Springfield woman opens Ukulele Academy for kids and adults

Karen Maxson, a longtime musician, has started a small business in Springfield called Ukulele Academy of the Ozarks.

Ukulele Academy will offer lessons for adults and children as young as 8 on how to play the ukulele — a four-stringed instrument that looks like a miniature guitar.

Ukulele Academy also will offer small group lessons for up to six people in the start of the new year. As of now, classes will be taught out of Maxson's home or through the Springfield Regional Arts Council.

"We wanted to bring the joy of the ukulele to southwest Missouri by providing lessons," Maxson said.

Maxson has been playing the ukulele for more than a decade. After moving from California to Missouri, she began working with Springfield’s Queen City Ukulele Club. She also managed the Drury University Ukulele Club. Maxson and her husband, Rick, are part of the ukulele band Uke 66.

Uke 66 has performed shows across the United States and in foreign countries. In 2019, Rick Maxson won the open solo division of the International Ukulele Competition in Honolulu, Hawaii. And in 2020, the couple won the group division of the contest.

For more information, visit Ukulele Academy of the Ozarks' Facebook page.

Ralph Green is a business reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Contact him at RAGreen@gannett.com, by phone: (417-536-4061) or on Twitter at RalphGreenNL

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield woman opens Ukulele Academy for kids and adults