Music Together of Northern Arizona is a new, fully licensed Music Together center for this region, brought back after the pandemic by new center director Laura Brown in 2021.
Currently based in Flagstaff, MTNAZ is developing new classes each semester, and will soon be offering more classes, in Flagstaff, Williams and Sedona, AZ.
We currently offer 4 weekly classes times in Flagstaff and Sedona:
10am Wednesday mornings at Flagstaff Doulas’ Classroom
5:30pm Wednesday evenings at Flagstaff Birth Collective’s classroom
4:15pm Saturday afternoons at Flagstaff Birth Collective’s classroom
10:30am in Sedona at Posse Grounds Park’s Recreation room
About Laura:
Laura is a “veteran” Music Together enthusiast, having attended classes over 20 years ago with her now-adult children, who went on to become accomplished musicians.
She is mother to 4 children, and has 24 years’ experience in early childhood education.
A note from Laura:
“When the covid pandemic hit, I had been looking forward to bringing my 3rd baby to Music Together classes, but of course, as we know, everything shut down. There were other, newer baby and toddler music programs in town but no Music Together – and the research based, award winning curriculum offered through Music Together was what I KNEW we needed for families in Northern Arizona. Music Together is truly the world’s leading early childhood music education program. So, the day before going into labor with my 4th baby, in 2021, I accepted the opportunity to bring Music Together back to Flagstaff and Northern Arizona. The rest is history, and now, 2 years later, teaching Music Together classes is the highlight of my week!” – Laura
Laura immigrated to the United States from Great Britain in 1990, and has been an early childhood educator since 1999.
She also works in nonprofit development, and as a prenatal yoga teacher.
Why Choose Music Together Classes?
– – this excerpt from a 2008 article from Music Together puts it well:
It seems like just a few years since I was a parent in a Music Together class with my one-year-old daughter, so how can she be heading off to college this fall? From the moment Kathryn was born, how best to support and encourage her education has been on my mind. I chose Music Together from the wave of new early childhood classes that began when she was young; but when we enrolled, I had no idea how much impact that music and movement class would have on her life. Seventeen years later, I can still see the positive influence of Kathryn’s continuous Music Together experiences in her personal, social, and scholastic growth.
Today’s parents have many more early childhood enrichment options than I did. Gymnastics, baby signs, swim lessons, Spanish classes, the wide variety is both exciting and confusing.
How do you decide which program to enroll in—and how long do you continue?
I chose music because I’d learned that all children are musical, and I wanted my daughter to develop the basic life skill of making music. In addition, research had shown the early childhood years to be the most natural time for musical growth and development.
More recently, CMYC Director of Re-search Dr. Lili Levinowitz asserts that early and continuous exposure to music-making is crucial.
Studies she has conducted at Rowan University show that children must play with music until they have reached Basic Music Competence (BMC), the ability to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm. Then they are able to store songs in their musical memories for later retrieval.
Also, while kindergartners with little music experience may never reach BMC, children who attain it at an early age will never lose it—even if they don’t remain active in music as they get older.
As Dr. Levinowitz states, “A single semester of Music Together may open a window in your child’s music development, but over time, a weekly routine of community music-making in class with follow-through at home can provide a lifetime disposition for music-making.”
You simply can’t go wrong choosing Music Together and sticking with it!
Kathryn now hopes to audition for one of the four a cappella groups on her college campus. Music still plays a daily role in her life, and the results of my own personal investment in her music education are still growing, even after all this time.
Thank you, Music Together! —Susan Van Sickle
