About the
Kanack School
At the Kanack School of Musical Artistry, we strive to create true artists. These are students who not only can play or sing at a very high technical level, but also can use those skills to express their own musical personality with confidence. We believe everyone is equally talented, and furthermore that anyone can train their creativity to an ever higher level of self-expression. All students learn to look for truth and beauty through music.
We provide students of all ages a warm, disciplined, and non-competitive environment in which to develop their musical artistry. Students regularly inspire each other in regular weekly classes in improvisation, Suzuki repertoire, orchestra, folk music, and chamber music, among others. The friendly student community is driven by regular practice of the “Three Rules” from Alice Kanack’s Creative Ability Development classes, which many students study either as a group or privately in one-on-one lesson instruction. The atmosphere of the School makes for a community of fun-loving creators and musicians.
True to our founding, all students have the opportunity to study the art of improvisation through the Creative Ability Development Method (CAD) authored by Alice Kanack. Our pedagogy combines discipline with fun. We seek to teach technical excellence as well as musicality so that all students are musical artists in their own rights. In summary:
Creative Ability + Music = Musicality
Musicality + Technical Facility = Artistry
The Kanack School was founded in 1995 in Rochester, New York, following Alice Kanack’s second visit to Matsumoto, Japan, with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. During this visit, Alice showed how musical improvisation is a tool to deepen a student’s search for truth and beauty just like Dr. Suzuki’s method enables students with the technical skills required for that search. Dr. Suzuki picked up his own violin and handed it to Alice saying, “Please, teach my teachers.” Alice returned to the United States on a mission and has since that time further refined and expanded her Creative Ability Development Method.
The School accepts students of any age and holds a variety of classes appropriate for students of any age, ranging from toddlers to adults. We currently offer Suzuki and traditional private lessons on violin, viola, cello, piano, harp, guitar, mandolin, flute, percussion, banjo, ukulele, and voice.
Photo by Azalea Dietz
The Kanack School of Musical Artistry
is part of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Creative Ability Development, Inc.