The Arts Are Alive and Well at Allegro

The Arts Are Alive and Well at Allegro

By Anita L. Sherman

Sam and Lachelle Yoder of Allegro.

Photo by Anita L. Sherman

Colorfully painted hallways. Artwork gracing the walls. Cozy places to sit around every corner. A piano in every room. And room to spare for performing.

Who wouldn’t want to learn and be inspired here?

Located at 39 Culpeper Street in Warrenton, Allegro Community School of the Arts has gone through a recent renovation. It was a Boy Scout Eagle project that put in the finishing touches, adding freshly painted walls and trims.

“We have Micah Gueck to thank,” said Lachelle Yoder, who, along with her husband, Sam, and a staff of teachers and volunteers run the nonprofit performing arts school established in 2004 and anchored in Old Town since 2013.

“We can do this,” Yoder said of the pandemic challenges facing them. Bringing the arts to Fauquier and neighboring counties like Prince William, Culpeper and Rappahannock became more difficult but not impossible.

Ideas to go virtual with many of their offerings already had been in the pipeline before coronavirus. Now there was urgency to make that happen. In July, Allegro announced it was now offering the Learning

Annex, a unique blend of general education and the performing arts.

Designed to meet the needs of busy families during unprecedented times, the Learning Annex has affordable programs with schedules created to complement the different county school system schedules. It’s billed as a “one-stop shop program” for students where tutors, teaching assistants, supervised lunches and the performing arts are under one loving learning umbrella.

Held at their facility on Culpeper Street, students can bring their own curriculum (public or home school programs) and have tutors keep them engaged in learning.

Arts education includes private music lessons, dance, theatre and youth orchestra. Space is limited to accommodate safety-first small classes and virtual options are available. Ages served are rising second graders through 12th grade and pricing and schedules are flexible.

“It’s working well,” said Yoder, pointing to a screen in one of the music rooms. “The student can see the teacher and lessons are recorded and uploaded in individual folders for easy access.”

Bob Swift, a piano and voice instructor, has been on staff since 2015. His professional teaching began 50 years ago before the computer age but adjusting to a virtual platform has come easy.

“Allegro embraces virtual teaching’s present and future without sacrificing its proven excellence of the past,” said Swift. “Allegro has enabled me to offer online piano and voice lessons during this period of COVID-19 quarantine. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with virtual teaching, especially with voice instruction. Not only have I learned to navigate

internet connection platforms, but with Allegro’s provisions, all lessons are recorded and saved in the student’s private internet file.

Swift said he views the videos of the day, taking notes for future lesson plans.

“At first, I was apprehensive,” he said. “Actually, it was painless. I simply start singing or playing the music assigned and instruct the student in vocal or touch techniques, explaining ways for solving problems in note-reading. I’m fortunate to have found Allegro, it’s a special family to me.

Moving beyond their walls, Yoder shared that a family in West Virginia as well as a woman in Australia currently take advantage of virtual offerings at Allegro.

Always looking for ways to enhance their offerings, in May, they purchased Excell Dance, bringing it under the Allegro umbrella. Excell Dance owner Kim Bridges will serve on the Allegro Board of Directors.

Their two studios in Old Town Warrenton will remain as well as the teaching staff. Serving the community for more than a decade, incorporating Excell Dance into Allegro made perfect sense and the timing was right.

“Their dance programs are a perfect complement to our theatre productions,” Yoder said.

Sam and Lachelle work together each day with a mission of bringing the performing arts to the community they call home. Their combined teaching and musical backgrounds and passion for their vision has put Allegro on the map as the region’s preeminent community art school.

“Locking kids down isn’t healthy,” said Sam Yoder. “They need creativity to stay strong.”

“We need the arts more than ever,” agreed Lachelle Yoder. “We have to think hard to move forward…reinvent…stay engaged…we’re anxious to get started. We’ve found that this is a strong, vibrant community and we plan to continue to expand. The cork is still in the bottle…it needs to pop…we’re ready.”

In addition to their musical instrument instruction, they’ve also brought in theatre professionals and visual arts experts to expand their programs. They hold classes daily as well as annual performances. Currently serving some 200 students, classes are available for all ages.

Allegro is located at 39 Culpeper St., Warrenton. Visit www.allegrocsa.org to learn more about Allegro’s programs. Phone program director Lachelle Yoder at 540-349-5088 or email Lachelle@allegrocsa.org.