Meet Charissa Anderson | Founder; Music Junction

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charissa Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charissa, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
It’s common in our culture to think that you are either born with musical talent or not. But at our music school, we have seen so many students grow over the years, and it’s clear that musical talent is actually cultivated over time. When we start at a young age, music is integrated into our brain development. Or, as an adult, we can activate that musical part of our brain as well. Musical parents often have musical children, that’s true, but it’s more than passing down “talent.” It’s because they are exposing their kids to music at a really young age – in the home, and then in lessons – because it’s part of their core values. For example, parents that sing to their babies and pat their back rhythmically, are instilling musical elements like pitch and meter deep into their baby’s brain. So exposing our children to music is the best way to give them musical “talent.” But if you think it’s too late as an adult, just give yourself a chance, and you will see your talent develop as well.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Music Junction was a dream that I had as a music teacher, after spending 6 years teaching private lessons to kids in Los Angeles. I wanted to build something that would contribute to more people and have a positive impact; something that I could be proud of. In 2012 I teamed up with Bobby Vaughan, a musician and manager, and he really made Music Junction thrive. Now we’ve been in business for 12 years, and I’m so grateful that we created that together because we always have each other for support.

When the pandemic happened, like a lot of businesses, we got hit hard. I really realized how delicate everything was. We lost a lot of our students and we had to create a fast solution to turn our business from an in-person service to a virtual one – and then back to in-person afterwards. But when everyone was in panic mode, I did see the opportunity to create stability for our staff and our students. Bobby and I never checked out and we kept everything moving forward. We stayed calm, tried to be positive, and we worked through it. We got a lot of validation from parents that it helped keep them calm and connected, when everything was shutting down, that their children still got to meet with their teacher each week and stay engaged with music.

Now post-pandemic, it’s been challenging to build back to where we were before, but it’s pushed us to discover how to build genuine connections with our community, so that we can be more than just a sign or an ad for people around us. We realized that the best way to have a successful school is to focus on being of service to our students and our community. I think when we focus on that, people can feel it, and it feels good to be in that environment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely start at the Santa Monica pier. It’s such a special opportunity to check out the beach and enjoy the atmosphere. And of course, you have to check out the street performers on the 3rd street promenade, it’s the best! And then I would recommend the wax museum in Hollywood. It’s really fun to get a bunch of pictures with life-like versions of celebrities. Universal studios is really magical, and it’s fun to just walk around, or go into the park. Our music school is in Burbank, and I love the Burbank Town Center and San Fernando Blvd. There are street performers there as well, and I really loved getting to hear some opera singers and a pro violinist the last time I was there – very impressive. They also have a really delicious Indian restaurant there – India’s Tandoori – that I love. And lastly, I would recommend to check out what is happening at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s a lot of fun there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out to my mom! She was a music teacher, and she took me to private piano and voice lessons every week from when I was 4 until I was 18. And clarinet lessons for many years as well. It was a lot of dedication on her part to give me a chance to become a musician. Because of her I’ve always been inspired to share music with others and encourage their development.

Website: https://musicjunction.com

Instagram: @musicjunction_schoolofmusic

Facebook: @themusicjunction

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/music-junction-burbank?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Youtube: @TheMusicJunctionBurbank