Meet Jessica Solares of Bucktown Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Solares.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My husband Luis and I started Bucktown Music in 2008. We both have music degrees and had been teaching private lessons at other music studios in the suburbs. I taught violin, voice and piano, and Luis teaches guitar and is also a gifted songwriter. We started offering group violin lessons at Mitchell Elementary School (CPS) in September 2008, and private lessons at our storefront location in March 2009. We received a lot of inquiries about early childhood music classes, and so I decided to become certified and licensed to teach the Kindermusik curricula, which immediately took off! Three years later, Luis and I had a daughter, and the studio continued to grow. We currently employ 18 teachers and front desk staff.

Bucktown Music is proud to be recognized by Kindermusik International as one of the top studios in the world. I was hired by the Kindermusik corporate office last year as the Manager of Business Development, Studios. What that means is that I train all new Kindermusik educators who want to open their own music studios. I co-wrote Kindermusik University and have been a featured presenter at numerous conferences around the USA and Australia. I love having the two roles, and I’m thankful for an amazing team of teachers at Bucktown Music that keep everything running smoothly!

We are excited to be expanding this year, by adding another lesson room and classroom at our storefront location, 1890 N. Milwaukee Ave. We are also adding classes at several satellite locations (Concordia Belmont Church, 2645 W. Belmont) and in Glencoe (Glencoe Academy of Music, 336 Park Ave., Glencoe.) We also work with several local schools and daycares to provide music programming, and teach the Rock Band classes at Holstein Park.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting and running a small business is never a smooth road! In the music education sector, it’s a challenge to always keep students excited and motivated, while still making progress in their studies.

Working with your spouse has its own set of challenges as well, as you can imagine! Luckily, we manage that pretty well. One of us is at the studio most days of the week, and you’ll often find our 5 year old daughter in the lobby chatting up our clients.

Another challenge is standing out from the crowd. There are lots of options for music education, and it’s important to find families whose goals and values match up with ours so that we can better meet their needs.

Please tell us about Bucktown Music.
At Bucktown Music, we value family music-making and fostering creativity and a love of music. We create a positive environment where children are encouraged to create their own compositions and learn all different styles of music while still staying true to the fundamentals of proper playing technique. Our student recitals are downtown in the historic Fine Arts Building, it’s such a special experience for the students to get to perform in that environment.

What I’m most proud of is that we can lead a student on a musical journey from infancy all the way through private lessons. Parents don’t need to guess or figure out what their child should be doing, we just hold their hand through the entire process. We are music education experts and know exactly what a child should be doing at each stage of development. This is evident as we see our Kindermusik graduates in lessons and performing at recitals. Follow the plan, it works, I promise! I have the very highest standards and accept nothing less than excellence from our teachers. Our teachers all hold music degrees and are background checked. Our Kindermusik teachers go through a rigorous certification process, follow the Kindermusik curricula and pedagogy, and participate in ongoing education so that we are always improving! Our Kindermusik classes are child-centered and play-based, with intentional activities that stimulate brain development and educate caregivers about what they can do at home to make music part of their routine.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing. Owning a business is a learning process. We are continually growing and improving and learning to make things more efficient as a company and also trying to improve the student experience and expand the classes that we offer.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1890 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
• Website: www.bucktownmusic.com
• Phone: 773-904-7426
• Email: music@bucktownmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/37049822/bucktown-music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bucktownmusic/

Image Credit:
TK Photography

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