Music

Fees for private music instruction

$30 - half hour    |   $40 - 45 minutes   |   $50 - hour

Discounts given for lessons and classes for multiple enrollment in an immediate family.


The Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts (TCFA) appreciates your observance of its class payment and cancellation policies.

If a lesson must be rescheduled, we require 24 hours advance notice.

Please contact your teacher directly with any change to your lesson schedule.

Every attempt will be made to reschedule all lessons canceled with 24 hours advance notice.

If a lesson is missed and the teacher is not given advance notice, the student will be automatically charged for the lesson.

Meet our Instructors

Bill Gregg - Piano, Guitar, Autoharp, 5 string Banjo, Tenor Banjo, Country Fiddle, Dulcimer, Ukulele

Bill Gregg began formal piano lessons when he was five years old. At twelve he began performing jazz
and pop standards for various events, starting with the New York State Fireman';s Association convention. During his high school years he was keyboard player for a rock band, The Travelers. 
After military service, he began studying string instruments, and had the good fortune to learn from several legendary folk musicians, including Lily May Ledford, Slim Bryant, Mike Seeger, and Alan Jabbour.
He has won numerous awards in instrumental contests for folk instruments, and has performed for more than forty years at folk and bluegrass festivals. He is in demand as an instrumental workshop leader at traditional and roots music festivals. Bill has also composed, performed, and recorded experimental electro-acoustic music several albums, and has composed sets of studies for guitar, piano, and violin for his students.
He taught guitar in the 1980's at TCFA, but left to pursue scientific work. He returned to the conservatory in 2003. He has conducted a number of grant supported public classes for guitar, and a well-received series of dulcimer workshops for children. During the Covid pandemic he taught online lessons, taking on piano as well as guitar, fiddle, and banjo students.
In 2022 Bill returned to in-person lessons at the conservatory, and coincidentally, won 2nd place
in the National Autoharp Championship in Shippensburg, PA. Also in 2022, he was a featured performer at the North American Fiddlers' Hall of Fame in Osceola, NY. 
Over the past twenty years, four of his young fiddle students have had the honor of being selected as featured youth performers at the Fiddlers' Hall of Fame. Many of his former pupils have become professional performers or music teachers. But, his main goal is bring the joy of making music into the lives of everyone, young and old.
Bill is currently offering individual lessons at TCFA for guitar, (classical as well as what he calls “vernacular” or “fun” guitar). He teaches “recreational” piano (as opposed to rigorous classical training). Bill also teaches beginning violin. In addition, he enjoys teaching traditional folk music on fiddle, banjo, autoharp, mandolin, dulcimer, and ukulele. He is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and the New York State Music Teachers Association.

Gretchen Van Valen - Voice

Gretchen Van Valen is a classically trained singer, has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education (vocal/choral concentration) from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Ithaca College. Gretchen was a member of the TCFA faculty from 1989 to 1995 and continued to teach private voice lessons and performing since then while working full time at Ithaca College as an administrator and raising a family. Gretchen’s vocal music expertise areas include opera, Italian and German art song, and musical theater. Her teaching style focuses on breathing, posture, and overall healthy singing techniques. She has been on the TCFA Board of Directors since 2016, retired from Ithaca College as Director of Alumni and Family Engagement in 2022 and is now Managing Director of Opera Ithaca. Gretchen will be accepting a limited number of students in the 2023-2024 school year.


Weather-Related Closing

TCFA follows the Trumansburg Central School District decisions on all matters pertaining to inclement weather. If school is closed due to inclement weather, TCFA will be closed. If you are in doubt about the weather-related status of TCFA, please contact your teacher directly.


Discounts & Scholarships

Scholarship assistance and family discounts are subject to availability. Financial aid in the form of scholarship assistance may be available to students with demonstrated financial need. Please speak with your teacher to inquire about this support.