Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Speech

Some people have asked what I said in my speech, so I thought I'd post it here:

Good morning. I am Melissa Dawson and I’m the owner of Forest City Music Studio. I opened the studio in the fall of 2004 with just nine students the first semester. At this time, with the help of 8 teachers, we are reaching over 175 students each week. Our students range in age, from newborn babies in our Kindermusik program, to adults in private lessons.

Children aged newborn to seven years participate in our Kindermusik classes with their caregivers. A typical class includes singing, instruments, dancing, finger plays, exploration time, books, pretend play and more. We use music and movement activities to enhance overall development of the child, including physical, emotional, social, cognitive, language, and of course, musical development. A large part of our goal in the Kindermusik classroom is to teach parents how they can use music to engage their children at home.

Also, we currently offer private piano, voice, and guitar lessons. As demand increases, we will offer lessons for other instruments, as well. During private lessons, the teacher meets the individual needs and learning styles of each student. We especially enjoy the one-on-one relationships we’re able to build during individual lessons.

Our mission is to use our God-given gifts and passions to provide students and families quality music education with excellence, enhance human development, and create a life-long love of music.

Most of the teachers at Forest City Music Studio either teach in public or private schools, or are professional musicians. Two of our teachers were able to be here today. I’d like to introduce Krisinte Fritz and Jenniffer Keip.

We are so excited to be moved into our new location. The potential to serve more families is incredible and we’re looking forward to reaching even more students with quality music education. We are finding that during these difficult economic times, parents are choosing to make sacrifices elsewhere, to keep their children in our programs. We are honored to be part of the revitalization of Colonial Village Mall and more importantly, to be tenants of Heartland. We’re so thankful for our new landlord.

We will be hosting an Open House tomorrow night from 6:00-8:00. Everyone is invited to attend. Thank you for coming today. We look forward to sharing our new studio with you, the community of Rockford.