Crescendo Studios, a new venue for music lessons, signs on as a Taste of Annandale sponsor

Crescendo offers lessons in piano, guitar, drum, bass,
violin, cello, viola, and voice to children, teens, and adults.  It’s located in a former TV studio, Megahertz
Network, at 8101-A Lee Highway in Merrifield across the street from the Mosaic District. 

The founder, Falls Church High School teacher Lynelle
Palencia, wanted to provide a place to teach music that is geared to the individual
student, says Crescendo’s director, Edward Fuentes.

“When you’re dealing with the arts, a curriculum doesn’t
really work. She believes the best approach is solely dependent on the teacher
and student,” says Fuentes, who notes that Lynelle’s daughter, Mariela Palencia, is a gifted singer who
has performed at Carnegie Hall.

Kids are taught music without pigeonholing it into a particular format. They also learn the cultural background of music, as well as how to play an instrument, he says.

Crescendo has seven private rooms for individual music
lessons, four rooms for band practice, two studio rooms that can be used for
recording, and other spaces for group lessons.

Crescendo also has a band program that helps the individual musicians operate as a band. One band already formed, Emily’s Obsession, consists of three 11-year-olds who started playing classic rock and are now developing original songs. “Our goal is to create bands that outgrow our business,” Fuentes says.

When he was growing up, “we associated guitar with rock,” says Fuentes, who has a degree in audio production and plays bass in the Take the Cake cover band. The goal at Crescendo, however, is to present music in a “genre-free” way.

Each of the band rooms has a mural depicting a particular U.S. city known for its music: New Orleans, New York, Detroit, and Nashville.

In addition to one-on-one lessons, Crescendo offers a group
keyboard program for 5 to 7-year-olds on Monday and Friday afternoons and
Saturday mornings.

For younger children, beginning at age two-and-half,
Crescendo is launching two music and motion programs within the next few months in partnership with Music Together and Funfit.

Several summer camp programs are available this summer, with sessions on how to work as a band, recording basics, songwriting, and show chorus.

Crescendo also also a huge open space undergoing renovation that will be used for performances, recitals, and community workshops and events – and will also be available for rental by local theater and music groups. The second floor of the building, not yet renovated, could eventually be leased to education-related businesses, Fuentes says.