Welcome to the online home of the Stevens Street Baptist Church School of Performing Arts! We are Cookeville’s #1 choice for excellent private musical instruction. We are currently accepting new students on all instruments and at all ability levels.
If you are new to our school, please take a look around using the links on the right side of the page. God bless you, and thanks for stopping by our website! Please drop in for a visit at our school, located on the campus of Stevens Street Baptist Church, 327 W. Stevens Street, or call our office at (931) 525-3799.
~ John Gardner, SPA Administrator
Our Guiding Principles
- We desire to attract instructors with the highest qualities of musicianship, character, and spiritual maturity.
- We believe that music has intrinsic value because it allows for the creation of art that is true, beautiful, and good; characteristics that reflect the nature of the Creator God who has designed music to bring Him glory.
- We believe in a holistic approach to learning an instrument, which includes note reading, music listening, playing characteristically in a variety of styles, and adhering to accepted standards of concert etiquette.
- We seek to encourage our students to make music in community through the development of various ensembles and classes.
About Us
Our Purpose:
The School of Performing Arts opened in August 2005, with the purpose of providing individualized, Christ-centered musical instruction that will develop our students both spiritually and mentally.
Our Program:
The School of Performing Arts currently offers private music lessons on all woodwind, brass, and orchestral string instruments, as well as piano, drums, bass, and guitar. Most lessons are 30 minutes in length, though we do offer 20 minutes lessons for very young beginners, as well as 60 minutes lessons for our more advanced students. For pricing and availability, please visit our Registration page. All lessons are taught in a safe, sheltered environment. Most take place on the campus of Stevens Street Baptist Church, though we also teach some lessons in Putnam County Schools in cooperation with the excellent music teachers in our community.
Our Philosophy:
Our foundation is Scriptural. Psalm 150 exhorts us to praise Him with the trumpet, harp, percussion, dancing, and with stringed and wind instruments. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” In Old Testament passages such as 1 Chronicles 16 and 2 Chronicles 20, God used His musicians to lead His people in victory and celebration. In the New Testament, we are encouraged to be filled with the Spirit, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:18-19) At the School of Performing Arts, we believe the Church should embrace its mandate to teach and disciple through the arts. Believing also that music and arts education helps to develop the whole person (spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually), we are committed to raising generations of worshipers who will use their talents to glorify God as part of the Body of Christ.