Levanta Institute presents a series of interdisciplinary music lessons and concerts designed to encourage out-of-the-box thinking about music creation and performance.
At the new Levanta Institute for Music & Creativity at Albuquerque Academy, we invite our community to learn to play and create music through an approach to music education that emphasizes creative thought.
Students will study and practice music from diverse cultures, learn about popular styles, and develop an understanding of how music communicates. Levanta’s world-class musician-educators will guide you through various aspects of the music creation process, and along the way students will engage in experiential projects to learn about musical composition, improvisation, instrumental technique, technology, and performance. An exploration of essential music concepts such as rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, and expression will serve as the curricular foundations offered through the Levanta Institute.
FALL 2023 COURSES
Beginning Music Composition (Grades 4-6)
Wednesdays 4-5 p.m.
September 20-November 8, 2023
Chorus Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$350
If you love music and have always wanted to make your own music, then this class is for you! Through a unique and exciting set of projects, students will learn how to understand musical sound making, musical organization, and the emotional effect of music. By the end of the course, students will have created multiple songs of their own, and they will be amazed at what they’ve accomplished.
It is not necessary to have prior experience in music learning to participate in this class.
Instructor Mickey Jones
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
Beginning Classical Guitar (Grades 4-6)
Tuesdays 4-5 p.m.
September 19-November 7, 2023
Chorus Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$350
To unlock the mysteries of the classical guitar, students will not only be introduced to the techniques and traditions of this foundational and beautiful art form, but they will create deeply expressive and beautiful music. A special emphasis will be placed on learning to play music from around the world as well as the creation of the student’s own music.
Students will need a nylon string acoustic guitar, but it is not necessary to have prior experience in music learning to participate in this class.
Instructor Mickey Jones
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
Intermediate Classical Guitar (Grades 4-6)
Thursdays 4-5 p.m.
September 21-November 9, 2023
Chorus Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$350
Now that students have begun their musical journey on the guitar, this class is an opportunity to grow to the next level. Many exciting techniques for the guitar will be explored, such as arpeggios, scales, and chords, and there will continue to be an emphasis on the creation of the student’s own music. The class will culminate in a sharing of student compositions and a performance. Come and join us for this fun and creative experience!
Students will need a nylon string acoustic guitar, and students should have completed either the Beginning Classical Guitar class or have three months of experience in group or private guitar study as a prerequisite for this class.
Instructor Mickey Jones
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
FALL 2023 COURSES
Acting for Non-Actors (Adults)
Wednesdays 6-8 p.m.
September 27-November 15, 2023
Little Theatre, Simms Center for the Performing Arts, Albuquerque Academy
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$400
The art of acting is one of the most prevalent and beautiful art forms in the world. If you have had a lifelong curiosity about the acting process, a desire to stretch your boundaries, or are just looking for a fun way to meet and create with other adults, then this class is for you. Students will explore the building blocks of acting (body, voice, and imagination) through fun activities and exercises. Using the techniques learned in class, students will rehearse two-person scenes and apply their learning to text and performance. Come and connect with others in playful and imaginative ways — fun guaranteed!
Students need no prior experience in acting to participate in this class
Instructor Alexis Scott
Registration limited to 12. Register here!
Leap Through the Decades: Jazz Dance (Adults)
Wednesdays 6-7:15 p.m.
September 13-October 18, 2023
Dance Studio, Simms Center for the Performing Arts, Albuquerque Academy
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$260
Swing from the 1940s to 1990s punk in this fun, new class offering from the Levanta Institute. Even if students only have a little dance experience, join us in learning some of the most popular and fun moves through the years. Students will learn jazz dance techniques and styles while getting a great warm-up and workout. Students will have the chance to learn fun but challenging short studies of dance choreography centering on the unique style of jazz dance in each decade from the 1940s to the 1990s. This class is low pressure, lots of fun, and good for body and soul!
Students should have some (minimal) basic knowledge or experience of some dance. Please contact us at levanta@aa.edu for questions regarding the prerequisite for this class.
Instructor Desiree Lang
Registration limited to 18. Register here!
Beginning String Orchestra (Adults)
Thursdays 6-7:30 p.m.
September 21-November 9, 2023
Orchestra Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$375
Have you always wanted to try your hand at playing the violin, viola, cello, or double bass? Experience the creative engine that is the string orchestra! Learn how to bring the bow to a string to make a variety of magical and beautiful sounds with a group of orchestra beginners in this encouraging and low-stress environment! Students will learn to decode some music notation and write some of their own songs. Students can rent an instrument or borrow a school instrument during this class.
It is not necessary to have any musical experience to take this class.
Instructor Carolyn Hurtado
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar (Adults)
Tuesdays 6-7:15 p.m.
