Photos and video

Calendar/chamber events

Orchestra, Groups, Chamber
All, 2009 - 2010

Registration policies and forms

Thank you for your interest in the Preucil School of Music. If you have trouble downloading the forms, please install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To put your child or an adult student on our waiting list for lessons:

1. Please read the Enrollment Process carefully:
Enrollment Process for lessons
2. If your child is under 5 years old, please read:
Pretwinkle Partner Lesson Information
3. For information about lesson tuition and fees:
Fee Structure 2008-2009
4. Print and complete the Placement Form:
Lesson Placement Form
5. Print and complete the Observation Form:
Observation Form
6. Send the completed forms and the $35 placement fee to:

Preucil School of Music - Main Campus
524 N. Johnson St.
Iowa City, IA 52245-2840

Financial aid is available.

Registration Policies

The Preucil School of Music is a non-profit, tax-exempt institution and attempts to keep its fees as low as possible. Your cooperation with the following policies will insure efficient business procedures at minimum cost.

1. Enrollment must be made for the academic year. Tuition is based on the full academic year of 37 weeks. Students registering after the term has begun will be charged from the date of their first lesson. Tuition is divided into 9 equal payments, with the first & May payment due at registration. For each succeeding month tuition is due by the 10th, with a $10 late fee added after that date. A $15 service charge will be assessed for each returned check. There are no monthly statements sent by the School. Please note when payment is due and mail accordingly or pay in person at the office.

We believe in the importance of excellent musical training in a child’s total development, and need the parents’ commitment & encouragement at those times when interest lags in any regular discipline. Following through with projects begun is also an important lesson for the child. Thus we ask parents to observe the method in action before enrolling, and then fully intend to remain in the program for the entire academic year, unless the teacher determines that the child is not yet ready. The School reserves the right to discontinue any student who does not exhibit sufficient interest to progress.

2. Summer session enrollment may be for all or part of the weeks offered, with tuition due in full when registering.

3. If you have any questions or reservations about your training, we encourage you to discuss them with your teacher. If you would prefer to discuss them in confidence with the Director, please call the office for an appointment.

4. Procedure for discontinuing lessons:

a) Pick up discontinuance form in the office.

b) Fill out, sign and ask teacher to sign.

c) Turn into office and pay any remaining fees before the 1st of the next month to avoid being charged for that month.

d) The May deposit payment will not be refunded. For students graduating or moving during the year, the deposit will be used for the last month’s attendance, if six weeks notice is given.

5. Tuition entitles a student to school membership and scheduled weekly lessons. The full monthly fee is paid whether or not the student attends all lessons and no credits or refunds will be given for student absences. Notification of inability to attend a lesson is appreciated, but does not excuse payment for contracted lessons. No refunds, credits or make-ups will be given for group class fees once the classes have begun.

6. All faculty Lesson Schedules are posted in the inner lobby of the School. To avoid losing a lesson which cannot be attended, please check these Lesson Schedules and arrange to trade lessons with another student, notifying the teacher of any changes. Students who miss a lesson due to illness and give the office 24 hour notice may request a make-up lesson (scheduled at the convenience of the faculty member). This make-up is offered once a semester within two weeks of the absence.

7. Group classes will not meet on days when the Iowa City School District cancels or dismisses classes early due to inclement weather. Individual lessons may be held depending on the ability of the teacher and the student to reach the School. Call the School to be sure your teacher is available or to cancel your lesson if you cannot arrive safely. If you have properly notified your teacher, every attempt will be made to make up individual lessons missed due to weather. Classes will not be made up.

8. If a faculty member is absent, the lesson will be made up.

9. The annual Hancher String Concert and Clapp Piano Festival are part of the curriculum for all students. The activity fee is charged whether or not a student participates in the events.

10. Limited Scholarship funds are available for continuing students in need of financial assistance. Application forms may be obtained at the office in April for the following year and will be due by April 30 for consideration. Notification of scholarship awards will occur before fall registration.

The continuance of the Preucil School is made possible through the generosity of the many parents and patrons who contribute to the ENDOWMENT FUNDS and ANNUAL

Teacher Training Faculty

Christie Felsing
Violin Teacher Trainer

Assistant Director Christie Felsing received her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying violin with Vartan Manoogian and pedagogy with Marvin Rabin.  After a year of graduate studies at Boston University, including long-term Suzuki teacher training, she pursued a nine-month Suzuki internship with Doris Preucil at the Preucil School.  This experience led her to complete a Master of Music degree in Suzuki pedagogy at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville with John Kendall. Christie is a graduate of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts’ administrative training program, AMICI.  She served on the Suzuki Association of the Americas Board of Directors from 2004-2009, is a registered SAA Teacher Trainer, and is the 2010 SAA Conference Coordinator.

Doris Bogen Preucil
Director Emeritus, Violin Teacher Trainer

Doris is the founder and Director Emeritus of the Preucil School of Music. An honors graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she was a violinist with the National Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic. She has served on the faculties of Western Illinois University, the University of Northern Iowa, and Interlochen Arts Camp, and performed and presented workshops throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, and Korea. A Suzuki teacher since 1963, she is the author of the Suzuki Viola School, and a Past President of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She was named "Teacher of the Year" by the Iowa String Teachers Association in 2005 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Eastman School in 2004.

William Preucil
Viola Teacher Trainer, Advanced Viola

William Preucil has performed in countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and throughout North America. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, former principal violist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Stradivari Quartet, and is Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa, where he received its annual award for Teaching Excellence in 1992. Mr. Preucil is the recording artist for the method books of the Suzuki Viola School and is now serving as vice-president of the American Viola Society and as vice-president of the International Suzuki Association.

Sonja Berven Zeithamel
Director of the Preucil School, Violin Teacher Trainer

Sonja co-founded the Preucil School of Music in 1975 as Assistant Director and was named Director in August 1997. She is an honors graduate of the Univeristy of Iowa School of Music. As a member of the Preucil School of Music faculty, she teaches violin, viola, coaches string quartets and conducts string orchestras. She is a registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and travels throughout the United States as a clinician at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Winter chamber music

Coming soon.