Hatteras Island musician and teacher Jessie Taylor has officially opened a new studio space in Avon, providing young students with more opportunities to learn and grow through music.
The studio, located on the second floor of Heart Space (formerly Kinnakeet Clay), will serve as the main headquarters for Taylor’s private students, her newly re-launched children’s group music classes, and the community program she founded in 2022, Hatteras Island Community Strings.
For Taylor, the milestone represents a homecoming of sorts.
“I am super excited to share that I have recently set up my own teaching studio,” she said. “I haven’t had my own stationary space since 2017, so it’s a pretty big deal.”
The 430-square-foot studio was made possible thanks to Heart Space owner Antoinette Gaskins, who offered Taylor the opportunity to bring her vision to life. “I would really like to provide a lot of thanks and praise to Antoinette for making this space available,” said Taylor. “It means so much to have a permanent place to teach and to grow these programs. I am also so thankful to the Lord for blessing me with this new space.”
Taylor is well known locally as both a performer and a teacher, and as the founder of Hatteras Island Community Strings, a program created to give island youth the chance to learn string instruments and explore music in an accessible, community-based setting. The new studio expands on that mission while also offering fresh opportunities for young children to experience the joy of music.
Beginning in January 2026, Taylor will launch a series of children’s group classes, open to students ages infant through elementary school. The tuition-based program is unaffiliated with Community Strings and will follow the nationally recognized Music Rhapsody curriculum, which Taylor taught under her former “Cape Hatteras Music Academy” between 2015 and 2017.
“Currently, I even have a handful of students, now 10-12 years old, who were young children enrolled in that earlier program, which is so cool to see,” Taylor said.
Classes will incorporate an engaging blend of movement, rhythm, and pitch training through interactive songs and activities. In the “Little Minnow’s” (ages 1-2) and “Tiny Trout’s” (ages 3-4), students will use a variety of instruments, including a 40-inch gathering drum, puppets, handheld percussion, and, for the “Big Marlins” (ages 5-7), xylophones and glockenspiels. Parents will be required to purchase the instrument kit that matches their child’s age group, and each class will have a creative name designed to keep the learning fun and memorable.
The registration deadline for the children’s classes is December 15, 2025, with weekly sessions beginning in January. Class times will be determined based on family availability.
In addition to the group program, Taylor continues to offer private lessons on violin, guitar, and ukulele at her new space.
“This new studio is my main headquarters now, and I’m excited to spread the news,” Taylor said. “It feels wonderful to finally have a place where all of this can come together — private lessons, group classes, and Community Strings. It’s a dream I’ve been working toward for a long time.”
For more information, visit https://www.amajorharmony.com/music-lessons.
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