Located at 29th and Pine Lake Road, Harris Academy of the Arts specializes in providing quality music education for a variety of instruments from piano, guitar, and voice to strings, woodwinds, and brass. Recently Harris Academy of the Arts has enhanced its repertoire to also include a variety of arts programs. Currently the expanded course list includes Musical Theatre, Talent Coaching, Vocal Ensembles, Rock Bands, and more!
Tell us a little about Harris Academy of the Arts.
Our guarantee is always that you will receive quality music education with knowledgeable, professionally-trained faculty. Harris Academy of the Arts represents learning and community, and our goal is that faculty, students and families enjoy the arts and share this passion with those around them. Whether young or young at heart, beginning or advanced in skills, we welcome you to Harris Academy of the Arts. Professional musicians from Harris Academy of the Arts also provide live music entertainment for weddings, corporate events, cocktail dinners, funerals, and more. Our professional ensembles include string quartet, duets, piano, jazz trio, and Charles Dickens carolers.
How long have you been in Lincoln?
Harris Academy of the Arts is beginning its 11th year of business as we have proudly been offering quality services for the Lincoln and area communities since 2004.
Who are the owners/important executives?
Vicki Harris is the owner and founder of Harris Academy of the Arts. In addition to being the founder, Vicki is an active participant in the Harris mission, serving as an instructor, administrator, advisor, mentor and friend. She is honored and feels privileged to work daily with the students of Harris and be surrounded by quality educators who share the same love of music.
What makes Harris Academy of the Arts unique?
We provide music lessons and group classes for ALL ages – and when we say ALL ages, we mean it! Our oldest student currently is 82 years old, with our record being 93 years of age. Harris Academy of the Arts has also seen its youngest student at 4 weeks old via the Kindermusik program. We also participate in the OLLI program, which is a lifelong learning program at University of Nebraska – Lincoln for ages 50 and older. Furthermore, our instructors are working with many students who have special needs.
The studio is also able to provide multiple services simultaneously for families that need their schedules to match or be condensed as much as possible. For example, we have one family with four siblings that are all fit in the same 30 minute time period for their individual lessons. We also have a variety of instructors available at the studio, allowing students to find the best match for their music goals. As most of our instructors and performers are university-trained with master’s and doctorate’s degrees, we focus on theory and proper technique for a well-rounded musical education.
What do you like about doing business in Lincoln?
The arts community in Lincoln is thriving and growing every single day and Harris Academy of the Arts is proud to be a part of it! As Lincoln is rich in culture and the arts, our community values quality music education. We love collaboration opportunities with the Lincoln Symphony, Lied Center for Performing Arts, and a variety of other opportunities provided for our students of all ages to share and strengthen their respective talents. Along with our fall and spring student recitals, students at Harris Academy of the Arts have performed publicly all throughout Lincoln – prior to symphony performances, at farmer’s markets, the Tour of Homes, the Streets Alive! event, Gateway Mall during the holiday season, and various other performances. We love being a part of this community!
To further emphasize why we do what we do, we would like to share a testimonial:
“I wanted to pass along the wonderful impact that you have on our children. Saturday night as our son was going to bed, he came over to me and gave me a big hug and told me ‘Thank you.’ And I asked ‘For what?’ He said, ‘Thank you for paying for piano lessons for me. I really appreciate it.’ It really caught me off guard as he has never said anything like this. I think he is gaining an understanding of how music can impact his life. I know that he has so many more opportunities by having wonderful teachers like you. You are teaching my children, not only music, but valuable life skills and helping them to be nice, respectful, hardworking young adults. Thanks for all that you do. We are truly blessed you are in our lives.”
– Mother of Piano Student
To learn more about Harris Academy of the Arts, call (402) 423-7121, visit HarrisAcademyOfTheArts.com, or find them on Facebook!