Music Together is celebrating 25 years, and we want you to join the party! Infants through preschoolers and their families will have a ball with music, dance, and refreshments at this fun, FREE event on Saturday, March 16, 2013. The party will be held at Piano Solutions Recital Hall, 575 W. Carmel Drive, Carmel, IN 46032 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Space is limited, so please RSVP by contacting [email protected] or [email protected].
Reaching 2000 locations in 40 countries, and hundreds of thousands of families each year, the beloved Music Together program continues to grow in its 25th year. First available to the public in 1987, Music Together pioneered the idea of research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music education that emphasizes and facilitates caregiver involvement in a child’s musical growth. Since then, Music Together has grown into the internationally acclaimed program it is today.
According to Kenneth K. Guilmartin, Founder/Director of Music Together, “All children are naturally musical and have the ability, from birth, to learn music. Nurturing children’s innate musicality as early as possible provides a strong foundation for later success. At Music Together, we introduce children to the pleasures of actively making music, which is critical for their music development. Many parents may not realize that they are their child’s most important music teachers—even if they don’t consider themselves musical. It is not important that caregivers sing or move perfectly; what matters is that they model the enjoyment of making music. We have been providing families with the tools to joyfully and enthusiastically make music together for 25 years and are proud to have impacted so many lives. We thank everyone who has supported our programs and helped us reach this milestone.”
Beloved by millions of families and early childhood educators, the program is now taught in 48 US states and in 40 other countries. Music Together is based on the recognition that all children are musical: they can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate in the music of their culture, provided their early environment supports such learning. Music Together is the only program of its kind that cultivates such a rich music environment. Fans include many celebrities—Chris Rock, Billy Joel, Amy Poehler, James Cameron, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Baldwin,
Chynna Phillips, and Brooke Burke, among others, have enrolled their children in Music Together classes over the years.
Coauthored by Guilmartin and Rowan University Professor of Music Education, Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz, the company remains loyal to its commitment to bring families together through music and to help parents and caregivers discover the joy and critical educational value of early music experiences. In addition to classes for families and in school settings, Music Together also continually develops new applications of the curriculum and conducts research in early childhood music.
With licensed Music Together centers around the globe, the company continues to grow and now offers programs for children from birth through grade two. All classes include developmentally appropriate music and movement activities that support and respect the unique learning styles of young children. A Music Together class is an enriching, playful community of children and families sharing songs, playing instruments, chanting rhythms, and moving around in an uninhibited, relaxed, playful, non-performance-oriented setting that brings families back again and again. The award-winning songs are arrangements of original and traditional songs presented in a wide variety of tonalities, meters, and cultural styles.
Plans for the 25th Anniversary include a winter concert near the company’s Princeton, NJ, headquarters; contests and promotions; and an all-star compilation album of Music Together songs to benefit the international humanitarian organization UNICEF.
“We are deeply proud to have helped so many families bond through music and nurture the musicality and growth of their children—some of whom now have children of their own enrolled in our classes. While we continue to offer our original mixed-age family classes, we are also expanding our offerings, including the addition last year of our new Music Together Within Therapy program. We’re also in the midst of conducting several exciting research studies,” Guilmartin explains. “As long as we can nurture children and their caregivers musically, we have accomplished our mission!”
Music Together offers programs for families, schools, at-risk populations, and children with special needs. More at www.musictogether.com.
Carmel-based centers, Little Nightingales Music Together and Preschool Music Plus Music Together help families in Hamilton County and Indianapolis experience the joy of making music together. Visit their websites to learn about FREE demo classes and spring schedules.