Thousands of kids from across L.A. have had their creative sparks lit by classes at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music since it launched in a snug storefront space next to the Intelligentsia coffee shop back in 2001. On Friday, the Conservatory cut the ribbon on a new home in Los Feliz, with a big new space for more classes, more students and more music.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, one of SCM’s original founders, was on hand Friday for a formal grand opening, which also featured a full brass band that broke out into a New Orleans-style second line with students joining in, and other local musicians performing in space’s new atrium performance space.
“Of the things I’ve done in my life, the conservatory is the greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Flea told LA Weekly at the opening celebration. “I’m not a unique person, there are lots of kids like me who are going to find a sense of self, discipline and just a sense of love and belonging through music.”
Silverlake Conservatory of Music’s new space, while not located in Silver Lake any more, offers 13 soundproofed practice and lesson rooms that will be used for 700 lessons a week, an assembly area that fits 150 people, and, in the lobby, a finishing touch from the original place—a rug that Flea grabbed from his own house to decorate the lobby when SMC opened 15 years ago was brought over to add a bit of color to the new entryway.
To find out more about the Conservatory or to reserve a private lesson, call 323-665-3363 or click here.
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