Erth Studios Provides Unique Music Education In The Grand Valley

Whether you’re a complete beginner looking to learn a new instrument or a seasoned musician searching for challenging and engaging teaching, Erth Studios is in tune with it all. Since 2015, Erth Studios has provided unique music education to musicians in the Grand Valley and across the United States. The studio offers a wide range of music education tracks, including string instruments, vocal performance and music technology. In addition to private lessons, Erth Studios hosts the annual Red Clay Roots music camp for middle and high school string musicians. Each track focuses on training in multiple genres and styles and, most importantly, instilling a love of music in every student.

Eric Law | Photos by Miss Moxie Photography

Since its creation, founders Eric Law and Thea Arandjelovic use their extensive training, experience and education to teach a wide range of instruments, including cello, piano, viola, voice and many more. Law, a Grand Junction native, started his music career as the youngest member of the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and the principal cellist of the Mesa State College orchestra.

Arandjelovic was born in Venezuela and raised in Slovenia, and studied dance and classical music during her youth. Both attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. After meeting in New York, they moved to Grand Junction in 2015 where Erth Studios was born.

Erth Studios has gathered an enthusiastic group of students during its existence. “We believe that students learn best when they are motivated by and emotionally connected to the material they are learning. Our priority is to make each lesson exactly what it needs to be for the priorities of every individual student. We are deeply invested in understanding who our students are as people, so that we can tailor their experiences directly to them,” explains Law. “The most rewarding part of teaching music has been seeing what music education can do for anyone. We have had a number of students go on to study music at top tier universities and pursue music as a career, which is unbelievably cool. But, on the other end, we have watched music education increase the confidence levels of young students, rehabilitate long-standing injuries in older students and create a place of joy, peace and community across the board.”

The teachers’ passion for music education is evident in their students. Cadence Neste has studied voice with Arandjelovic since 2016. In addition to her involvement in her high school theater and choir programs, Neste performs at JUCO games with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and professionally with High Desert Opera. She values Erth Studios’ commitment to student-led education.

Thea Arandjelovic

“Thea really works on cultivating the students’ voices and pushing them to discover who they are as a musician. She often lets the students choose what they want to work on and encourages them to decide how they want to sing and who they want to be on stage,” says Neste.

As an experienced vocalist, she also enjoys her unique experiences with Erth Studios that expand her skillset. “Thea pushes students outside of their musical comfort zones. Personally, she pushed me to practice songwriting. She sat me down and said ‘Okay, give me some lyrics.’ I was so uncomfortable and had no idea what to do, but once I just stopped thinking and started doing, I was surprised by what happened. She helped me develop my creativity. She is also so reassuring, and I never feel judged by her.”

Despite having to move lessons completely online in March, Erth Studios continues to adapt and thrive with the change. “We did so with some trepidation, but have been absolutely elated with the outcome,” says Law. “It has been our experience that a sweeping majority of our student base has evidently excelled in the new platform. While we have been teaching students across the country remotely for many years, it was an unexpected blessing to see how well these skills translated to the Erth Studios community.”

Combining passion, skill and performance, Erth Studios brings the power of music education to the Grand Valley one student at a time.

For more information on private and group lessons, visit erthstudios.org.

Originally published in the Winter 2020-21 issue of Spoke+Blossom.