Kids Make Beautiful Music - and Music Makes Beautiful Kids!

KIDS & MUSIC — The Program

KIDS & MUSIC is an exceptional music education program choice for the most discerning parent and their child. Whether you are looking for an introductory and /or complementary musical experience, each level of the KIDS & MUSIC program brings to your child the power of music.

All levels of the program capitalize on the enthusiasm, inquisitiveness and creative interests of your child. This child-centered approach ensures your child’s success, nurtures his/her many talents, and celebrates their social and musical progress.

Through the joy of singing and moving, music will become not only a weekly experience, but a daily one — one that will last a lifetime! In each of the four levels, KIDS & MUSIC involves you in every step of your child’s musical adventure. Specific observation times and informal presentations are a very important component of the program. Music is meant to be shared, and this means learning to share our accomplishments!

For complete registration information for the KIDS & MUSIC program, please call Youth Singers of Calgary at 403-234-9549, view our Registration Information brochures on-line, or email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Click here to download the 2009-2010 KIDS & MUSIC Program Guide (PDF).

Three Easy Steps to Great Beginnings with KIDS & MUSIC

LEVEL 1 (3½ - 4 yrs)

Let your young child enter a world where learning is FUN! Creative play, movement and singing help your child acquire the tools to make sense about music, himself/herself and others. In this small group setting, your child’s singing voice will emerge and they will discover the rudimentary elements of music. The nurturing environment, caring instruction and age-appropriate materials, activities and program ensure the freedom to discover and grow! *Must be 31/2 by July 1 for September entry and 4 years old by January 1 for second term registration*

Class Times: 45 minutes, once/week

Tuesdays 10:00 - 10:45 AM

Wednesdays 1:30 - 2:15 PM

Click here to download the 2009-2010 KIDS & MUSIC Level 1 Registration package

LEVEL 2 (ECS & Grade 1)

Whether Level 2 serves as an entry level for the older beginner or a second step for the Level 1 graduate, it engages your child’s musical interests in such a way that the acquisition of skills and concepts seems effortless! This more mature musician is ready for a more sophisticated repertoire and is more able to deal with the symbols and vocabulary of the language of music. As in Level 1, Level 2 capitalizes on repertoire with kid-appeal, award-winning instruction and an environment that lets your young musician thrive and shine!

Class Times: 50 minutes, once/week

Wednesday 4:30 - 5:20 PM

Thursday 4:45 - 5:35 PM **NEW time for 2009-2010**

Click here to download the 2009-2010 KIDS & MUSIC Level 2 Registration package

LEVEL 3 (Grades 1 & 2)

Grades 1 and 2 offer many challenges and new experiences. It is also a time at which many aspiring young musicians are ready for something more. KIDS & MUSIC Level 3 is a cross between a music education experience and a preparatory choir experience. It is a program mindful of the kinesthetic leanings of the young student. Thus, the classroom setting balances the rehearsal with choreography, action songs, games and other thematic material.

Here we learn a variety of repertoire which allows these developing musicians to be both musically sensitive and creative musical story-tellers. The students are also introduced to sheet music. The highly appealing repertoire, commitment to worthwhile group goals and the creative teaching methods make Level 3 an intrinsically motivating program.

Class Times: 60 minutes, once/week

Tuesday 4:30 - 5:30 PM 

Tuesday 5:45 - 6:45 PM

Click here to download the 2009-2010 KIDS & MUSIC Level 3 Registration package

Kids AND Music

Since music has so much to do with the molding of character, it is necessary that we teach it to our children. — Aristotle

There still lingers in the thinking of many parents and teachers the assumption that “musicians are born, not made.” However, the predominant opinion in recent years is that a musical environment does have great effect upon a young child’s musical development. In other words, the environment helps to develop and extend what is already genetically present. A quality music program then becomes a rightful part of childhood education. It provides much more than the rote singing of a few songs. Besides increasing the range and flexibility of their voices, it provides:

• for the first social experiences in which a child shows inclination to participate and share with others,
• an introduction to their cultural heritage through song,
• cognitive operations such as learning the alphabet and musical symbols,
• rhythmic coordination of hand with eye, and perhaps most importantly,
• the development of a sensitivity to the feelings, impressions and images that music can convey.

We strongly believe that music in the life of a child needs to be nurtured from year to year. Music as part of a basic education is not merely a one-shot experience, or only for a gifted few—it is the right of all children. KIDS & MUSIC is a program that provides the rich environment in which young children thrive and grow into their own musical selves.

Malcolm Edwards is the Principal Conductor of the Youth Singers of Calgary as well as the Director of the ACT3 & ENCORE Divisions.