Saint Leo University’s Community Music School To Host Open Houses For Public

Saint Leo University’s Community Music School is hosting several open house events for those interested in joining its community choir and band or in participating in ballroom dance classes at University Campus. The programs allow members of the public to engage in the arts, and also build relationships with others who share similar interests.

The university launched its Community Music School to offer its neighbors and those in the Tampa Bay area a variety of opportunities to take classes to learn and practice music, dance, and other arts under the direction of expert guidance of faculty members, who also are professional musicians, dancers, and artists. 

Open Houses 
Open house events will be held on the following dates and at these locations:

Ballroom Dance Showcase & Open House: 6:45 p.m., Friday, September 6, Wellness Center Dance Studio

Community Choir Open House: 7 p.m., Monday, September 9, Music Building

Community Band Open House: 7 p.m., Monday, September 9, Blackbox Theatre, Benedictine Hall

Saint Leo University is at 33701 County Road 52, St. Leo, FL 33574 in Pasco County. A campus map may be found here.

Classes

Ballroom dance classes will consist of two sessions: the first focused on salsa dance techniques and the second on cha-cha. Classes will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays with the salsa dance class session running from September 12 through October 3. The cha-cha class session will be held October 10 – 31. The cost for each session is $60 per person or $15 per hour, per person. Classes last one hour.

Dr. Sergiy Borysov is the instructor for ballroom dance classes. He is an associate professor of biology at Saint Leo University and a professionally trained ballroom dancer. He specializes in International Standard and International Latin, as well as American Smooth and American Rhythm styles of dance. He is a winner of ballroom dance competitions and a regular performer at ballroom dance showcase events.

Classes for the community choir and band will be held once a week for two hours starting on September 19.  Choir will be held at 7 p.m. on Mondays, and band at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. They will focus on performing Christmas music. Classes will end in December with the choir and band performing at the university’s annual Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 5. The cost to participate is $160 per person.

The instructor for the Community Music School Choir is Dr. Cynthia Selph, associate professor of music and music ministry at Saint Leo. Selph is the author of the textbook, Making Sense of the Sound: The Art of Listening Well to Great Music. When not teaching, Selph is a frequent faculty performer of repertoire as diverse as the music of Maurice Delage, Manuel de Falla, Gwyneth Walker, and Florence Price.

Mauricio Rodriguez is the instructor for the community band. Rodriguez teaches music classes at the university and is a bass player, composer, and producer. He was a Fervet Opus jazz quartet member of one of the most important Latin jazz bands in Cuba in the 1980s and toured worldwide. As a composer, his music has been performed around the world, from symphony orchestras to soloists.

Registration

To register to attend the community choir or band open house events, email Dr. Cindy Selph at cynthia.selph@saintleo.edu. 

To attend the ballroom dancing open house, email Dr. Sergiy Borysov at sergiy.borysov@saintleo.edu.

Undergraduate Degrees

In addition to the enrichment classes in ballroom dance, voice, and band, Saint Leo also offers an undergraduate degree program in music. In Fall 2023, the university began offering a music major, building on the success of the minor in music and based on prospective students’ interest in pursuing a music degree. 

“The bachelor's degree in music is a practical degree that can be paired with a minor to enhance the student’s career options,” Selph said. “We see four areas of focus: music education, commercial music, church music, and community music.”