Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Trevino-Godfrey.
Ana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My journey as a musician in Houston started in 1998 when I moved to Houston to study at Rice University. After completing a graduate degree there, I helped co-found an early music enable known today as Mercury: The Orchestra Redefined. I sang many concerts with Mercury in Houston and abroad. After the birth of our first child, Isabella- I started teaching early childhood music classes. It all started in a co-op of like-minded parents with a strong interest in Montessori education. I went back to school in 2002 to begin a doctorate degree at Rice. I was still singing many concerts, teaching our co-op group, and was a full-time student at Rice. Upon completing my course work studies, I started teaching children bilingual songs. I started with 7 families. I searched for professional development (a real love of mine) and found Music Together, a research-based music and movement program that is taught all over the world! Music Together was started by Ken Guilmartin and Lili Levinowitz. Sadly, I suffered a miscarriage during the training. Little did I know that while there was major loss in me, the birth of a new life was taking place within me. That new life was teaching Music Together. Once I found Music Together, my passion for early childhood music education and for building community grew! Our classes grew rapidly. In January 2008, I suffered another major loss and my life was at risk. I had an emergency surgery that changed my life forever. I was expecting two children, and lost one of them. The pain and grief from losing a child that I never held made me grow up in an instant. My prayer and wish was for our son, Sebastian to make it. And he did. On July 14, 2008, our son was born. I finished my doctorate at Rice when Sebastian was 9 months old.
Why do I share this? Because a near death experience often wakes one up. I realized how grateful I was to be alive, and felt a calling for service through music. I realized performing was not the way for me to fulfill my calling. I gave up one of my careers (singing professionally) and really focused on serving families and helping them bond with their children through the power of music. My daily job shares joy, peace, light, family love, and harmony. I love my work and the people I work with! I often say that I have the best job on planet earth!
Prelude now has 17 teachers. We hire whole-hearted people who love children and music and feel a “calling” to do this work. I must say, our growth has been rapid thanks to wonderful teachers, and the support and co-directing of my husband, Jonathan Godfrey who runs the business side of Prelude. It is as if he is the brain of Prelude, and I am the heart. The teachers are organs. Music Together and each family we serve is the soul.
Together, we have built a place where families can bond with their children, learn about early childhood development, and where everyone feels like they belong and matter. We do this through MUSIC.
We have served over 10,000 families in the greater Houston area. In 2014, we opened a second location in The Woodlands, TX. This fall, we are happy to report we are opening another dedicated location in Sugar Land.
In 2015, we started a non-profit called the Prelude Music Foundation. We felt the urge to share the cognitive, social emotional, physical and language development that comes for our classes with underserved communities. We also wanted to share the joy that music brings with people who could not afford it. We believe all children are musical, and all children deserve to have music in their lives! We are currently serving 850 children every week in their school. These children receive weekly music class, their teachers receive professional development, and we provide parent education and materials at their family engagement concerts. We now have a partnership with the Houston Symphony. Their community embedded musicians join us at every concert and play twice a year in every classroom we serve. It has been a wonderful collaboration that has touched the lives of many children.
Our goal is to continue to grow stronger communities through music both through Prelude Music Classes and the Prelude Music Foundation.
In January 2016, Music Together invited me to begin a year-long process of training to be a trainer. I am honored to say I am now a Music Together Worldwide trainer, and will be helping future teachers spread the joy of music-making worldwide. I hope to plant many seeds the way Ken Guilmartin planted a seed in me at my training.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been smooth. It has been a wild ride that has made realize what really matters to me.
During times of struggle, I focused on gratitude and on my mission to serve others through music.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
At Prelude Music Classes for Children we teach many different types of classes:
– Babies Only Classes. The class is really for the PARENTS of children 8 months and younger. We show them how to use music in their daily lives to connect with their baby, show them multi-sensory ways of exploring with music, and teach them the natural predictable stages of music development with babies.
– Family Music Classes. This class is for the entire family- that could be a mom with an infant, or two parents with their 3 children, or grandparents, or all of the above! Younger children learn from the older children. Every grownup in the room is highly encouraged to participate. When you have a room full of vulnerable grownups singing and dancing, community is built right away! Many of our families have made strong friendships in class. We’ve even heard of families traveling together after they met in our class. We teach a variety of songs with many different meters and tonalities to help children achieve basic music competence, that is to have the ability to sing in tune in any key and move with accurate rhythm. This learned achievement takes time, and we know that the first six years of life is the optimal time to introduce a child to music and help them achieve basic music competence through PLAY.
– Guitar for Grownups- we teach grownups how to play the songs we sing in class using one finger chords and more advanced methods are they learn more. The parent has a chance to be a rock star at home!
– Generations class! This is one of the most beautiful classes ever!! Imagine a room with people ages 0 to 100 making Music Together! I often have to wipe a tear from my eye from the joy in the room. We have a relationship with Brookdale Senior Living Galleria. Their Kazoo ensemble has even joined us at community concerts, and concerts for underserved communities through the Prelude Foundation. This class is for all.
– We recently started Rhythm Kids for children ages 4 and older. This is a drumming, singing, and movement class. This is the perfect class for an older child who want to sing, play, and work on rhythm. We have an extraordinary staff teaching this class in all locations.
– Canta y Baila Conmigo- our new Spanish immersion music program for Spanish learners and native Spanish speakers. The program has music from many different Spanish speaking countries. It is a wonderful class with great music that helps children and grownups learn Spanish. It feels like a great FIESTA.
We specialize in early childhood music education.
We are most proud of our staff. From Margaret, our office manager to the newest Prelude teacher, everyone is committed and gives 110%. We have really built a community and see Prelude families all over Houston. Our teachers see Prelude families everywhere! It’s wonderful to see how we are all connected through the love of children and music! We hear Music Together songs all over Houston!
What were you like growing up?
Music has always been my passion. In many ways, music has helped me heal from difficult circumstances. Growing up I always wanted to be teacher. I had dreams of turning my Abuela’s home into a school where I could teach dance. She had a huge bathroom (biggest bathroom I’ve ever seen) and I had dreams of starting a class there. I’m grateful we are not in a bathroom, but in a beautiful dedicated space for music-making.
I always loved making music. I finished high school at a boarding school for the arts: Interlochen Arts Academy. The best gift my parents ever gave me was letting me go to Interlochen Arts Camp and then the Academy as a teenager.
I have been an entrepreneur since I can remember. I remember selling “American candy” in Mexico when I was in 4th grade! When my family moved to Buffalo, NY, I had a teenage job distributing newspapers in the weekend in an apartment complex. Then I had a job dog sitting. I started teaching music lessons in Cleveland, OH while attending the Cleveland Institute of Music. Upon arriving in Houston, I had a voice studio right away.
I have always loved teaching. I learn so much when I teach. I believe in lifelong learning. I love to learn!
Contact Info:
- Address: Prelude Music Classes for Children
Houston- 3701 W. Alabama, Suite 210
Sugar Land- 3425 Highway 6 South, Suite 107
The Woodlands- 7901 Research Forest Dr., Suite 400 - Website: www.preludechildren.com
- Phone: 832-803-7701
- Email: info@preludechild.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preludemusicclasseshtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preludemusicclasses/
Image Credit:
Monica Rhodes (all the class photos)
Sofia van der Dys (headshots of Ana)
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