Mr. Nicholas Charles is the newest addition to the staff of the City of Calhoun’s local Harris Arts Center. He will be taking over the Bass guitar and Drum Instructor’s duties.

Charles has been a musician for 10 years, starting as a guitarist in the Sonoraville East Middle School Jazz Band, and moving into the field of drumming in marching band throughout his middle and high school years. In high school, he also added the bass guitar to his repertoire by playing in ensembles such as the school Jazz Band and the Symphonic Band’s Christmas Concerts, and took two years of the school’s piano class. He received the Louis Armstrong award from the Gordon Cen-tral Jazz Band during his senior year.

After graduating from Gordon Central High School in 2005, Charles moved onward to Berry Col-lege on a music scholarship. Under the teachings of Dr. Phillip Snyder and Dr. Stanley Pethel, Charles majored in music with a concentration in classical guitar. He has also studied piano, music theory, and vocal training giving Charles a well-rounded musical education in the Classical field. He has also played in various rock and blues bands of his own in various clubs in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

As of now Charles is looking for prospective students for his bass guitar and drums lessons. He has played in a wide variety of situations and styles including rock, blues, jazz, classical, bluegrass, and many more. As far as his teaching style is concerned, Charles advocates the philosophy of fur-thering the creativity and imagination of his students, and feels that each student deserves his/her own personal approach during the lesson to achieve the maximum value of the lesson. Each student must be treated individually on the basis of their needs and level of understanding. Nicholas allows each student to gravitate towards their own musical style without influencing their decision. He also feels that music and the arts are rooted in the imagination, and chiefly in the expression thereof through improvisation. He is looking for students of all ages, and is more than happy to work with anyone in the pursuit of music, whether they are six years old or 60. He also teaches on any skill level, including: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Students are encouraged to bring their own instrument to lessons but if an instrument isn’t avail-able one can be provided for the first few lessons by the instructor.