Brown Academy of Music

Beginning

Brown Academy of Music Cebu, Inc. was founded by Adam Brown and Anna Fegi-Brown in 2015. The corporation was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in October. Brown was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and has a background in music education with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas as well as a Master of Science in Education. He served as a musician and musical director for a number of years for Royal Caribbean International performing in over fifty countries on six continents. Fegi-Brown is a well-known international singer who has performed not only throughout the Philippines. but around the world. She has released two solo albums under the Sony BMG label and performed on the popular show ASAP on the ABS-CBN television network and The Filipino Channel (TFC). Anna won the Grand Prize of the ABS-CBN's Himig Handog competition in 2003 by interpreting the song Kailan Kaya Kita Mamahalin. Her performances abroad include several international tours as well as two years in the featured role of Nala in the Festival of the Lion King at Hong Kong Disneyland as well as several years as a featured singer with Royal Caribbean International being apart of several take out casts and new projects while performing in over fifty countries.

It was during their time working for Royal Caribbean International that the couple met and were eventually married in 2012 in Cebu City. They created the school from their passion in music and teaching and serves as their way to give back to the next generation of musicians. They traveled to over 60 countries while performing and also researched the music of cultures around the world during their travels. Not only focusing on traveling and performing, they both wrote a series of travel articles published by Cebu Daily News.

Brown Academy of Music formally opened on January 8, 2016 in the Northgate Centre on Gov. M. Cuenco Avenue in Banilad. In just its first few months, the school not only took enrollment for their regular lessons classes, but also taught classes at multiple academic schools in Cebu and also presented a voice workshop at Ayala Center Cebu. The school held a songwriting workshop with award-winning songwriter, producer, and musical director Jude Gitamondoc.

The school developed a one-of-a-kind series of music classes for babies and toddlers. The first class, for children 6 months to 2 years old, features instruction for both a child and an adult. The second class, for ages 3 to 5 years, is based upon the fundamentals of music education using fun activities and games and prepared the students for further music study in the future whether they would want to learn voice or an instrument. Both classes continue to be popular offerings of Brown Academy of Music. In 2017 the classes were renamed the Aria Music program in honor of the owner's child.

In July 2016, while only being open for six months, Brown Academy of Music announced that they would be expanding. The additional area includes additional teaching area as well as a 35+ square meter rehearsal facility. The expansion was found to be necessary to accommodate the growing number of enrollees and rehearsal requirements and was completed by September 2016.

The BAM Method

Brown Academy of Music is one of the few schools in Cebu City that teach the fundamentals of music. Students not only learn how to perform, but they also learn important elements of music such as reading sheet music and basic music theory. The BAM Method is described as teaching music in a building block method from the very foundation to bringing the student to the advanced level. Owner Adam Brown has also authored and published a music textbook and workbook titled, Fundaments of Reading Music. The school employs a combination of full-time and part-time teachers and teach voice, drums, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, violin, saxophone, flute, and trumpet. Brown Academy of Music also offers a one-of-a-kind series of music classes for babies and toddlers, ranging from the age of six months through 5 years old. The curriculum has been designed specifically for those age categories and meets United States Department of Education and National Association for Music Education standards.

Performances

Brown Academy of Music not only teaches the students music but also provides venues for their students as a means for them to showcase their talent. In place of a traditional recital, the school offers gigs in public venues throughout the city. Some of the advanced students are also selected for various public events, serving as opening acts or sharing the stage with professional, national acts. The school currently produces four major shows a year (April, June, October, and December) featuring all of their enrollees for each session. The shows range in themes and give the students the opportunity to showcase their talents in a public setting.

The school's first performance was alongside Anna Fegi in "Turn Up the Music" at the Terraces at Ayala Center Cebu on Saturday, April 9, 2016. The evening also featured appearances by Derek Ramsay, Nico Antonio, and Shaina Magdayao to promote their movie My Candidate. The show also featured a guest performance of the hit Bisaya song HAHAHAHasula with the song's writer Jude Gitamondoc and Jacky Chang, who is a member of the teaching faculty.

In the first summer the school was open, students from Brown Academy of Music performed at SM City Cebu for the 8th anniversary event of the ABS-CBN television show MAG TV Na, performed as a part of the ABS-CBN television show Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka, and recorded a song for the ABS-CBN outreach program Project Lapis Kapamilya. The experiences offered by the school has helped continue to boost enrollment numbers. In June 2016, students from Brown Academy of Music performed as a part of the kick off for the 2016 Cebu Business Month, as well as Pasundayag 2016, a project of Cebu City. Also in June 2016, owner Anna Fegi-Brown along with other members of Brown Academy of Music performed for the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte.

Elite BAMStars

In June 2016, auditions were held for a select group of vocal students directed and produced by Anna Fegi-Brown. This group consists of students enrolled at Brown Academy of Music and performs throughout the city and region for different events and television tapings. Students from the group have performed on episodes of the ABS-CBN television show Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka. The group has also performed at venues around Cebu City such as Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, Robinsons Galleria Cebu, SM Seaside City Cebu, and Fuente Osmeña.

In July 2016, Brown Academy of Music students performed as opening acts for Star Magic actors Bea Alonzo, Gerald Anderson, and Bailey May. They performed as a part of the mall promotional tour for the Star Cinema film How to Be Yours and also Bailey May's Cebu mall appearance. In August the group performed for another episode of Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka on ABS-CBN as well as the annual Cebu City Cancer Fair held at SM Seaside City Cebu along with celebrities Matteo Guidicelli, Donna Cruz, Anna Fegi-Brown, Marissa Sanchez, and international artist David Pomeranz. In December 2016, BAM was invited to perform for the Cebu tour for the Metro Manila Film Festival entry and international award-winning movie Die Beautiful, starring Paolo Ballesteros.