music study

HOWARD MUSIC STUDIO

Billie and Laurie Jo Howard offer quality piano, violin, woodwind, voice and songwriting instruction for students at any level, ages 4 through adult. With over 60 combined years of teaching experience , the Howards have extensive experience providing a creative, supportive environment for students to engage musically and emotionally. Lessons focus on not only developing technical skills, but also incorporate theory, musicality, improvisation, composition, and more, as students are exposed to music of all styles. Billie holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, where she studied the traditional and contemporary teaching methods with Dr. Marcia Bosits. Laurie Jo holds a B.S. Magna Cum Laude in music from Dickinson State university and a M.S. in Elementary and Secondary School Administration from Montana State University.

Together, their students have been awarded Gold and Silver medals in the Chicago Area Music Teacher Association's (CAMTA) Sonata-Sonatina Festival and CAMTA Composition Festival. Their tudents have received top scores in the Achievement in Music (AIM) Examinations and the Concordia Music Achievement Exams. Billie and Laurie Jo have taught at Oak Park School of Music, Concordia University, Bozeman Public Schools, and the British International School of Chicago. Billie has also taught string classes at The People’s Music School, and has been a volunteer keyboard coach for Girls Rock! Chicago, a non-profit committed to educating girls and transgender & gender non-conforming youth about the musical, technical, and creative aspects involved in musicianship.

Billie is the creator and director of the Popular Music for Piano Camp, which was founded in 2013. The annual summer camp will celebrate it's 8th iteration online in 2020 with sessions in July and August. For more information on the camp, visit billiejeanhoward.com/camp

For more information on private lessons, please submit the form below.