<\/p>\n
Hatteras Island musician and teacher Jessie Taylor has officially opened a new studio space in Avon, providing young students with more opportunities to learn and grow through music.<\/p>\n
The studio, located on the second floor of Heart Space (formerly Kinnakeet Clay), will serve as the main headquarters for Taylor\u2019s private students, her newly re-launched children\u2019s group music classes, and the community program she founded in 2022, Hatteras Island Community Strings.<\/p>\n
For Taylor, the milestone represents a homecoming of sorts.
\u201cI am super excited to share that I have recently set up my own teaching studio,\u201d she said. \u201cI haven\u2019t had my own stationary space since 2017, so it\u2019s a pretty big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 430-square-foot studio was made possible thanks to Heart Space owner Antoinette Gaskins, who offered Taylor the opportunity to bring her vision to life. \u201cI would really like to provide a lot of thanks and praise to Antoinette for making this space available,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cIt means so much to have a permanent place to teach and to grow these programs.\u00a0 I am also so thankful to the Lord for blessing me with this new space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor is well known locally as both a performer and a teacher, and as the founder of Hatteras Island Community Strings, a program created to give island youth the chance to learn string instruments and explore music in an accessible, community-based setting. The new studio expands on that mission while also offering fresh opportunities for young children to experience the joy of music.<\/p>\n
Beginning in January 2026, Taylor will launch a series of children\u2019s group classes, open to students ages infant through elementary school. The tuition-based program is unaffiliated with Community Strings and will follow the nationally recognized\u00a0Music Rhapsody<\/em>\u00a0curriculum, which Taylor taught under her former \u201cCape Hatteras Music Academy\u201d between 2015 and 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cCurrently, I even have a handful of students, now 10-12 years old, who were young children enrolled in that earlier program, which is so cool to see,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n Classes will incorporate an engaging blend of movement, rhythm, and pitch training through interactive songs and activities. In the \u201cLittle Minnow\u2019s\u201d (ages 1-2) and \u201cTiny Trout\u2019s\u201d (ages 3-4), students will use a variety of instruments, including a 40-inch gathering drum, puppets, handheld percussion, and, for the \u201cBig Marlins\u201d (ages 5-7), xylophones and glockenspiels. Parents will be required to purchase the instrument kit that matches their child\u2019s age group, and each class will have a creative name designed to keep the learning fun and memorable.<\/p>\n The registration deadline for the children\u2019s classes is December 15, 2025, with weekly sessions beginning in January. Class times will be determined based on family availability.<\/p>\n In addition to the group program, Taylor continues to offer private lessons on violin, guitar, and ukulele at her new space.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new studio is my main headquarters now, and I\u2019m excited to spread the news,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt feels wonderful to finally have a place where all of this can come together \u2014 private lessons, group classes, and Community Strings. It\u2019s a dream I\u2019ve been working toward for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n