A Child’s Song (ACS), founded in 1999, is a Denver Metro-based 501(c)(3) organization committed to ensuring equitable access to impactful music programs for individuals of all ages and abilities, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location.
While ACS provides engaging studio classes and lessons, much of our musical reach extends far beyond the walls of our studio. We actively engage with the community in diverse settings and locations throughout the Denver Metro Area, currently impacting over 1500 clients each month with the transformative power of music.
Within our dedicated studio space, ACS fosters a nurturing environment where musical exploration and growth are cultivated. Weekday mornings resonate with the popular Melody Gym program, an early childhood music and movement class that draws families from across the Denver Metro area. As the school day concludes, the studio becomes a hub for individual and group instruction across a variety of instruments, led by passionate instructors.
Central to ACS’s philosophy is the belief in music’s profound ability to foster holistic development, facilitate healing, and build community, prioritizing these outcomes over competitive achievement. ACS remains dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals of all ages and abilities, promoting unity within families and communities, and overcoming socioeconomic barriers through the magical influence of music, both within our studio and throughout the wider Denver Metro community.
In 1999, Charles and Sandy Taylor established A Child’s Song (ACS) to address a recognized community need for both high-caliber musical training and evidence-based music programs tailored to support the unique learning styles of young individuals. Sandy Taylor’s expertise in child development and music education, combined with Charles Taylor’s background as a musician and innovative instrument maker, provided the founders with a distinctive approach to music education.
The Taylors’ deep commitment to family significantly shaped the structure and mission of ACS. As parents of eight adopted children, grandparents of eight (including four adopted), and having fostered over 35 children, many with developmental and emotional complexities, they directly observed the significant positive impact of music and movement on brain development and cognitive function.
Initially founded as a for-profit entity, ACS transitioned to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2003. This strategic shift was undertaken to cultivate greater community engagement and to support the long-term vision of the Taylors and the ACS Board of Directors. A primary objective of this transition was to facilitate financial assistance, ensuring that all children and families, irrespective of their economic circumstances, could access the benefits of music education.
How A Child’s Song Began…
How it’s going 25 years later!!
“At A Child’s Song, we believe that Music Changes Lives. Music education doesn’t just teach notes and rhythms; it unlocks the symphony of life, reshaping minds, mending hearts, and crafting a harmony that transcends barriers and changes lives.”
A Child’s Song nurtures an appreciation for music while providing programs and education to share the developmental, healing, and social-emotional benefits of music for children and adults.
Our Values:
Throughout the past 25 years, the nonprofit’s greatest goal has been to respond to community requests for music outreach and instruction, and to pivot and remain flexible enough to provide instruction in some of the most challenging situations, such as foster care and COVID-19 restrictions. ACS provides music classes and innovative therapies through early childhood programs, school/community outreach, and individual/group instrument instruction. Quality, affordable music education is vitally important in preparing children for success and academic achievement as they encounter a world with more challenges and fewer resources.
ACS’s Music Outreach program’s goal is to bring music education and movement opportunities that foster hope and joy to youth in under-served communities, by partnering with a variety of community and public organizations. To do so, ACS partners with: under-funded Title 1 schools (including Meadow, York International, and Welby) in Adams County, Colorado to provide music education during the school day and through after-school programs; Shiloh House facilities in five counties in Colorado that serve foster youth; and one community-led arts alliance for group keyboard/guitar instruction and positive youth development programming for Latinx youth in Northglenn, Colorado. Additional goals of the program include: 1) providing sustained music instruction of 45 minutes to one hour per week to encourage true mastery with the hope that youth will continue music instruction throughout their lifetime; 2) providing instruments for under-resourced youth for use at home to encourage practice and family participation; 3) reducing the impact of trauma and increasing emotional healing through music exploration; and 4) providing needs-based scholarships for students to pursue individual instruction at the ACS Studio if desired.
We believe passionately in the power of music to change the lives of all youth, enriching their education, and changing the way they engage with the world. We also believe that all children, regardless of their ability to pay, should have the opportunity for music exploration. The pandemic illuminated the deep divide that exists between arts education opportunities enjoyed by privileged youth (often white youth) versus the almost non-existent opportunities open to their less-financially privileged peers (often youth of color). Privileged youth had access to individual lessons or online instruction during the pandemic; students with fewer resources had almost no programming.
