Most obviously, the Institute's website has been changing and improving. There are several new items including new page backgrounds of Kansas City and a scrolling news bar updated with all our new events. The newest information appears in red; so check back often to see what is going on at the Institute.
On the "about" page, there is more information about the Institute, the Teachers, and our Supporters. Those who provide the Institute with scholarships have earned a spot on our supporters page where their accomplishments are listed and soon will include more news about their involvement with KCVI.
On the "lessons" page, there are new links to scholarship and discount information for voice lessons, a downloadable brochure is available for Children's Classes, and a new Online Voice Lesson service has been added. The online service is very unique, because all you need to do is send a video of yourself singing privately or in a performance and we will provide expert analysis of your technique and performance for only $3! Other online sites only provide expensive self-help CDs and you will not receive personalized attention. This is great service for those who can only afford a few private lessons or have to travel long distances to their instructor's studio. Now students can have their private instructor give them check-up lessons online, get professional instruction, and save money.
The Institute has significantly expanded its community outreach especially through its services provided by the KCVI - Music Education Charities. KCVI now offers Public School Outreach services where Institute teachers have volunteered their time to go to area schools and teach free private lessons to students and provide free sheet music for them as well. The Institute is offering 3 visits for schools who are interested and will provide most any music education service the teachers need. Most of the teachers are responsible for the music education for several hundred students. Institute teachers are volunteering their time and efforts to help these school teachers in whatever ways they need most.
Also on the "Outreach" page, there is more information about scholarships. The Institute has already awarded several full scholarships (free lessons for a year). Those who donate to these scholarships will receive information about who is benefiting from their donations and will be able to see video and hear from those students as well. Later this month, the Music Education Charities will be debuting an innovative Muisc Adoption Program to make this a more efficient and beneficial donation program for both our donors and students. In the meantime, if you are interested in donating, please contact us today or simply donate through our PayPal site.
The Institute will also be sponsoring several events found on the "Events" page. The Institute is planning to host a Fall Rep Session where students, especially those who were helped in outreach programs, can come and receive a free lesson and free repertoire for their spring music contests and festivals as well as for college and summer program auditions. In the Spring, KCVI will host an event that will provide more free instruction prior to the spring contests as well as provide scholarship and audition information from representatives from area Colleges, Universities, and other music programs. Locations, dates, and times for these events are still being negotiated and will be announced soon.
The payment process has been simplified even further providing separate Enrollment and Payment pages. Those receiving scholarships and discounts receive private pages on the charity site with login IDs and passwords to help manage this process.
You can now follow KCVI on Myspace. The Institute's internet presence has been increasing, and after only several months; KCVI ranks 1st in several search categories on Google. Google estimates that KCVI has added about 27,000 new related sites in September on a simple search for "Kansas City Vocal Institute" bringing the search total to just under a quarter million sites! Hopefully, this trend continues, and this taps into what the Institute is planning for October.
The future is very bright for KCVI. Several important steps lay right ahead and news is forthcoming on these milestones. The Kansas City Vocal Institute should become officially incorporated within the next few weeks. With that, more emphasis will be given to web presence and providing online services for donors, children in the public schools, and web users around the world. Another important area will be with the school children of the Kansas City area. The outreach programs will continue and hopefully encourage more students to take lessons who are interested in music outside of the classical genre. Children who are interested in pop, rock, country, blues, jazz, etc. all should receive attention in those fields and the Institute will be making new initiatives to provide them with education in those fields.
