes? Email library@meritmusic.org to renew your instrument rental after you complete your summer enrollment.