Adult Programs

The Laurier Academy of Music and Arts offers intergenerational programs in group settings for adults 18+ designed to foster community engagement and support skill building. Specific goals for our adult programming include promoting social interaction, emotional wellbeing and enhancing quality of life.

Jukebox Hits!

Back by popular demand, Jukebox Hits fall 2024! This group is designed for singers of all levels (16+), to come together and sing pop, rock, and other genres in a relaxed and stress-busting environment. No musical background required. 

Led by the marvelous conductor Greer Schatz, this group is sure to get you on your feet and dancing. There will be a performance opportunity at the end of the session.

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Wednesdays; Sept. 11 to Nov. 27 (12 sessions)
• Time: 7 - 9 p.m.
• Cost: $160

Register

Group Piano for Complete Beginners

Join Tatyana Palmer for a group piano class for complete beginners! Group classes are a great way to start learning an instrument in a stress-free and supportive environment. This class is designed for adults (18+) who would like to kick-start their learning. 

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Tuesdays; Sept. 10 to Nov. 26 (12 weeks)
• Time: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
• Cost: $250

Register

Group Guitar for Complete Beginners

Join Nikki Ferreira for a group guitar class for complete beginners! Group classes are a great way to start learning an instrument in a stress-free and supportive environment. This class is designed for adults (18+) who would like to kick-start their learning. Some topics that will be covered: chords, strum patterns, basic techniques/parts of the guitar, finger-picking patterns, and a few songs that you'll have under your belt for summer campfires!

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Tuesdays; Sept. 10 to Nov. 26 (12 weeks)
• Time: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
• Cost: $250

Register

Adult Improv Ensemble

Led by Dave O'Neill. Ages 15+!

Playing in a band and collectively making music together is an essential part of being a musician. Understanding the role you play as a musician and the contribution you make to the music as an individual performer becomes an integral part of the music as a whole. The sum is always greater than the parts. It’s an amazing feeling when the band is sounding good!

These ensemble offerings will introduce participants to the art of improvisation, or more succinctly, “making it up as you go”. Oddly, improvisation is a practiced art form; there is a method to the madness. We’ll use basic song frameworks such as the Blues to explore improvisation techniques. Songs are presented using what are known as ‘lead sheets’, which contain, in a condensed form, everything you need to know about a particular song: the melody, the harmony, and the song form. Learning to interpret it is part of the art of improvisation.

The knowledge gained is applicable to any style of music, and we veer into popular song territory as our muse takes us via participant input (aka “pick a song!”)

All instrumentalists and vocalists are welcome! A working knowledge of your instrument is required. If you are new to the experience of Improvisation but it sounds fun (it truly is), Adult Ensemble 2 will lean toward the beginner side of this musical experience.

A PA, piano, vibraphone, drum set and hand percussion will be provided. All other instruments will need to be supplied by the student, including amplifiers.

Ensemble 1 (mid-beginner to intermediate)

Session One:

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Sept. 9 to Dec. 16, 2024 (14 weeks) *No session Oct. 14
• Time: Mondays 7 - 8:30 p.m. 
• Cost: $400

Register

Session Two:

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Jan 6 to Apr 14 2025 (14 weeks) *No session Feb. 17 
• Time: Mondays 7 - 8:30 p.m.
• Cost: $400

Session Three:

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: April 28 to June 30 2025 (9 weeks) *No session May 19
• Time: Mondays 7 - 8:30 p.m.
• Cost: $280

Ensemble 2 (beginner *basic proficiency on instrument is required)

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Sept 6 to Dec 6 2024 (14 weeks)
• Time: Fridays 7 - 8:30 p.m.
• Cost: $400

Laurier Concert Choir 

The Laurier Concert Choir is open for enrollment to the community!

Join the Laurier Concert Choir for a unique and exciting choral experience! Sing with university-trained Laurier voice students in the newly-renovated Savvas Chamberlain Building at Wilfrid Laurier University.

A vocal interview is required. Choristers should be able to match pitch and read music capably. Prior choral singing is an asset, but not required.

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in room 4031 of the Savvas Chamberlain Building – 75 University Ave. W, Waterloo.

• Location: 75 University Ave. West 
• Start date: Wednesday, Sept. 11
• Rehearsal times: Wednesdays from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
• Performance dates:
  • November 16, 2024
  • March 12, 2025
• Cost: $250 per term
• Ages: 16+

Register for a vocal interview

A Community Consort

Daniel Cabena and LAMA cordially invite you to participate in our Community Consort. We’re a small group of players & singers who explore early music & historically inspired music-making. Thus far, our Community Consort has included violas da gamba, baroque violins, recorders, voices, lute, sackbuts, harpsichord, organ, and a shawm! So, whatever you may play or sing, do come along!

In the winter of 2023, our Community Consort will be exploring early music through the lens of English literature, and we’ll be commemorating the deaths (in 1623) of William Byrd, Thomas Weelkes & William Shakespeare. Our explorations will culminate in a merry musical masque, which we will devise & perform together.

Possible special events: continuo workshop & text workshop; details to be confirmed.

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: Ongoing
• Time: Tuesdays at 6:30 - 8 p.m.
• Cost: $180 (sliding scale fee structure available; contact LAMA@wlu.ca) 
• Ages: 16+

Contact the school directly to register. 

Fiddle Jams

Led by Shane Guse, join us for a monthly fiddle jam! This is a drop-in event. This is a fun and supportive group setting where you play when you can, listen when you can't, and make sure to take note of new tunes you hear and want to explore. This is open to players of all ages and levels. If you have never played fiddle before, this is a great opportunity to try it out. The goal is to have fun, build confidence and repertoire, and hopefully introduce fiddling to those who have never had the opportunity to try it. 

• Location: 190 Lester Street, Waterloo
• Dates: TBD
• Time: 7:15 - 8:15 p.m.
• Cost: $5 donation encouraged for the instructor
• Ages: All (should have minimum basic proficiency on your instrument)