Today we’d like to introduce you to AsheLee Bonham Gahagan.
Hi AsheLee Bonham, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I come from a musical family and began taking piano and cello lessons when I was seven years old. I knew at a very young age that music was my calling, and I grew up performing in orchestras, chamber ensembles and giving solo recitals. I have been teaching private lessons for over twenty-five years and hold a bachelor’s degree in cello performance as well as masters studies in both cello performance and arts administration. For several years I worked for the American String Teachers Association as their communications manager. When my family moved to Holly Springs in 2018, I set up a home studio to teach cello, violin, and piano lessons. I started with eight students and began to seek out ways to attract more; one of those ways was going through the business entrepreneurial course from Launch Holly Springs, which helped hone my business skills and gave me a clear business plan for marketing and growth.
I opened Ashe School of Music in April 2023 in a little house on Holly Springs Road, with two instructors and forty-five students. Within four months, the student number doubled, more instructors were hired, and the school added an additional studio in the downtown district to accommodate the growing enrollment.
Today, our school operates from both facilities and provides lessons for over three hundred local students each week. Our faculty of twenty-plus instructors are master teachers and performers, all of whom adhere to my philosophy of creative, tailored, and compassionate music instruction.
In 2023, I was awarded Business Leader of the Year by the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce in recognition for steering the school’s rapid growth and for enhancing the quality of arts offerings to the community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The best lesson is to build strong relationships – gather the people around you who will encourage, uplift, and celebrate your successes. Form the connections that help the business succeed and that will make marketing much easier – word of mouth is the best tool you can have. One of the challenges was leading with a thoughtful and focused plan for building a strong program. When we started, there wasn’t another music school in Holly Springs – so because we were filling that gap, there was a lot of interest, and we were onboarding an average of five new students per week. Balancing that kind of growth with finding the best instructors to fulfill my vision was a challenge, but learning what worked and didn’t reshaped our hiring processes and helped us create systems that benefit everyone.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My passion is expanding access to quality music education and advocating for the arts, specifically helping people see how the arts fit organically into their everyday lives.
I believe music should be transformative in a student’s life – my philosophy and pedagogical approach is to tailor curriculum to suit each student and give them the ability to explore, create, fail, and develop self-confidence. There are so many ways for them to express themselves through their music and I want them to see how limitless the opportunities are.
I also am the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Holly Strings Youth Orchestra, a non-profit organization that gives students in southern wake county an orchestra program to participate in. There are very few string orchestra programs in Wake County schools, and the HSYO is filling that gap.
Service is a large component of how I connect with people and live my life – I am on the board of the Holly Springs Rotary Club as Service Chair, and I am a founding board member of the Holly Springs Arts Council, which believes in enriching our town through the arts by advocating for policies and projects that benefit residents, businesses, and visitors. The mission of the council reflects my dedication to growing the visual and performing arts in Holly Springs.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Making connections and being genuine. I love meeting new people, learning their interests, and finding the common ground that connects us as humans. Most important is building the relationship with my ASM families, and giving them a space to connect with each other to foster a strong sense of community within the music school.
It is also very important to me to build strong relationships with other small business owners, connect with my local town officials, and build a relationship with the community. The community of Holly Springs has supported me in so many ways, which is why I make it a point for us to give back, by holding fundraisers for the food cupboard, sponsoring middle and high school band, orchestra, and theater programs, and performing at community events throughout the year.
Pricing:
- We offer a flat rate tuition that gives students access to everything we offer, including private lessons, group classes, workshops, recitals, and community performances.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://asheschoolofmusic.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asheschoolofmusic
