R & D Moves Ahead
So Ken added "associate editor" to his other occupations and began to explore the work of experts in both music education and early childhood. Inspired particularly by Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, Lilian Katz's research on children's acquisition of "dispositions" or life habits, and the music learning theory of Edwin Gordon, Ken founded the Center for Music and Young Children in 1985. The goal: to create a parent - child music and movement experience where children a) learned through playful, developmentally appropriate activities, and b) were supported by materials for home use and extensive parent education.

A Collaboration Begins
While attending a seminar with Edwin Gordon in 1986, Ken met Lili Levinowitz, one of Gordon's Ph.D. students at Temple University. Her innovative research focused on tonal and rhythm development in young children. Lili, now a professor of music education at Rowan University and director of research at CMYC, recalls, "About a year into my association with Ken, I gave birth to my son, Eli. My whole training with Gordon had been focused on how important it was in teaching music to consider how a child learns, rather than saying, this is how he should be taught. With Eli's birth I realized how important it was for me to be my son's primary musical influence, and I was eager to put my training into practice." Ken hired Lili to consult on his experiments at the Co-op School, and soon they began the collaboration that culminated in the creation of the Music Together materials and classroom techniques, first offered to the public in the fall of 1987.

From Editor to Entrepreneur
1989 brought dramatic changes. Warner Brothers bought Birch Tree, and CMYC and the fledgling Music Together program were on their own as the Music and Movement Center of Princeton. Ken the composer-turned-editor now added entrepreneur to his job description as he wrestled with the classic issues of a start-up operation: urgent needs and meagre resources. "I discovered that creating a business has a lot in common with putting a show together, that I'd been an entrepreneur all along," he says.

In the over 15 years that have followed those first classes, Music Together has grown to a nationally-taught, nationally-acclaimed program that has reached thousands of families in 36 states and several foreign countries. Preschools and day care centers everywhere have integrated Music Together songs and activities into their programs. Ken and Lili continue to train potential Music Together teachers, early childhood educators, parents, performers, and interested laypeople in seminars held in all corners of the USA.

Happy Birthday To You, Music Together!
Kenneth K. Guilmartin conceived and led the development of the innovative Music Together program for the Center for Music and Young Children, which he founded in 1985. He has composed numerous scores for off-Broadway and regional theatre productions and is a popular presenter of early childhood and music education conferences. He has created music programs and conducted teacher training for numerous early childhood centers nationwide. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he studied composition and pedagogy at Manhattan School of Music and is certified in Dalcroze Eurhythmics by the Manhattan Dalcroze Institute.

Lili M. Levinowitz, Ph.D., is a Professor of Music Education at Rowan University of New Jersey, (formerly Glassboro State College). She is a national authority on early childhood music and is actively involved in teaching very young children as well as graduate students. Her articles appear frequently in both professional journals and popular magazines. She received her Ph.D. from Temple University where she was director of the Children's Music Development Program.  (back)