Musician Dan Saulpaugh Leads Group Music Classes at Darien Arts Center

Dan Saulpaugh is leading group music classes at the Darien Arts Center that include Beginning and Advanced Young Composers classes and the new Adult Rock Band class this fall. Students can register now for the Saturday music composition classes that begin on September 21^st and the Tuesday Adult Rock Band class that begins on October 1^st, at darienarts.org. 

Beginning Young Composers, for Grades 3 through 5, takes place from 3 to 4 p.m., and cover the basics of writing music, including setting up a score, identifying pitches on the staff and simple rhythms, as well as other aspects of music notation. Advanced Young Composers is for grades 5 through 12, and takes place from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. More experienced student composers will work in a workshop setting, writing and critiquing each other's music. More advanced harmonic progressions; forms and elements of melody and counterpoint will be explored. At the end of each composition course, students will have written several short pieces that may be performed at the DAC Holiday Recital in December. Fee for Beginning Young Composers is $210, for Advanced Young Composers: $320. Composition classes end on November 23^rd.

The new Adult Rock Band class takes place on Tuesdays, from 8 to 9:30 p.m., from October 1^st through December 3^rd. Adult Rock Band musicians will choose, learn, and perform music from the rock and blues traditions. Students will deepen their technical facility on their instruments. They will also learn about group interplay in a band and how to create a cohesive band sound. Improvised solos will be covered, as well as playing ensemble parts. Students will work with the instructor to choose songs, which may include covers and original material. Fee for the Adult Rock Band class is $210.

Dan Saulpaugh is an active performer and teacher throughout the greater New York City metro area and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies from City College of New York. He also spent time studying with Douglass Rubio at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music as a Classical Guitar Performance major before relocating to New York City. While at Crane, Saulpaugh toured with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet playing in the guitar orchestra for performances of Shingo Fujii's "Shiki." While at City College, he studied privately with Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Competition winner, Lage Lund. Saulpaugh also works actively as a bandleader and sideman. He released his debut EP "Before the Fire Is Gone" in April. He was a finalist in The Greene Space's 2015 Battle of the Burroughs: The Bronx. He also co-hosts the monthly jam session Jamhattan at Harlem's Silvana.

For more information, visit darienarts.org or call the DAC office at (203) 655-8683. The Darien Arts Center is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall. The DAC is sponsored by Baywater Properties and Laurel Road Bank.