THE PROLOGUE
Music and Play began as Appassionato Music in 2008 when owner Colleen Lindenbach began teaching the Music for Young Children (MYC)® curriculum and fell in love with the benefits of group music education. As word of mouth spread about Appassionato Music, enrollment increased exponentially over the next 18 months and in year two, Appassionato began to offer the renowned Music Pups® program from the leading US music educator – The Music Class. These parented classes, for children aged six months through three years, also quickly filled and soon the Company had waiting lists for all of its programming. In late 2010, the company also secured the exclusive rights to offer the Music Pups® curriculum in Calgary and began to offer classes outside of their west Calgary location.

ACT 1 – A NEW NAME AND A NEW HOME
At the urging of parents, in early 2011, the Company took the next step in its evolution. The company incorporated and rebranded as Music and Play with a goal of continuing to offer leading music programs as well as launching new private lesson and vocal and theatre arts programming. This more robust arts education curriculum allowed students to continue their arts education through a variety of disciplines and on a variety of instruments including piano, guitar, strings, woodwinds, percussion and voice.

With this new name  came a move to a larger space a 2,200sf studio in the Aspen Landing Shopping Centre enabling Music and Play’s transition to an integrated performing arts school. In order to accommodate this programming expansion, we also added another 1,500 sf of space to our current studio and in the summer of 2015 undertook a minor renovation to address an increase in demand for private lessons from our continually growing student base.

As Music and Play grew, theatre arts and dance, older group piano classes and a new unparented Music Adventures program – for families who could not attend parented classes – were introduced. In the fall of 2017, the company also transitioned to the newly-revised Keyboard Adventures: The Safari™ program for our age 4-1/2 to 11 group music students.

ACT 2 – THE COVID/BOWNESS CHAPTER
After almost a decade at Aspen Landing, with some not so gentle prodding by COVID-19, it was time to make a move to a larger more artist-focused space. In September 2020, Music and Play (with new branding to M&P) opened the doors of its new 7,500sf M&P space. The new studio is conveniently located at 6919 – 32 Avenue NW near the intersection of Sarcee and Hwy 16. This new location allowed M&P to almost triple its previous square footage, which allows M&P to serve artists of all ages in Calgary BETTER and – most importantly –  SAFELY !

The move took M&P to a free-standing location with limited shared space and to an area where the new Trinity Hills, and other developments, were set make the area a wonderful destination for Calgary families. With this move, and despite the pandemic, M&P not only continued as West Calgary’s leading music school but also as the city’s largest and safest!  This new location allowed M&P’s current families, and now even more from the NW, to enjoy convenient access to the leading West Calgary studio they had come to trust and enjoy!

ACT 3 – WHY DID THE MUSIC SCHOOL CROSS THE ROAD?
When we moved our business to our current location in June of 2020, we did so to better manage some of the implications of the Covid pandemic and earlier this year made the decision to rebrand (as The Music Studio) and to also further invest in our families and in the future of Calgary and Music & Play – and we will be moving across 16 Avenue (only 5 blocks away) and building out a new ground floor studio in the Medicine Hill/Trinity Hills development.

While searching for our new home, we learned the following and knew that it was the right, and perfect, place for us and our families: “in the Blackfoot culture, Medicine Hill (Aiss ka pooma) is recognized as a place you return to annually for renewal. Rife with medicine, the buffalo and Blackfoot people would continually return to the slopes to sustain themselves.” We look forward to moving The Music Studio to this land and building on this rich history and tradition as our students and families return every year to grow and sustain themselves through music and the arts.

We will be working on the relocation to our new studio location throughout the summer, and will open the doors of our new location (at 1005 Na’a Drive SW) in mid-August – with fall classes beginning on August 29. This new location includes unlimited covered parking, close proximity to shopping, COP & more.

Along with this new home for our students and families, comes a re-branding of our company. Since Music and Play Canada Inc. opened in 2011, we have operated under the name Music & Play and with our new location we are also adopting a new name: The Music Studio. This change reflects what we have become to our community and of our continued commitment to leadership in the industry. With the growth of the company, it is the perfect description for what we have done, what we do, and what we will continue to be into the future. But don’t worry, while the name changes a bit, we are still the same great people committed to making music education in Calgary the best it can be!

Thank you for your support of Music & Play and our faculty over the year – we look forward to welcoming you all to our brand-new Music Studio (right across the street) in August!

OUR COMMUNITY
Since early 2012, students and families from across Calgary have called Music and Play home. During this time, we have welcomed over 5,000 students through our doors and have been privileged to offer the leading music programs in the City for artists of all ages. Over the years, we have watched our students grow and change – and we have done so as well.

This can all sound impressive and might be seen as impersonal and commercial, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. At M&P it is not simply about getting numbers through the door – and you may notice that it’s not the name of the owner on the door.  M&P is dedicated to its students and building great people – people who embrace ‘music and play’ for their lifetime.  M&P’s owners and faculty come from extensive backgrounds in education and the performing arts and have high standards when it comes to blending the two, but they all know that it’s not about them – it’s about their students. They know the joys, and struggles, of pursuing a dream in the arts and this is why M&P makes sure that students come first. This means providing a nurturing, high quality learning environment where our students can achieve and reach THEIR goals. Our stringent standards actually pose one of the greatest challenges for the company as not every teacher is a fit to teach at Music and Play.

At Music and Play we want our students to go beyond the notes, the words and the steps and into the world of creativity and the arts!

THANKS
Through the years, we have remained focused on our company’s mission of over a decade – to provide top quality music and arts education to students of all ages in Calgary. At M&P, we are committed to BUILDING GREAT PEOPLE and to seeing each and every student as an individual, not just a number. We would like to thank everyone who has supported M&P over the last decade. We look forward to the next decade as we will continue to grow together with our faculty and students, their families and our community and as we continue to change the way performing arts education should be delivered.