top of page
Search

2025 Year in Review: A Year of Music, Growth, and Community at Dynamic Music Studios


2025 was a year full of change, growth, and—most importantly—music at Dynamic Music Studios, a community-focused music school serving Coralville, North Liberty, and Iowa City, Iowa with high-quality music lessons for voice, piano, violin, viola, cello, band, and orchestra students of all ages. Our mission to educate, empower, and embolden students while supporting our local community remained at the heart of everything we did. As we look ahead to 2026, we wanted to pause and celebrate the many meaningful moments that shaped this year—from private music lessons and student recitals to community outreach and professional performances by our faculty. If you have a favorite memory or something to add, we’d love to hear from you.


Kicking Off the Year

We began 2025 in the afterglow of our 2nd Annual Winter Open House and Clothing Drive at our Coralville studio. With the generosity of our studio families and community, students launched into the new year energized and ready to set fresh practice goals.


One-on-One Lessons & Student Spotlights

In 2025, our faculty taught over 3,000 lessons to more than 120 students, including both private lessons and group sessions.

Throughout the year, we highlighted exceptional students in our Student Spotlight Series. You can explore these below:


Each spotlight can be found on our studio blog, highlighting students from Coralville, Iowa City, Tiffin, North Liberty, West Branch, and more from students who take music lessons in voice, piano, strings, and beyond.


Student Performances & Musical Milestones


Our students were busy performing across the region in a wide variety of settings:

  • Viola and cello students participated in the Metropolitan Orchestra Festival.

  • Many of Dr. Jessica Saunders' voice students appeared in spring musicals, including:

    • Regina Catholic High School’s production of The Addams Family featuring Evan (Uncle Fester) and Anna (Ensemble).

    • West High School’s The Sound of Music: Rana Saba (Maria), Eli Asper (Rolf), Carter Birch Houchins-Witt (Franz), and Lovella Varner (Gretel)

    • Liberty High School’s Mean Girls: Madeline Austin (Regina), Savannah Page (Janice), Riley Corbett (Ensemble), and Audrey Adams (Stage Crew & Set Design)

  • In the spring, Sarah Beckelheimer’s piano students presented a piano recital.

  • In May, the voice and cello studios presented a Spring Recital in Oxford, Iowa.

  • Our Senior Spotlight Voice Recital honored graduating voice students of Dr. Saunders and celebrated their years of dedication.

  • We also held our Practice-a-thon Celebration Recital at Dunn Brothers Coffee, In Coralville, offering a relaxed, community-focused performance opportunity.

  • In April, Dr. Saunders’ students competed in the Iowa NATS auditions, with seven students named Finalists.

  • After several years of performing at the Iowa State Fair, we explored a new venue and performed at the Johnson County Fair in July.

  • In August we participated in the national Play Music on the Porch Day out in front of the studio. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone had a blast.

  • October brought our beloved Fall-o-ween Recitals, featuring three packed performances of Halloween favorites, pop, musical theatre, and classical repertoire.

  • The voice students of Dr. Saunders performed some Christmas favorites at Light Up Oxford.

  • December concluded with our Winter Open House and Coat Drive, where students performed for friends and family.



Community Outreach & Service


Giving back remains central to our studio culture:

  • March marked the kickoff of our annual Practice-a-thon, benefiting Guitars for Vets—an organization that provides veterans with guitars and music lessons for healing and support. Donations were generously matched (up to $200) by the Iowa City VFW.

  • The cello studio earned the title of Practice-a-thon Studio Champion, raising $985 with a total of 6,193 minutes practiced.

  • On July 4, Dynamic Music Studios marched in the Coralville 4th Fest Parade, sharing candy, flyers, and lots of smiles—despite the heat.

  • At our October Fall-o-ween Recitals, we collected 103 pounds of food for the North Liberty Food Pantry.

  • Our Winter Open House and Clothing Drive benefited the North Liberty Community Closet, making it one of our most successful drives yet.


Welcoming New Teachers

We were thrilled to grow our faculty in 2025:



Faculty Performances

Our teachers continued to perform at a high level throughout the year:


Christina Gentzsch

Christina completed another season with the Ottumwa Symphony Orchestra and performed in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and White Christmas with City Circle Theatre Company. She also appeared with the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony and Southeast Iowa Symphony, returned to her high school as a featured soloist, and performed with Dr. Jessica Saunders on the Life After Death recital at First Lutheran Church of Cedar Rapids as part of their Spring Serenades Concert Series.



Dr. Jessica Saunders

Dr. Saunders returned enthusiastically to the stage in 2025. She presented The Sound of Legrand recital at Kirkwood Community College and in Independence, Iowa, in collaboration with the Steve Brown Arts Center. She also appeared as Marie/Fairy Godmother in Cinderella with the Waterloo Community Playhouse. In October, she performed She Conjures by Dr. Lisa Neher at the Iowa Composers Forum New Music Festival at University of Northern Iowa.


Looking Ahead

We are incredibly proud of our students, faculty, and community. Thank you for making 2025 such a meaningful year at Dynamic Music Studios. Here’s to continued growth, creativity, and music-making in 2026!



 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page