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About MCSM

The History of Marion County School of Music

In June of 1999, after moving to Marion, South Carolina, the first private piano lessons were offered in and around the community. No plans were made to have a school, and little did we know that we would some day have a school and do what we now do. Within one month 18 students signed up for private lessons. That number grew to 105 students in January 2000. Upon moving into the old plantation home it was apparent that the community had a great interest in learning music. A piano student who was extremely skilled in playing the guitar, offered to give guitar lessons and thus we opened the school doors. A guitar student who studied contemporary voice soon came on board as our contemporary voice and beginning keyboard teacher, but has now left.

Health reasons prevented our guitar teacher from teaching and we found two teachers in our search for a replacement. One of these fine musicians teaches guitar, bass, banjo and plays the hammered dulcimer. Playing 8 wind instruments, the assistant band director at the local High School is on our staff both during Summer Camp and offering lessons to students here as well. A drum teacher just recently joined our ranks. Other new members on the staff are 3 voice teachers, 2 additional piano teachers, a dance instructor, Karate Teacher, Equestrian Arts Teacher, Art and Crafts Teacher, Activity Teacher, Violin and Cello Teacher and Music Therapy Teacher staff. We now have 256 Music School students and 42 Private School students, not to mention Summer Camps.
In 2002 we received the honor of being a Non-Profit Organization, as well as a Charitable Organization in the State of South Carolina. We hope to accomplish additional Program Goals for the community encompassing After School Programs, Full Day School Programs, Long Term Illness Music Classes, Ballet and Dance, a County Choir doing special performances, to widen the variety of our offers to the public and to continue giving the community a chance at learning all about the Arts.

We now have added a Teen-at-Risk program entitled A.L.L. – the Art of Living Life. This program teaches all Life Skills including: How to open and manage a Bank Account, How to apply for a job, write a Resume and maintain good work habits, How to date safely, How to plan a family and what it means to have a child, How to survive your own cooking, How to maintain a car, How does the news affect me as an individual, a community, a State, a country, and much more.

We have professionals visiting us to teach about subjects such as “Date Rape”, “Fetal Growth and Development”, “Pregnancy and Childbirth”, and we visit the Police Department to learn first hand how “Law and Order” works. We also attend a session at the local judge’s courtroom in order to understand how our actions may end us up in this setting.
This pilot program encourages parents to participate actively and enlists the community to work with our students. (i.e. going to work at the local Super Market and Chinese Restaurant and earning “fake” money, with which the student has to learn to manage their financial affairs).
And now we teach Core Curriculum. See Private School and are fully accredited.

We offer some Scholarships

Instructors

Mrs Rose
Piano (Intermediate and Advanced)
Recorder (Woodwinds)
Harmonica
Rose C. Massey, was born and raised in Mainz, Germany, where she studied music at the Conservatory of Mainz. Growing up with a mother who was an opera singer, and a Grandfather who was an orchestra conductor, made music a natural and vital part of her daily life. Although, classical music is her primary love and she has gained her most extensive knowledge in the classics, she teaches church music, gospel music, Ragtime and many other styles of music, as well.

Over the years she has designed a program for the very young student, which has not been used anywhere, but works extremely well for children who are not yet in school. This makes her teaching methods rare, different but all the same exciting and a lot of fun, as some of her students readily admit.
"Learning music is like learning to walk. We take one step at a time; sometimes we fall down, dust ourselves off and start back over again."
The one thing Mrs. Rose teaches, at least in the very first few lessons is confidence in one’s abilities. So, every student leaves, after the first half hour, playing and reading a song.