Music Lessons for Adult Beginners

Bantam Studios was founded in 2012 by Ginger Dolden and Pete Lanctot to create a music school built specifically for adults, especially those who had always wanted to learn but never felt there was a place for them. What began as private lessons has grown into a community-driven program designed to support many different learning styles, musical backgrounds, and personal goals. We believe there is no single path into music, only the one that fits your life.

Our classes are designed for working adults and meet once a week in focused eight-week sessions. Each one-hour class is thoughtfully structured to balance technique, repertoire, listening, and musical context, while also offering practical tools for building a sustainable practice routine outside the classroom. Along the way, students are encouraged to make music with others through ensembles and group experiences that build confidence, connection, and a sense of shared progress.

For many students, class time becomes a protected hour for creativity, reflection, and self-care. We take that time seriously. Our goal is to foster a supportive community where music extends beyond the classroom and becomes a meaningful part of daily life, shaped by practice, collaboration, and the simple joy of playing with others.

About the Instructors

Bantam Studios is led by Ginger Dolden and Pete Lanctot, multi-instrumentalists, composers, and teachers who have spent their careers making music across genres, disciplines, and communities. Together, they bring decades of experience as performers, collaborators, arrangers, and educators, with work spanning concert halls, intimate venues, film, television, and recorded music. As working musicians, they understand the realities of sustaining a creative practice alongside daily life, and they bring that understanding directly into the classroom. Their teaching is shaped by years of collaboration with a wide range of artists and institutions, as well as by their shared belief that music learning should be rigorous, humane, and deeply connected to community. At Bantam Studios, they act not only as instructors but as stewards of a program built on trust, curiosity, and the long-term joy of making music with others.

2026 Class Schedule

Semester 1: Group Classes // 8 Weeks - February 2 - April 2. Recital Friday, April 3
Semester 2: Group Classes + Ensembles // 8 Weeks - April 20 - June 8. Recital @ Porch Stomp (date TBA)
Semester 2: Porch Stomp Ensemble // 1 Week - June 15 - 18. Recital @ Porch Stomp (date TBA)
Semester 3: Group Classes // 8 Weeks - July 6 - August 27. Recital Friday, August 28
Semester 4: Group Classes // 8 Weeks - September 14 - November 5. Recital Friday, November 6
Semester 5: Group Classes + Ensembles // 8 Weeks* - November 9 - January 21 (2027). Recital Saturday, January 23, 2027

*Skipping the following weeks:

  • November 23-27

  • December 21 - 25

  • December 28 - January 1