Grosse Pointe Music Academy to Move to Woods

Renovations have been underway for weeks at a vacant storefront in preparation for the relocation of , which serves approximately 300 families. 

The academy, which offers individual and group music lessons and houses the national program for toddlers, Music Together, is currently housed in on Mack Avenue near Cadieux Road.

The owner, Henry Bahrou, wanted to find a location with more of a neighborhood feel, academy music teacher and social media coordinator Jennifer Teets said.

The new location, which will open April 16, is the former Village Cleaners Mack Avenue at 19443 Mack Ave. Construction workers have been building the space, which was pretty much wide open, into several studio rooms with soundproof walls, Teets said.

The move means one fewer vacant storefront for the block, which also houses , the and .

As a music school, Teets said the new location will offer better acoustics for a learning environment and allow for more students to receive instruction at any given time. The academy's current location was a make-shift storefront that was leftover from another renting business nearby, Teets said, explaining the layout was not ideal. 

Teets said the teachers and owners are excited about the new location and all it has to offer. For parents, there is a lot more nearby for them to do after dropping off their child, Teets said, explaining there are a great deal more businesses and coffee shops within walking distance.

The new location will offer nine individual rooms and three group areas. It will also allow for more prominent placing for the store's insturment repair shop, named Guitar Union, Teets said.

The repair shop is a feature of the academy that may be used not only by students but also of musicians in need of repairs. The shop will be moved to the front of the store at the new location, giving it more prominance and visibility and hopefully generating more customers for that section of the business, Teets said.

Teachers and the owner are "always looking to grow the business," Teets said, explaining the new location is "more conducive to growing."

Bahrou opened another academy last fall in Canton, named the Grosse Pointe's Canton Music Academy, Teets said.

Families and students of the academy have been told about the move, which will happen during spring break. The academy follows the Grosse Pointe Public School district schedule, so it is normally closed during spring break anyway. This year, teachers and the owner will be moving into the new location, Teets said.

In addition to the other benefits, teachers are looking to offer some new products/services, including summer camps for which they are trying to determine curriculum now, Teets said.

There will be six one-week camps from mid-July through mid-August, she said.

The contact information for the Grosse Pointe Music Academy will remain the same with the exception of course of the address.