Lakewood resident Daniel Kanter relates this story about his five-year-old daughter, Gabriella. "About a year ago, Gabriella was sitting at the kitchen table eating cherries. She came upon a 'twin.' Picking it up, she said, 'Dad, look!' Then she sang the notes that she saw in the two cherries."

Gabriella is one of many area children who have had an early exposure to music through Musikgarten, a unique program of early childhood music education taught locally at East Dallas Children's Music.

East Dallas Children's Music is the home for Musikgarten in our area 

Cathy Mathia is the owner of East Dallas Children's Music and one of three teachers there.

Mathia has been bringing this unique program to the area for seventeen years. First located at the Greenland Hills United Methodist Church, Mathia's classes now meet at Wilshire Baptist Church at Mockingbird Ln and Abrams Rd.

"I have always loved being around children, seeing them grow with their families over the years," says Mathia. "There is a special kind of closeness that comes from making music together--it's hard to sing with your enemy."

While music is the vehicle, the benefits of family music-making extend to all areas of life, according to Mathia. "Many of today's children, for a variety of reasons, have not developed the listening skills and impulse control necessary for successful formal education," says the music educator. The program she teaches is designed to foster such skills and help children be successful at school.

"I know I'm giving them a gift that will last a lifetime," says Mathia, noting that she follows the lives of her former students and sees them excelling in all areas of their lives.

Staff of three teachers handle newborns to age nine 

Teachers Jennifer Powers and Rebecca Simonfalvi supplement Mathia's own work, and are experienced teachers and musicians.

Children (and their parents) are placed in classes by age. The first class consists of the very smallest, from newborn to sixteen months. After that, most classes have about a two-year age range among the children.

Toward the end of the curriculum, the children move toward playing the piano. The final class is Music Makers at the Keyboard, where the oldest students learn to improvise, compose, play by ear, and read music notation.

It is clear that seeing children and parents grow closer with music is a real source of joy for Mathia. "I've taught all over North America and Asia," she says, thinking about music as a universal language. "Children and families are much the same everywhere."

You can find out more about East Dallas Children's Music at their web site.