About Jacqui’s Music Studio
We are super excited to welcome new students and current students for our 2026/2027 school year!
At JMS, we offer a program that will work for students who are learning to play and/or sing for just enjoyment up through advanced levels. Depending on where students fall on this spectrum, they can participate in all studio events, or just some. School age students will be taking weekly private lessons, and five weeks a year, they will be in a group class setting instead of their private lessons.
This year we will be hosting the Halloween Bash, an evaluations recital in November (hosted by SMMTA), piano and voice recitals in June, and a Summer Jam in which we will showcase student projects (for students that participate in summer session). Adult students are invited to attend two Donuts and Duets piano and voice jams, and can also participate in the bigger studio recitals and MaineMTA events if they would like to.
Students are not obligated to participate in all of these events, but we do encourage doing the group classes every other month and participating in at least one recital.
Other Programs offered besides Private Lessons:
Voix Choirs directed By Will Sawyer for 5th-12 Grade singers. Choirs offered both in Cumberland and in Saco.
Night of Talent, run by Will Sawyer and AP Nuri for students adult and kids alike to perform in public spaces at a curated open mic.
Student and Family Responsibility
Practice is never an easy task, but it is very important to the student’s piano and voice study. It is up to the student and the student’s family to motivate the student to practice 5 times a week. When students don’t practice, they don’t feel successful and they will not want to practice anymore. More practice equals a successful study.
If a student is under the age of 7, they will be exploring music through CD's, some lesson material we send home from class, and songs they are working on. It is up to the student’s family to sit down with their child and go over their assignments 1-2 times per week. (More than that is great as well!) Wunderkeys students will also have workbook material to go over each week.
Piano students must have an acoustic piano or keyboard with a weighted action and a pedal at home to take lessons in order for them to practice each week.
*If something occurs at home or school that is affecting your child, let us know so that we can be more sensitive to the child during their lesson.
Monthly Tuition Costs By Teacher
*Rates are determined by teacher experience, schooling, certifications, and professional development. Please note yearly rates may go up a few dollars.
**A gentle reminder that monthly tuition pays for the whole program this year. While it may seem like you are only paying "per lesson", teachers work many more hours lesson planning, event planning, doing admin, and communicating about student success!
Jacqui Savage
30 Min. Lessons with Jacqui: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Jacqui: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Jacqui: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Will Sawyer
30 Min. Lessons with Will: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Will: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Will: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Sharon Trace
30 Min. Lessons with Sharon: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Sharon: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Sharon: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Christian Giddings
30 Min. Lessons with Christian: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Christian: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Christian: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Delaney Clifford
30 Min. Lessons with Delaney: $165.00
45 Min. Lessons with Delaney: $210.00
60 Min. Lessons with Delaney: $260.00
Miranda McDonald
30 Min. Lessons with Miranda: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Miranda: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Miranda: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Jared Vigue
30 Min. Lessons with Jared: $187.00
45 Min. Lessons with Jared: $235.00
60 Min. Lessons with Jared: $314.00
60 Min. every other week lessons for adults—$181
Some important notes on tuition:
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Monthly tuition is calculated by multiplying the lesson rate by 38 weeks between September and June and dividing by 10 months. Bi-weekly lessons include 18 lessons.
Monthly tuition is a program model. We calculate the number of lessons received, however, families are paying for a program which include group classes and recital/performance opportunities. Monthly tuition is paying for a reserved weekly lesson slot and the teacher’s time. Tuition does not change if lessons are canceled as teachers will still be there and will be paid for their time at the studio. If a teacher is sick, one of our qualified teachers will substitute. If there is not a substitute available, families will receive a credit. This is an umbrella model for the studio and may change if a teacher wants to move their lessons.
Tuition is due on the 1st of each month. Auto-Pay is required. There are three ways payment can be made automatically:
Electronic bank check to be delivered before the 1st of each month to 52 Tuttle Rd, Cumberland, Maine, 04021 --checks will not be cashed until the 1st of the month.
Set up auto-pay in your parent/online portal which has a fee.
Set up a bank transfer in your parent/online portal which does not have a fee.
If a student quits lessons in the middle of a month, there are no refunds. Students are not obligated to stay in lessons all year. If private lessons are not going well for any reason at all, we would not want to push a student to continue. Practice is a roller coaster, though, and students will have highs and lows. We do our best to communicate through email lesson notes and brief conversations between lessons, a couple lessons a year where parents are invited to join us and talk about how lessons are going and what our goals are, and also monthly newsletters. If students need to take a month off for any reason, we will give their time to students on our wait list.
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There is a $100.00 materials fee per student upon enrollment and every September (start of lesson year) which will cover all music and materials for the entire year. If students start in the middle of the year, they will be charged half, and if they start in the summer, they will not be charged until September.
