Heartland Music Together was licensed in the fall of 2004, just days after Director Miriam Klein completed her Music Together® teacher training. We held our first demo classes in December, and by January 2005 our first class was launched - six brave families in a tiny classroom.
Those original families told their friends, and by that summer we had doubled our enrollment. By fall our enrollment had tripled, and it has continued to grow since then. Although we're always busy marketing our program, we're very proud that half of our families still come to us because of a friend's recommendation!
Since our humble beginnings, Heartland Music Together has grown to become a staff of teachers, with numerous classes in 5 locations around the city. More than 500 families - and countless children - have shared our classes with us, and we're now seeing second and even third siblings of our original children. What fun!
We've been around long enough to see the results of our work, and these results are truly heartwarming. Our "graduates" tend to sing easily and naturally, and they move with a secure sense of rhythm. Parents tell us how their children sing all the time at home. They use our Music Together songs to express how they feel or what they're thinking - and even more wonderfully, they're comfortable making up their own songs to suit their needs. They've learned at a deep level how to use the language of music to express themselves.
Parents tell us - and we see for ourselves - other wonderful results of our classes. The children who experience our program are often comfortable in group settings, with children of a variety of ages as well as with adults. We see children who love to be creative. They're excited about coming up with new ideas and sharing them with the group. They learn to appreciate other people's ideas, and share in an experience created by the whole group. This is an excellent preparation for formal education, and indeed all of life!
Parents also tell us how much our classes have influenced their own lives. Parents have told us how our classes have helped them reclaim their own singing voices, and reconnect with their children in new ways. Parents also tell us how much they love the community that our classes create. We've seen a number of friendships blossom in and out of classes, which were kindled by this wonderful shared experience.
As a Director, I feel truly grateful that I get to share this experience with so many people. I know my own life has been changed in countless ways by creating and leading Heartland Music Together. I'm hugely grateful for all I've learned from our families and their wonderful - funny - creative- amazing children. I can't wait to see what happens next. And I invite you to join us as we continue to grow!
Miriam Klein, Director
(502) 491-3131
