Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Bendorf.
Adam, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Allemande Music Academy was born from our desire to match music students with great classical music teachers. Anna (my beautiful wife) and I had already been running our own private piano studio from our home when we decided to pursue this second arm of our business. We had been receiving many calls for piano lessons and couldn’t take on more students because we were completely full. It was awful to turn away these sweet students who had such a desire to grow in music, many of whom were recommended by close friends and colleagues. But, where could we send them?
Also, at this time, we received inquiries from charter school students who wanted to use government funding to pay for lessons. Again, it was very frustrating that we could not serve these students; in this case because we were not approved as vendors with the California public school system.
But the lightbulb went on, and I remember asking, “How can we could pair charter students with great teachers?”
Anna and I brought this all as a prayer request to close friends at our local church. We wanted to exercise wisdom in our business pursuits, especially since I had lost a lot of money in a failed business attempt a few years back. My ignorance, inexperience, and pride had stood in the way of good decision-making, and this needed to be different. Service to others and recognizing our role as stewards of music to those around us became cornerstones of our quest.
So, we became vendors with the state of California, created a web identity, and brought on our first teacher. It wasn’t long before she was full, and we started networking to bring on other great teachers. We had started with piano instruction, but soon we added other areas classical instruction–guitar, flute, clarinet, cello, violin, and voice. It’s been exhilarating to see so many students studying the music we love so much!
Has it been a smooth road?
We have had both struggles and victories, for sure. One of the biggest challenges is balancing family life with the extra work load. There’s a natural conflict there. We have three kids, and of course we want to be the best parents we can possibly be. Time management is key, and I need to improve a lot in that area.
Also, a personal struggle I have is growing in my role as the director of a business that involves over 20 teachers. It’s one thing to be teaching piano lessons and earning money for yourself, but it’s quite another to take on the responsibility of guiding a large number of other teachers and students. That weighs heavily on me sometimes.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Allemande provides students with music teachers who come to their homes. An in-home lesson sure beats spending 25 minutes in traffic! We also host a recital twice a year so students can show off their achievements. A bonus is that some of our teachers are members of music associations that provide standardized music testing, special recitals, festivals, etc.
We specialize in classical music, especially pre-college age. There is a classical music sub-culture that Anna and I have been living in since we were kids, and that’s what we love. Allemande jives well with students who value classical training and traditional note-reading.
I consider our greatest mark of achievement to be the happy emails we get or a parent crying tears of joy as she listens to a child make gorgeous music on stage. For us, seeing the joy that music brings to people is very fulfilling.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The greater L.A. area is an incredibly fertile environment for classical music. Whether its current superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel or highly-acclaimed composer Sergei Rachmaninov from the early 1900s (who was the last breath of Romanticism), L.A. has always been home to world-class artists. Or, consider the Walt Disney Concert Hall, one of the premier halls of the world. Clearly, the musical infrastructure exists to support classical arts.
But where does the path to musical greatness begin? With students. Those who want to get involved in classical music often have public school music programs as an option. However, school music programs, crucial pillars in public education, rarely offer private lessons. This means that students who want to make music a major area of study must turn to private lessons.
L.A. has a very active private music instruction community. As a district president of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT), I get to see first-hand the top talent that emerges from private studios within L.A. It is very encouraging to see kids from these studios going to the best collegiate music programs and conservatories across the U.S.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://allemandemusicacademy.com/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/allemandemusic/
- Twitter: twitter.com/adambendorf
- Other: http://bendorfpianostudio.com/
Image Credit:
Alice Hu
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