Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Dalangin Hawk.
Hi Dawn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started learning how to play the piano when I was eleven years old in Würzburg, Germany, when my parents won a keyboard from a bingo game. My mom bought how-to books from the thrift store, so I taught myself for a few months. I loved learning how to play and hearing the music was just so satisfying. My mom found a teacher on the military base we were stationed and I continued taking lessons through most of high school.
I first started teaching in college, when I double majored in Mechanical Engineering and Piano Performance at Colorado State University. My piano professor suggested I just call the local schools and ask if they needed a teacher. I got lucky that there happened to be a local music academy who was looking for a piano teacher. They only had one piano teacher who was moving, and they offered me the job, a college sophomore with no prior teaching experience, on the recommendation of my professor. I was only 19 at the time and was just handed a studio of over 20 students! At the time, I was just majoring in Piano Performance for fun and then I discovered my love for teaching. After completing my bachelor’s degrees, I decided to continue with music and opened my first music school, the Amadeus Piano Academy, while pursuing a Master’s degree in Piano Performance. During this time, I met my future husband, Eric – a violist/conductor/composer, when I was assigned to be his piano accompanist. We decided to pursue our doctorate degrees in music and ended up at the University of Georgia where he majored in Orchestral Conducting and I majored in Piano Performance. We worked as music teachers in various settings, teaching students of all ages and levels.
Eric and I opened Hawk Music Academy in August of 2018 after growing to about 100 private students in our home in Cumming. It happened only within a couple of years, and we were excited to see the need for a music school in our area. Eric is primarily a violist and conductor, while I am a pianist and had been teaching piano for over 16 years at the time, so our academy initially specialized in strings and piano instruction. HMA continued to see growth over the next year and then COVID hit. That was definitely a tough time, being a small business owner and I was also pregnant with our first child in 2020. Thankfully, we were able to stay afloat by offering online lessons and events. After going back to in-person lessons, HMA continued to grow over the years. In March of 2024, we moved to another larger building in the Vickery Village shopping plaza. We now have over 500 students and continue to utilize the space for additional music opportunities, including workshops, festivals, and summer camps.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve definitely had our struggles along the way! When we first were building out our first location, we had a seven month delay, due to lack of finances. It was hard to pay the rent for months and let the space just sit there vacant with no activity. COVID was also hard (additionally being pregnant and we had a litter of puppies too!), but we were thankful to be able to operate from home online.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Hawk Music Academy offers private music classes in piano, voice, ukulele, guitar, violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, saxophone, theory, composition and more! We are continuing to grow and will be expanding to include percussion, brass, and more woodwinds. We specialize in piano and strings instruction, with me as the head of our piano program and my husband the head of our strings program.
I am most proud of our teachers for their care in providing quality music lessons in a fun and educational environment!
We provide many opportunities for students to enjoy music in different settings. Students enrolled in private lessons can sign up for a free group class, which includes music theory and music ensembles. We also have workshops, festivals, recitals/concerts, and summer camps, which provide various musical experiences.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Eric and I also run a non-profit community orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of North Georgia (SONG), with three groups – Youth Discovery Strings for beginner strings, YouthSONG youth orchestra for intermediate through advanced levels, and our SONG Community Orchestra for intermediate through advanced adults. We enjoy sharing our love of music to our community!
Pricing:
- $145/mo for a 30-minute private lessons (includes a free group class)
- $215/mo for a 45-minute private lessons (includes a free group class)
- $280/mo for a 60-minute private lessons (includes a free group class)
- Lessons are also available for 75-minutes and higher
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hawkmusicacademy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hawkmusicacademy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkmusicacademy/
- Other: https://www.symphonynorthgeorgia.org/
