
The Center for Young Musicians develops a community of students with liberated ability, refined characters, and a life-long love of music through a comprehensive, long-term curriculum emphasizing an early-start, an expert faculty, a dynamic support staff, and a mutual commitment between the families and the school.
Because we know every child is unique, our programs are customizable to fit each child's needs. To better understand the opportunities CYM provides your child, please visit the 'New to CYM?' section (above); the accompanying links lead to a thorough explanation of each program CYM offers. To learn more, please call 724.935.0505 to speak with our experienced faculty. Thank you for your interest.
Toddlers Program
The Toddler Program meets once per week for a 45-minute time period where parents actively participate for the duration of class. Every class provides meaningful musical instruction, lessons are presented in a social and playful manner. The class goals are to improve movement, listening, and vocalization skills so that further musical ability is developed naturally.
| Class Offerings |
| Wexford |
| Tuesday—10:00AM |
| Wednesday—10:00AM |
| Saturday—1:00PM |
| Sewickley |
| Wednesday—10:00AM |
| Thursday—11:00AM |
| Saturday—9:15AM |
Twinklers Program
The Twinkler Program meets once per week for a 45-minute time period. Parents actively participate for the first few minutes of class, although may choose to stay throughout the entire class time. Every lesson provides meaningful musical instruction and lessons are presented in a social and playful manner. Class goals are to improve movement, listening, and vocalization skills so that further musical ability is developed naturally, and build on skills mastered at the Toddlers level.
| Class Offerings |
| Wexford |
| Tuesday—11:00AM |
| Tuesday—1:15AM |
| Wednesday—11:00AM |
| Saturday—10:00AM |
| Sewickley |
| Wednesday—11:00AM |
| Thursday—10:00AM |
| Thursday—1:15AM |
| Saturday—10:00AM |
The Classical Program
This highly acclaimed method of talent training is designed for children who have completed one year of the Twinklers class in the ECM Program. Parents participate fully in their child’s education by attending each technique lesson and learning to play the instrument along with their child. Additionally, parents are taught how to reinforce the skills they learn at school so that they can make the most of their practice time at home.
A CYM Classical student participates in a 50 minute Group Class as well as a private Technique Lesson each week. The Group Class teaches listening and collaborative skills and provides important music theory instruction. Students learn to support one another and have fun while making music.
The private Technique Lesson provides the one-on-one attention between student and teacher needed to progress with the student’s instrument of choice.
The American Legends Program
This program is designed for families who want a more “child-driven” approach to their music education. A CYM Classical student participates in a 50 minute Group Class and (optional) private Technique Lesson each week. The Group Class teaches listening and collaborative skills and provides important music theory instruction. Students may also choose to study an instrument in a private Technique Lesson. They may choose from a wide range of literature under the guidance of their teacher, and repertoire choices are tailored to suit the student’s preference. Students in the American Legends Program are welcome to incorporate the Suzuki Literature and Philosophy, but they are not limited to it.
Students ages 5-6 begin at Level 1, 6-7 at Level 2, and 7-8 at Level 3
| Class Offerings |
| L1—Wexford |
| Monday—4:20PM |
| Wednesday—3:20PM |
| Saturday—11:00AM |
| L1—Sewickley |
| Wednesday—3:20PM |
| Saturday—11:00AM |
| L2—Wexford |
| Friday—6:00PM |
| Saturday—11:10AM |
| L2—Sewickley |
| Tuesday—3:40PM |
| Saturday—12:00AM |
| L3—Wexford |
| Wednesday—7:10PM |
Connections
Students age 9 and up may join the Connections Pro-
gram wherein they take a private technique lesson each week as well as participate in a Group Class. This pro-
gram is open to beginners as well as students trans-
ferring from other programs or private instructors. Outreach Concerts and special events provide additional performance opportunities for students in this program.
| Class Offerings |
| Wexford |
| Friday—4:00PM |
| Saturday—10:00AM |
| Sewickley |
| Tuesday—4:30PM |
At CYM, prospective families are encouraged to come in to one of our locations for a casual interview. The purpose of this meeting is to get to know more about your family's specific musical needs and answer any questions you may have. We also use this time to provide you with an information packet and reserve a four week trial period so you and your child can experience what CYM has to offer.
Send an email to info@youngmusicians.org or call 724-935-0505 to schedule your visit—we look forward to seeing you!
Thank you for your interest in the Center for Young Musicians and for visiting our Website. We’d love to have you visit our school in person to learn more about how we can help your child develop a meaningful, life-long relationship with music. Many families think that CYM fosters students for a career in music, but that is actually not our primary intention. We have numerous goals for our students:
Early Childhood Music Students—We help these children develop music literacy skills, social skills, and discipline, and most importantly, we provide an intimate, structured environment for parents to learn more about their children’s learning styles and interests. Plus, our classes are light-hearted and fun.
Classical Students—We nurture these students to master a classical instrument, either piano, violin, cello, viola or guitar. These students become accomplished players, and from this group, we do expect some career musicians. For the most part, however, these families appreciate the integrity, structure and opportunities that we provide for their developing young adults. Our performance at the White House in 2006 is the perfect example of the type of opportunity that we aim to provide.
American Legends Students—We intend for these young people to internalize the rich legacy of American Music, and to utilize their music ability to create a wonderful new sound in American Music, expressing our community’s belief that our young people hold the key to a beautiful new tomorrow.
We look forward to hearing from you to learn more about how we can help you realize your goals for your precious young people.
CYM violinists performed to much acclaim at Heinz Hall! Thanks to all the performers and their families for preparing for and attending these performances. Each student was a vital part of the success of the whole! Check out our Facebook page to see a video of the January 31 group perform the Twinkle Variations. Unfortunately the extremely snowy weather and state of emergency in Allegheny County necessitated the cancellation of our February 5 and 6 performances.
Families with tickets to attend the cancelled PSO performance can use their tickets to attend any upcoming BNY Mellon Grand Classics concerts, such as the March 5 and 7 concert with Jonathan Biss performing the Brahms Piano Concerto no. 2. The PSO will also be performing Haydn Symphony no. 56 in C Major and San Francesco di Paola from Legendes by Liszt in what promises to be a great concert!.

Thank you to Elsa Lagerquist, William Davis, Julia Solomon, Manus McGinnis, and Lochlan McGinnis for your great performance of the National Anthem at Master Zang’s Tae Kwon Do Studio break-a-thon! Our student performers, led by Alicia McGinnis, kicked off an exciting benefit Break-AThon, where the Tae Kwon Do students found sponsors and broke boards for charity. This year, the studio is raising funds for the local charity “Going Home Greyhounds,” an organization that rescues greyhound racing dogs for families to adopt. Master Zang, the Zang Tae Kwon Do students, and even the greyhounds, were delighted by our participation, and some of our performers even broke boards! Congratulations, everyone, on a job well done!

Eight year-old Alison Shifflett has taken practicing to a whole new level, completing 1,000 straight days of practicing. Says her teacher, Ms. Michelle, “The Shiffletts are a joy to work with—they have good attitudes, support each other, and are a lot of fun. Alison made me smile the other day when she told me that she ‘might take the day off’ after reaching the 1000-day mark!” Alison’s discipline serves as an example for us all.



