In seventh grade, Nancy Johnston was given a class assignment to write about what she wanted to be when she grew up. The career she landed on was piano teacher. Now, as the director of Cy-Fair Music and Arts, Johnston said her seventh-grade self could not have made a better choice.

The business started out with Johnston giving piano lessons and running a Kindermusik program for younger students in her home. Through word-of-mouth, her business outgrew her home as well as a space she briefly rented on FM 529.

Johnston had her current 5,700-square-foot building in Copperfield built from the ground up in 2005. She said she had a couple hundred students at the time she moved in. Today, she estimates Cy-Fair Music and Arts has between 900–1,000 students enrolled.

"People kept telling their friends, and it just kind of exploded," she said. "The new location seemed like a large jump at the time, but we're full again."

The organization has expanded to offer classes in visual art, music and drama/acting. Each program culminates with a performance or presentation. Music students have a recital and can enter competitions and festivals through the Texas Music Teacher Association. Art students have several pieces on display at an art show. Drama students put on a production in an actual theater—with costumes and props—for an audience that sometimes numbers in the hundreds, Johnston said.

"It's very exciting for the kids," she said. "We try to help them develop self-confidence and presentation skills to help them personally or academically. Some of them end up going into theater and others are just grateful they can stand up in front of class and give a report."

All music teachers on staff have degrees in the area they teach. A few have master's degrees; one teacher holds a doctorate in music. Many teachers come from either the University of Houston Moore School of Music or Rice School of Music graduate programs, but others have come from as far away as Taiwan. All art teachers have art backgrounds through college or as working artists.

Johnston, a piano major in college, said she enjoys all types of music when it comes to both teaching and playing. The most rewarding part of the job is seeing younger students grow and progress over time, she said.

"I've seen students from when they first started at 4 years old through to their final recitals," she said. "I've seen students start off shy and quiet in drama classes and grow into their own. It's kind of like having a lot more kids. You can't get bored or have a bad day."

2014 summer camps

Cy-Fair Music and Art offers one-week summer camps for students to explore the basics of arts and instruments. Camps run through Aug. 15 and are available for:

drama and art

drums

guitar

piano

strings

Kindermusik

music theory

Details on dates/time can be found online.

Programs offered

Music (kindergarten–adult)

Piano (private or group), guitar, drums/percussion, voice, violin/strings, flute

Kindermusik (infant–7)

Gives children a way to experience rhythm, timbres and the social aspects of making music with other students, teachers and parents, laying the foundation for music lessons as they get older

Art (4–12)

With seven students per class, the program allows for individualized attention. Projects involve different media—painting, clay, wire—and students also study artists and genres.

Drama/Acting (4–17)

Focuses on performance and education, with elements of speech patterns, movement skills, acting skills, improvisation skills and teamwork

Cy-Fair Music and Arts

7103 Glen Chase Court

Houston 281-855-8855

www.cyfairmusicandarts.com

Hours: Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–noon; Closed Sunday