THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9510310106
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CARROLLTON LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
AN OLD VIOLIN discovered in her grandmother's attic finally led Susan McGinness to take music lessons and actively pursue her lifelong love of music.
The lessons from a maestro in the tiny town of Smithfield led McGinness to perform with ``Serenade,'' a group of Isle of Wight-based string musicians.
And success in both ventures now has led the Churchland woman to open a music store with her teacher, Willis Minga, as director.
The Scroll and the Bow Music Studio opened last month in the Carrollton Shoppes, at 15141 Carrollton Blvd. The store offers aspiring musicians a wide range of music lessons, services and merchandise.
Students can take piano, sax, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double bass, classical guitar and flute lessons at The Scroll and the Bow. And McGinness believes the list of class offerings will grow as more and more teachers learn about the shop.
``Our philosophy is not to have students become carbons of their teachers,'' McGinness said. ``We just want our students to learn basic music techniques and how to properly execute them.''
Instructors at the music studio are prepared to teach students of all ages and at all performance levels.
``Most students coming in now are adults who are taking lessons as a way of fulfilling one of their childhood dreams,'' McGinness said.
In addition to renting teaching space to musicians, the Scroll and the Bow also rents practice space and instruments. The business also does instrument repair, with much of the work being done in-house by McGinness and Minga.
It was just a fluke that landed The Scroll and the Bow in Carrollton instead of Portsmouth's Olde Town, where McGinness had originally planned to open the business in a renovated house. The project had been stalled in Portsmouth's bureaucratic red tape for more than eight months when McGinness stumbled upon the vacant storefront in Isle of Wight County.
``I happened to be on my way to practice, and I noticed the space was available.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Susan McGinness and Willis Minga play their violins at The Scroll
and Bow Music Studio.
by CNB