Singers Share Music & Add Art to the Score
Highland Magazine June 2004   - A. M. Wilks

Accomplished opera singer Mark Biesterfeld was performing in a production in his college years and also covertly (with hidden earphones) listening to a Final Four basketball championship game at the same time.  He laughs and says, “It was probably the most exciting evening of opera in my entire life.  With only seconds left in both that production of Carmen and the final seconds of that basketball game happening at the same time.”

Mark’s wife Leah Creek is also an accomplished opera singer and laughs as she tells of the time she arrived in New York for a prestigious competition with only the dress she was wearing on the airplane. Her luggage got lost so no gown for the competition, and the stress of possibly having to compete in one of the most honored competitions in the world without her chosen gown. Leah says, “It had a happy ending. I was chosen as one of the ten winners, found my luggage in time for the competition and performed on stage of the Metropolitan Opera with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.”

Ever wonder what people do who sing opera professionally do if they want to retire from the constant traveling that career often requires? Many turn to teaching voice or living in a large metropolitan area that supports opera. This couple who live in Wheat Ridge have transitioned their careers into an innovative business that utilizes their love of and talent with music.

Mark Biesterfeld and Leah Creek took an intensive training program called Music Together, when they were living in Philadelphia. They had started a family and realized their priorities were changing. Mark is quick to relate how profoundly the training program affected Leah. He says, “She had a strong reaction to the training.” Leah said, “I haven’t connected with music like that in years, even being an opera singer. The life changing moment was when I went back to the basics of how children can learn about music.” 

They moved back to Colorado last year, (Mark is a Colorado native) and started their Petite Musician business. Currently, they have three convenient locations near their home in Wheat Ridge and their programs of music, movement and art are being well received. 

The Music Together program was developed in 1985 and has been proven to be a successful method that gives children the opportunity to learn about and enjoy music, music with movement, and music with art. They can attend the sessions with a parent, both parents, a sibling, grandparents, day care providers, etc. The beauty of this program is that the learning can start when they are infants or toddlers, long before schools or traditional methods are usually available.

 The Petite Musician centers are located inside local church buildings are not associated with the congregations.  A recent addition to the programs is integrating art with music. The focus is to inspire music with art and inspire art with music. Movement has always been an integral part of Music Together, but the effort to bring art into the mix is a new endeavor. 

A common element in the program is parental (or whoever decides to attend with a child) participation. This is best achieved with the primary caregiver of the child, but can be a great experience for both child and someone else important to the child or children. The sessions are very communal experiences, with all participants reacting joyfully with teachers, the other children, and the other caregivers all together. Then the most wonderful result is that this learning goes home with the participants and is usually recreated in the home environment and continued as children get older.

 This summer session is starting in mid June and is shorter than the regular sessions in the fall, winter and spring.  Anyone interested in the program is encouraged to come and observe to see if it is something they would enjoy. Cost for the program is reasonable, is per child and one pair or several caregivers can attend with each child.

Besides the bonding that results from participating in the program, many of the children become very musical. This will hopefully encourage them to start playing an instrument or join a chorale group in school, which is proven to be beneficial to all children in the form of higher grades in math and science.