September 19-November 14, 2023
Chorus Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$375
Guitar is the most popular instrument in the world. It is ubiquitous in the world of music from every continent, and everyday people flock to the instrument to figure out its magical properties. But too often for adult learners, the process is frustrating and dispiriting, and the music that adults are asked to learn is either too hard or too boring. In this unique course for adult beginners, from the first meeting to the last, students will make rich and beautiful music with confidence and sophistication. Come and join us in learning how to play this amazing, poetic instrument. Students will need a nylon string acoustic guitar, but it is not necessary to have prior experience in music learning to participate in this class.
Students need no prior experience in acting to participate in this class.
Instructor Mickey Jones
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
Intermediate Fingerstyle Guitar (Adults)
Thursdays 6-7:15 p.m.
September 21-November 9, 2023
Chorus Room, Music Building, Albuquerque Academy
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$375
Now that you’ve begun your musical journey on the guitar, you are ready to take your guitar playing to the next level. In this class, students will continue to explore fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing through a study of chords, moveable patterns, scales, and a greater understanding of the sonic possibilities on this bewitching instrument. Students will also consider important musical devices to lend expression and emotional effect to their playing. Come and join us in learning how to make music in this fun, supportive, and enthusiastic class.
Prerequisite: Students should either have taken the Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar class or have at least three months of guitar learning to be comfortable in this class. Please contact us at levanta@aa.edu for questions regarding the prerequisite for this class.
Instructor Mickey Jones
Registration limited to 15. Register here!
FREE WORKSHOP SERIES
Information about fall sessions coming soon
Carolyn Hurtado '07
Carolyn has performed throughout the Southwestern U.S., South America, and New York. She started teaching violin and cello privately and eventually moved to the classroom. She loves to repair instruments and has almost completed her first violin.
Carolyn earned her B.A. in music from the University of New Mexico.
Mickey Jones
Mickey Jones is founder and director of Albuquerque Academy’s Levanta Institute for Music and Creativity. Having taught, performed, and conducted at important festivals and institutions around the world, Mickey brings an extensive career to the classroom where, for 20 years, he’s worked to innovate music education, incubate new ideas, and stretch the limits of what’s possible outside traditional models. His varied and eclectic approach to making music extends to the creation of music, and his compositions comprise a repertoire rich in color and form. His commissioned works include Trance of Fire and A Tree Telling of Orpheus for guitar ensemble; his solo works for guitar include Old Growth Forest, Mary’s Peak, and Black-Crowned Night Heron.
Mickey holds a M.Mus. and B.Mus. in music performance from University of New Mexico.
Desiree Lang
A native of Albuquerque, and a student of dance since the age of five, Desiree received her B.F.A. in Dance from Southern Methodist University. She continued her professional career in New York and internationally. She has worked as an assistant choreographer and performer at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, American Musical and Drama Academy, Dallas Summer Musicals, and Nevada Festival Ballet. She has done commercial work for BMW, Leggs, and Coca-Cola. Desiree’s local performance and choreography credits include the New Mexico Ballet Company, ACLOA, Albuquerque Little Theater, Musical Theater Southwest, Fusion Theater, and numerous community events throughout the state.
Desiree earned her B.F.A. in dance from Southern Methodist University.
Alexis Scott
Alexis (she/her) is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and has spent the last decade acting in new play premieres across the country and virtually. Off-broadway New York credits include: “Dishwater Blonde,” a solo show about Eva Braun by David Turkel; Claire Keichel’s “Paul Swan is Dead” and Gone” with The Civilians; and Gabriel Jason Dean’s “Triggered” at Cherry Lane Theatre with The Amoralists. She has performed in two premieres at the international Fusebox Festival in Austin and two premieres at the Seattle Children’s Theater and was a team member of Philadelphia Improv. Alexis has taught ages preschool through adulthood in settings that range from classrooms to universities to camps to the Redwoods. She ran the middle school and upper school theatre program at The Baldwin School in Philadelphia and was an adjunct instructor at UT Austin, the director of middle and high school musicals at the Headwaters School in Austin, an instructor with the Orthodox Jewish Center for Performing Arts in Brooklyn, a regular member/teacher with the Manton Ave Project in Rhode Island, and a counselor/drama instructor at the tech-free Camp Grounded in California. She has facilitated workshops for the Michener Writer’s Center and was the lab coordinator for Kerrigan and Lowdermilk’s THE MAD ONES International Virtual Lab.
Alexis earned her B.A. in gender studies from Brown University and her MFA in acting from University of Texas at Austin.
Learn more about Levanta from this KHFM interview hosted by Alexis Corbin.
