A mission “to provide excellent training in the fine and performing arts, guided by the love of Christ” has been the driving force for all that Saint John’s School of the Arts (SOTA) has done since it began in 1996.

“I think what sets us apart from all of the other outstanding organizations that do art and music and dance, in our Northcentral Pennsylvania community, is that we really are defined by our desire to be guided by the love of Christ,” said Todd Kendall, director of SOTA.

“We see that the love of Christ is something that is just incredible for our community. We really want a group of students, whether they’re adults or younger, to get to know each other, to lift each other up, to have interest and care in each other, and to really be a deeper family than just coming and going for classes,” he said.

“So in the best way that we feel to do that, is to make sure that we honor the time that we have with our students to hear how their days are going, what are their highs and their lows, to offer encouragement, and to have an expectation that they’re going to treat each other with incredible dignity. We are really an all inclusive school, we want everyone to come here, regardless of their background, regardless of their socioeconomic status. And just to experience what it’s like to be in a place that loves them,” he said.

Until recently, SOTA was located at Saint John’s United Methodist Church (UMC) in Newberry, but a move to the North Campus of First Church, 1157 Market St., has brought not only an increase in space, but also a vision for expanding lesson and class offerings in the future.

Kendall, who was hired as the director last August, said that the school began when the worship minister at Saint John’s UMC, Jeff Seeley, and other people at the church were “looking to offer music and art instruction with a Christian ethic.”

The second semester the school was open, dance was added to the list of performing arts offered.

“For the last probably 20 years, we’ve had somewhere between 180 and 250 students each semester,” Kendall said, referring to the growth the school has experienced.

“Some of those are students who will stay for many years. Others come and go. So, it’s difficult to say exactly how many, but (we’ve taught) thousands,” he added.

The move from the west end of the city to a more central location was prompted by the school’s desire to have a “larger footprint in North Central Pennsylvania,” Kendall said.

“We were looking for a studio facility that was large enough. We had that at St. John’s-Newberry, but it was also being used for other things. Here, it’s almost exclusively available to the School of the Arts. So it allows us to teach more classes,” he said.

“We were able to put in a professional dance and recital floor. So there’s a hard maple floor there. And we have 3,000 usable square feet that we can use all day, every day,” he said.

The school shares the space with Good News Bible Church on Sundays.

“We’re very glad to have them here worshiping,” Kendall said.

Board President Barry Rake echoed Kendall, saying, “What a marvelous facility for Saint John’s School of the Arts students.”

Moving forward at their new location the school is looking to again offer art classes. They also want to expand the number of instrumental lessons they offer.

“We’re fortunate to be able to use space on the main campus building of First Church…for our piano students and also for some of our music lessons as well,” he said.

“We have more students and lessons that we want to offer than we have entirely available space here on the North Campus of First Church. And First Church has been gracious enough to allow us to use their best equipment and their best spaces, because they really see the beauty of this mission. We’re using the First Church choir room with its grand piano for our piano students, so they have a beautiful instrument to take lessons on. And there is a fantastic parent lounge there. And some of our instrumental students also are taking lessons there because rather than having them run between buildings for different teachers, I can move the teachers off to the same place to make it easier for the families who are there,” he said.

“That is something that First Church has been really gracious about. They really have an incredible heart for this community. It’s been on display non-stop to me since we started this project, so it’s exciting to see,” he said.

Because of the new site, the school has been able to offer yoga and ballroom dance year round.

“That’s not something we were able to do before. It would come and go but now we can offer it all the time,” Kendall said.

The school is open to students of all ages and offers classes designed for various skill levels.

“We have students as young as 3, and we have students who are in their 80s. We offer a praise movement class that we have a lot of older adults who will come and participate in it. Some participate in chairs, and some are up and moving around. But it’s designed to really just kind of get people going on a Tuesday morning,” Kendall said.

It’s a busy place and Kendall agreed that’s what they want, but noted that they are moving forward cautiously.

“We’ve been very careful here in our first semester in the new space not to do too much too fast. But we do have plans over the following successive semesters to continue adding programming. We’re just trying to be very intentional to make sure that we’re able to offer high quality instruction and high quality experiences for everyone,” he said.

The school offers scholarships to help students who may need them and Kendall indicated that the school is hoping to expand those in the future through donations from the community.

“We are going to be starting a campaign here soon. A giving campaign that is going to help support programming. Also scholarships, and the infrastructure that we’re putting in place to be able to offer all of these lessons. So things like our dance floor, mirrors in the studio, new pianos, making the acoustics better in the rehearsal spaces and lesson spaces for our students,” he explained.

On June 22, the school will celebrate their move to the new building with a “SOTA Summer Celebration.” Plans are to offer a short program which will include speakers and performances honoring and thanking all the people who have been involved with the school since it began and also looking to the future, Kendall said.

“We’ll have an open house that day as well, so that people can come and go, but a day of thanks and a day of looking forward,” he said.

“It’s really exciting to think about the future of the School of the Arts. We’ve been incredibly blessed with the setup and At Saint John’s Newberry and now with folks here, Mitch Marcello, Pastor Matt (Lake), Ben Conrad, and so many others. They really have just been outstanding in helping us to get everything off the ground. Saint John’s School of the Arts is its own 501 C-3. And while we have a mission partnership with the church — because we’re rowing in the same direction — we are still separate entities, we’re just really excited to be working with them,” Kendall said.

“This week, we have music students that are performing or participating in the Holy Week services at First Church, and others who are doing that in their own home churches. We have a group of dancers that put together a dance for Good Friday at First Church. So I hope that you’ll see more and more of Saint John’s School of the Art students, musicians, artists and dancers in the community participating and just, you know, bringing the arts alive — it’s a beautiful place this Williamsport arts community,” he said.

To learn more about SOTA’s classes, go to their website, https://sites.google.com/site/saintjohnsschoolofthearts/home

They can also be reached at sotalessons@gmail.com or by phone at 570-327-5575.