Bethlehem Music Settlement Piano Studios

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The Bethlehem Music Settlement is a private music education institution that offers private and group instruction in piano, voice, music theory, Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Jaques-Dalcroze Solfge, piano improvisation, and composition. The Settlement is owned and operated by the Director, and Chairman of the Board, John R. Stevenson, D.J-D (Jack). Now in its 17th year, The Settlement has educated over 1000 students; and continues to attract some of the finest young musicians in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
The studio is located in the City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at 1773 Falcon Drive off route 191, and only one-half mile south of the route 22 and 191 interchange. There is ample parking, and a reception area for waiting parents. However, there is plenty of shopping nearby for parents at the Bethlehem Square Shopping Center, The Sears Essencials Plaza, Josh Early Candies, and the Small Mall, all located close by on route 191. Click for Directions to the Settlement.

The Bethlehem Music Settlement serves Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities as an independent, teaching institution offering private, and group piano instruction, voice instruction, Dalcroze Eurhythmics lessons, Dalcroze Solfge lessons, composition and theory instruction to students regardless of age, race, creed, or color through the educational philosophy of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze.
The Settlement is committed to providing professional education in music and through music within an enriched environment conducive for the developing artist. Here the learner is nurtured, encouraged, and challenged to develop, and mature into a self-actualized individual capable of fulfilling true artistic potential.

Jaques-Dalcroze Education is an education in and through music, which brings about the unification of the body, mind, and spirit through specific exercises and practices in Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Jaques-Dalcroze Solfge, and Jaques-Dalcroze piano improvisation.
It is an approach to music education where one first confronts the body through specific exercises in eurhythmics that serve to align, and strengthen. Eurhythmics serves to enhance the skills of coordination, balance, special orientation, and quick reactions so that the body may attune to every nuance of musical expression. In effect, the body becomes a living musical instrument.
At the same time, one confronts the mind through the study of theory, form, analysis, and pitch, which collectively is knows as solfge. As one trains and attunes the body through eurhythmics, music parameters such as rhythm, pitch, meter, phrase structure, etc., become linked to specific physical sensations and movements. Once firmly allied, these sensations and movements may be recalled at will and used to enhance ones musical performance or to intellectually identify specific components of a given composition such as key, meter, rhythm structure, harmonic language, etc.
As the body merges with the intellect through solfge and eurhythmics, one has confronted and dispelled the fears, and doubts of his/her musicianship. With this enlightenment, the spirit of the student is stimulated, bolstered, and strengthened. A new joy emerges which allows the student to simply let go and submit freely to his/her honed musical instincts through the art of imporvisation.

JOHN R. STEVENSON, DJD (Jack) holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance from Duquesne University, a license d'Enseignement with the Premiere Prix en Pedagogy and the Diplme Superior Jaques-Dalcroze from the Institut Jaquesa-Dalcroze, Geneva, Switzerland.
Jack left Ithaca to serve on the faculty and as chair in the Performing Arts Department at The Spence School, New York City. During his eight-year tenure, Jack was honored with the Zuckerman Foundation Award for teaching excellence. In 1995, and while remaining at Spence, Jack founded The Bethlehem Music Settlement, an independent teaching institute offering private and group piano, musicianship and eurhythmics instruction to students of all ages. Jack currently works full-time as the music director of the Settlement.
Jack has also served as guest faculty in music education, Jaques-Dalcroze Education, piano improvisation, ear training, and choreography at many leading colleges and universities. Some of these include: Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva, Switzerland, Oberlin Conservatory of Music (artist in residence program) The Royal Conservatory of Toronto (dance department), Carnegie-Mellon University (performing arts drama, and dance departments), Bien Music Conservatory, Bien, Switzerland (eurhythmics department), Louisiana University School of Music. In 2000, Jack co-founded the Instittue for Jaques-Dalcroze Education whith Monica Dale and together they directed the Dalcroze program at University of Maryland, College Park until 2005. Currently the Institute is housed at the Lucy School in Middletown, MD where they both continue to train future Jaques-Dalcroze educators. Jack is also a certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor.
After completing his graduate and post-graduate education in Switzerland , Jack joined the faculty at Laval University in Quebec City where he trained future Jaques-Dalcroze educators. Subsequently he received an appointment at Ithaca College School of Music, Ithaca , New York where he was tenured and promoted to Associate professor and remained for 12 years. While at Ithaca , he founded theDivision of Jaques-Dalcroze Education in the graduate school of music and served as its director for nine years. He also founded and directed the dance ensemble Jaques-Dalcroze Plastique Anime. The ensemble performed nationally and internationally for eleven years with guest appearances and workshops including Boston's First Night, The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, The International Congress for Jaques-Dalcroze Educators, Geneva,Switzerland, the National MENC conventions at Pittsburgh, Chicago, and St. Louis and numerous Orff-Schulwerk Association National Conventions nation-wide. Finally, while at Ithaca he was honored as the Dana Teaching Fellow for his "outstanding contributions to the classroom, authored many articles, and co-authored the text Rhythm and Pitch: An Integrated Approach to Sight Singingpublished by Prentice-Hall, Inc.