Music Equals Community Impact

“As a result of Baby Beats, at 2.5 she has favourite songs, and can do actions and even attempt to sing them. She’ll do this spontaneously outside of class! I’m convinced this is because of the repetition offered, as she gets to know different songs and actions over time.”

“I am so grateful for this program and opportunity. One of my children has a learning disability and one of the conditions is lacking a sense of rhythm and focusing attention to detail. It was wonderful to observe how well she did the exercises and how she voluntarily participated with confidence. […] I’d give this program an 11/10 for the positive impact. […] THANK YOU!!!”

“I know nothing about symphonies but listening to the last class you had this week just enraptured me and I wanted more!”

“I can express my emotions in a way I can’t with words.”

“I hope my Dad will buy me a fiddle so that we can play together at home too”

“The music program has helped increase students’ confidence and connects them with the school because it’s something they enjoy participating in. The increase in attendance rates also increases their academic performance because they are receiving a consistent program on a daily basis.”

“During a day of severe weather (snow storm) when many of the City’s events were shut down, the COTE Community Support Worker suggested to students that the music instructor may not make it to the program. However, they protested and began setting up instruments anyway, advocating for the importance of their program and saying that missing a session was not an option. The instructor ended up arriving and the program was facilitated as usual, but these are students who do not commonly raise their voices to advocate for their own programming and doing so was wonderfully unusual.”

“Without Music Equals, would our students even know that violin exists?  Would they think that learning to play was possible?”

“Access to music programming is essential to the mental health and over all well- being of older adults. Connecting to familiar music creates a positive and comforting feeling to for our residents living with dementia.”

“ Before today, I hadn’t seen my brother so lively and engaged in years. Thank you so much for bringing this to us, it was like he was his old self again. Please promise to come back!”

“During and after packing equipment, I was able to talk to some of them. While they weren’t boisterous during the show, they told me how much they enjoyed it, how the songs conjured up memories for them, and wanted to know when we’d be back. They invited me to their karaoke night!”

“They were engaged, receptive and several people were singing along to the pieces. One elderly lady said she was impressed that such a young girl (Avery) was performing pieces that she knew and sang as a young person too.”

“I was so impressed with how the knowledgeable the instructor was in how he tied together historical, cultural, social, and political factors into the evolution of the music. His enthusiasm and speaking from the heart were so endearing.  He did an excellent job of combining both speaking and video. So well done. It far surpassed my expectations. Turned me into a Brazilian music fan…something I had never contemplated before.”