We always work with families and students on this. For example, you can pay half in September and half in February, OR add $10.00 a month to monthly tuition if you would prefer.
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Time spent with the student: lessons, performance classes, group classes
Time spent in preparation for the student which includes:
trips to the music store, lesson planning, bookkeeping, development of curriculum, etc. It has been cited by professional music journals that for every hour enrolled in piano lessons, you are investing in at least 2 hours of the teacher’s time!Your teacher’s training and experience
Recital costs and preparations:
programs, refreshments, facility rental, etc.Professional organization memberships. Memberships are maintained by the teacher to enhance their teaching skills and provide the student with opportunities for festivals, competitions, and performance events (MaineMTA).
Studio expenses: copying, computer software, incentive programs, instruments, tunings, repairs, newsletters, and more.
Property taxes, employment taxes, insurance, business licenses, & retirement funds.
Continuing education for teachers to stay current on proper methods and techniques.
Certification costs: Professional IMTs pay to be re-certified every five years, provided they have met all the continuing education and studio requirements. This keeps the teacher accountable to a professional organization.
Book and music club memberships that include exclusive discounts.
This model allows the studio to pay teachers for their time, even if students cancel their lessons
Frequently Asked Questions
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We know that students will not be able to attend every lesson throughout the year, but we do expect to be given notice if a student will not be attending their lesson. If a lesson needs to be canceled, please log into your parent portal and cancel on the online calendar.
If there is bad weather, a snow day, or teachers need to cancel for any reason, families will receive an email and a text if you have that set up in your parent portal. We will also offer some during group class weeks.JMS is a program model. Monthly tuition pays for the 30, 45, or 60 minute lesson-time once a week or once every other week. In order to keep highly qualified teachers and respect their busy schedules, teachers are paid for their time regardless if students come to their lessons or not.
If a lesson is missed, teachers will take that time to lesson plan, send a short video lesson, and send lesson notes out, upon request.
If a teacher cancels, students will receive a credit on their bill the following month.The online calendar will still be available for students to "swap," so please cancel your lessons ahead of time if you know you can't make it so other families can grab those lessons. A make-up lesson is not assumed in the event of a cancellation.
This is an overall policy for the studio and teachers may have a slight variance in the way they make up time. Please speak with your teacher or reach out to enrollment@jacquismusicstudio.com if you have special rescheduling needs.
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Group Classe are for school-age students. They encourage our community of musicians to get to know each other, collaborate together, perform for each other, play music theory games together, and grow up together! Learning an instrument is difficult and having the parent/teacher/community support triangle is important for highs and lows of practice.
There are no regular private lessons during group class weeks.
2026/2027 Group Class Dates:
October 25th - 29th
December 13th - 17th
February 7th - 11th
April 11th - 15th
June 13th - 17th
* Schedule of classes for group classes will be given out in September. If designated times don't work for your schedule, we can try to accommodate by moving them into another class with similar ages and levels. We are running groups in Cumberland and in Saco this year**
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The studio will be open on Monday holidays -- Indigenous People’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Memorial Day, so please let us know in advance if you will not be attending your lesson on these holidays. There are no lessons during Thanksgiving Week, Christmas and New Year’s weeks, February Vacation, and April Vacation.
Studio families will receive a calendar with JMS events, or you can check the online calendar at anytime. You will also receive newsletters in your email throughout the year.BREAKS: 2026/2027
Thanksgiving Break: November 23rd - November 29th
Christmas/New Year’s Break: December 20th - January 2nd
February Break: February 14th - 20th
April Break: April 18th - 24th
Summer Break: June 20th - July 3rd
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7 week session prorated
Monthly tuition stays the same
6 private lessons
1 group class
1 Summer Jam concert at the end!
If you would like to take the summer off and hold your time, you can pay the hold fee which is $220, so we do not fill your spot with another student.
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Yes, if you agree with studio policies/philosophy of teaching, we can provide a meet and greet at one of our studio locations, where we can talk about goals, go over the program and/or meet with your potential teacher. We can look over scheduling and also get an online account set up. This is no cost.
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Parents and adult students will receive access to the parent portal and online calendar with MyMusicStaff as soon as they enroll in the studio. Your portal will have the year’s upcoming events and lessons on it. We also have a printed calendar of the year, if preferred.
We communicate regularly about breaks, group classes, events, etc. in a monthly newsletter.
If you aren’t yet a student and have questions about enrollment and the studio, use our contact form.
Teachers communicate weekly with lesson notes that are printed for students, emailed to parents, and also located in your parent portal for reference.
We also have an Instagram and Facebook account, along with a closed Facebook group for families in the studio.
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Please check out our teachers’ bios and availability on our staff page here.