Building a music program

What do you do when a new program doesn’t take off? When Shelly Chapman, senior services event coordinator for The City of Auburn Hills in Michigan started the Exploring Music Series, there were only a few participants. However, encouraged by a motivated supporter, Chapman grew the program from a start of only six people to over 50 participants.

Once a month, the Exploring Music Series features a presenter who teaches about music or entertains. Examples are a college professor who explained the differences among instruments and a session on identifying sounds while listening to music played on a tape recorder. A goal was to explore music using all the senses, plus relate music to feelings and memories.