Oregon Music Academy

With budget cuts forcing the elimination of music programs from local school curriculums, Renee and Matt Dolphin started offering after school music lessons and classes to help fill the growing need for more arts programs. The need was clearly there, and the number of students in Renee and Matt’s programs kept growing. They quickly outgrew their original lesson space, the 100-year-old, one room Rex schoolhouse near Sherwood. To meet demand, Renee and Matt started Oregon Music Academy in 2009, moving into their current facility on the corner of 99W and Durham Road.

“We have been helping kids and adults learn, love, and succeed with music for over 19 years,” says Renee and Matt. “We currently serve over 200 student ages two to 92.”

The statewide stay-at-home order forced Renee and Matt to close their facility in mid-March. The weekend they closed, Renee and Matt quickly moved all their lessons and classes online and the following week Oregon Music Academy’s music teachers were able to work with students online.

“Some of our students have experienced job losses and are on partial to full scholarships," says Renee and Matt. “Our community of families and employees have been so incredibly generous in helping those students continue with scholarships. And while we know that everyone would prefer to have lessons face to face, they are hanging in there with us doing online music lessons for now.”

With business curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Renee and Matt were awarded a $1,500 grant through the Tigard CARES program to assist with immediate operating expenses.

“Tigard was the very first to come through for our business,” says Renee and Matt. “The first few weeks of quarantine were the most stressful and uncertain weeks we've ever experienced in running our business and when we were notified we had received the grant, it was so reassuring to know that Tigard was there for our small, mom and pop business.”

To learn more about Oregon Music Academy, visit www.OregonMusicAcademy.com.