The classes
The six-week summer session runs June 26-July 31. Registration starts June 9 and can be done online at playmiamisburg.com or by calling 937-866-4532.
The ukulele class meets Thursdays at 7:45 p.m. Cost is $45. Richie’s guitar class is on the same day but from 6-7:30 p.m. and costs $100. Classes are held at the Senior Adult Center in Miamisburg, 305 E. Central Ave.
Classes are open to all area residents.
Richie TerBush, lead guitarist for The Rusty Griswolds, a prominent Cincinnati cover band, has added ukulele to his range of instruments through a popular class he’s teaching for Miamisburg Parks and Recreation.
When Miamisburg Parks and Recreation Department director Pegge Bellamy asked him to teach a guitar class this session, he suggested adding ukulele.
“No one signed up for the guitar class, but a lot registered for ukulele,” said TerBush, who had never played the instrument. “I really had to work quickly to learn it before classes started.”
Bellamy was surprised that the class was so popular, she said, noting that “When we were in our second round of classes, new people were still registering.”
TerBush isn’t surprised though: “A uke is fun, compact, and easy to learn. After our first class, a few students could play ‘Over the Rainbow’ and were thrilled. It’s often considered a ‘toy’ instrument and most are very affordable, although mine cost $400.
“It’s also become more popular in recent years, so people are gravitating toward it.”
He credits films such as Adam Sandler’s “50 First Dates” and “Lilo & Stitch,” as well as musicians like the recently deceased Hawaiin vocalist Israel Kamakawiwo and the rock band Sister Hazel for the ukulele’s current popularity.
The lastest session of classes in Miamisburg ended May 8, but a new session begins June 26, and interested ukulele players can start registering June 9.
During the break between sessions, TerBush will be playing with a smooth jazz/Latin guitar trio in Las Vegas, then he will head to Los Angeles to record his latest full-length CD, “Ukebox Hero.”
TerBush, a California native who considers his solo music smooth jazz and salsa, was an accomplished professional guitarist when he moved to Miamisburg 11 years ago and started teaching at McCutcheon Music Studios, Centerville Music and Hauer’s Music Store in Dayton. It was through McCutcheon’s that he learned there was an opening with The Rusty Griswolds and got the position 10 years ago.
The Rusty Griswolds is his main claim to regional fame. The band has won Cincinnati’s Best Band Award for 10 years and played for the Cincinnati Reds opening night to a stadium of 36,000 people.
TerBush has recorded four full-length CDs of original compositions; in addition, he plays in a local duo, Richie & Roe, in the Cincinnati and Miamisburg areas.
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