Musical Beginnings

Musical Beginnings is an early childhood music and movement program that invites babies, toddlers, and pre-school children ages 0 to 5-years to experience the world around them through singing, movement, listening, playing, and creating music.

The classes offer developmentally appropriate activities that nurture your child's innate joy and musical ability. In addition to being a time for joyful music-making, these classes lay a solid foundation for future musical experiences such as choir, piano, and other instrument lessons.

Academy faculty

Maggie Polk Olivo is a music director, composer, and collaborator. Olivo holds degrees from IU Jacobs in music composition and music education. She has training in Kodály, Orff/Keetman, Feierabend, and Musikgarten methodologies. She directs IU Musical Beginnings, teaches at Fairview Elementary and Rocky Ridge Music Center, and directs Bridges MAYO.

Woman smiling wearing a white turtleneck and glasses

Tracey Shi is a Ph.D. student in music education at IU. She teaches BloomingSongs classes at IU Musical Beginnings and is a teaching assistant for the IU Children’s Choir. Tracey completed her Kodály Level II training at IU in 2021. Her previous teaching experiences with children include leading San Diego Children’s Choir summer program, teaching early childhood music classes at Bloomington Developmental Learning Center, and teaching elementary general music classes in China.

Sai Guo is a Ph.D. student studying music education at the Jacobs School of Music. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the UK and a master’s degree in Music Education with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Sai worked as a music instructor at both the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs (BIAESN) and Boston Public School (BPS), where she provided piano and group music lessons to students from K0-K8 with ASD. Sai currently also assists and teaches at the IU Children’s Choir and MusColAbility program.

For more information, contact Maggie Olivo at smpolk@indiana.edu; or call 812-361-9332.

Schedule

Spring semester
Date	Event
February 5	Cycle of Seasons: Classes begin
February 6	BloomingSongs: Classes begin
March 9-17	Spring Break, no classes
April 8	No classes
April 15	Cycle of Seasons: Classes conclude
April 16	BloomingSongs: Classes conclude

Class Offerings

Instructors: Sai Guo and Tracey Shi

Fall Semester: February 6 - April 16, 2023

Meeting Time: Tuesdays, 5-5:30PM or 5:45-6:15PM

Location: First Presbyterian Church

Additional Notes: 1) Access to audio and activities is included in the rate of tuition.

Instructor: Sai Guo

Fall Semester: February 5 - April 15, 2023

Meeting Time: Mondays, 5:30-6:00PM

Location: First Presbyterian Church

Additional Notes: 1) Access to audio and activities is included in the rate of tuition.

Tuition and deadlines

Tuition

BloomingSongs - $155
Cycle of Seasons (w/out Materials) - $155
Cycle of Seasons (w/Materials) - $175

Deadlines

Financial aid - January 22 2024
Registration and payment due - February 5, 2024

How to apply

Application process: To apply, please complete the online registration form .
Enrollment limit: Registration for BloomingSongs and Cycle of Seasons will close at 10 participants per course.
Payment: Accepting payment via credit card or check. Please do not send checks or any other forms of payment to the Office of Jacobs Academy.

Once you have completed the previous steps, please submit the Participant Agreement Form

Musical Beginnings