Cancellation Policy

 

Our Mission

Many studios require monthly tuition regardless of attendance. However, we feel our busy singers benefit from greater flexibility. Our policy allows cancellation with credit, provided cancellation occurs within the required time frame.

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It is our goal to accommodate family plans, and scheduled conflicts. Please understand that there will be times when you must cancel a lesson without sufficient notice due to sudden illness or unforeseen circumstances.

 

We pledge to honor our commitment to credit lessons cancelled within our time limit, whether we are able to fill the time slot or not. We hope this provides the freedom to make plans and to balance busy lives.

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What Is Timely Notice?

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All Students:

 

To cancel a lesson without being charged for that lesson, notification must be received via email at LaurieNelson.studio@gmail.com by 12:00 p.m. on the day prior to your lesson. If you contact the studio after 12:00 p.m., you remain responsible for the lesson time.

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Staff Studio Clients:

• LaurieNelson.studio@gmail.com is the primary contact for cancellation that occurs within a narrow margin. However, in all situations, staff studio clients will facilitate communication with a cc to our staff studio manager, Maryann Vaughn at studioscheduling.maryann@gmail.com.

• Maryann Vaughn is the staff studio contact for rescheduling, credits, bookkeeping and billing. Ideally, both email addresses should receive communications from staff studio members.

 

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What if I am sick?

We hope that the occasions when you fall ill on the day of your lesson are rare and we always hope that you recover quickly. We also hope that our students will consider our well-being when considering attendance versus moving the lesson online or forfeiting a lesson due to late cancellation. If you are not well enough to benefit from the lesson, please use reasonable sense, regardless of losing a lesson slot. We meet you halfway by honoring our pledge to credit lessons cancelled within our time limit, whether we are able to fill the time slot or not.

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Move to online: If you feel something “coming on” and believe it’s best to remain home, it is simple to pivot to a lesson on Zoom. Just let us know via text or email. Even with a sore throat, we could still look at new repertoire, talk about music theory, etc., provided you feel well enough.

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Make-Up Lessons versus Additional Lessons

• Make-up Lessons: A make-up lesson may be scheduled for planned absences.

• Extra Lessons: There are times when more lesson time is needed. Also, an additional lesson may be scheduled as necessary, in the case of an unexcused absence. Please note that the additional lesson would be on the record as an extra lesson rather than a make-up lesson.

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We encourage you to keep us informed of your scheduling needs, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

 

Holidays:

The studio remains open on Monday holidays. The exceptions are when one of the holidays listed below falls on a Monday. When that occurs, we give plentiful notice.

The studio will be closed on

• Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

• New Year's Eve & New Year's Day

• The 4th of July

• February 23 (Laurie Nelson's birthday ).

  There will be a break during Fairfax County's winter break which varies from year to year. An email will go out late in November announcing the dates for that break period.

 

Weather Policy

In the case of extreme weather, we offer online lessons as an alternative

We would retain your scheduled lesson time but do the lesson on zoom. What’s needed:

• Download Zoom

• Have 2 devices...a computer or tablet for the video feed and a phone (ideally paired

  with a speaker) for your accompaniment.

• Have your sheet music available and your accompaniment loaded to your phone.

  Video lessons are an effective alternative and a good choice for safety during a weather event. You should reach out to the studio if you feel conditions are questionable and you prefer to take your lesson from home. Your teacher will then contact you to make arrangements. Your lesson will probably take place in your original time slot.

  In the case of extreme weather we will be in touch to move all lessons online. In the case of a power outage at the studio, we will be in touch to reschedule.

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Scheduling

 

Regular lesson slots:
Most lessons slots are weekly for one half hour. There are also limited spots available for alternating week lesson slots. Weekly hour long lesson slots are available serious singers, but only at our invitation.

 

Staff Lessons:
We are fortunate to offer lessons with wonderful staff instructors trained in the Nelson Method.  Each is highly qualified. See voice studio tab for information.

 

Acting Lessons:

We encourage our singers who are interested in musical theatre and/or opera, to take advantage of our acting studio. In today's world, it is an essential skill and the difference between getting cast or getting lost in the crowd. Our instructors are skilled, informed, patient and encouraging. 

 

Cancellation List:
 If you are on the cancellation list, you are first in line for the next regular weekly opening that occurs. Depending on the student’s availability, we usually could have 2-3 lessons each month in other students' cancelled lesson times, sometimes more. Openings occur when, in keeping with our studio cancellation policy, students inform me of their absences ahead of time. For scheduling, I'll be in touch by email if we have a few days notice, or by phone if an opening comes up at the last minute.

 

Payment Information:

Accepted modes of payment are cash, PayPal or check. You will links here  when you contact us via email. Checks are made payable to NM Productions, Inc for all lessons, whether with Laurie Nelson, Brad Davis or with our staff.

 

Payment Schedule for Cancellation Scheduling:

If we are scheduling lessons in cancellation times, payment will be due at each lesson via check or cash.

 

Reserving a Weekly Slot: 

To reserve a permanent weekly lesson time, payment will be due at the first lesson of each month for all lessons scheduled that month. Most months, there will be four lessons, but some months there will be five. If a student also takes acting lessons, it's fine to include payment in one check, but please make a note of how you want the funds to be applied so that we credit your payment correctly.

 

If we are changing from cancellations to a weekly time slot, we will send a reminder of this change in payment schedule.

 

Cancellation Notice and Credits:

Lessons cancelled with adequate notice will be credited to the following month, and you should adjust your payment accordingly.  If late notice is given, while we do appreciate the heads up, you remain responsible for the lesson time. Please see our cancellation policy for details on what is considered late notice.

 

Rates:

Current rates will be discussed via email or by phone. Rate changes are infrequent; if a rate change is to occur, fair notice is given.