“Fein Enjoys Creating ‘Musical Community at Chandler - Lois Fein is a woman on a mission —  she’s passionate about the importance of parents making music with their children. Born in Brooklyn, Fein grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, N.Y. “I kept moving farther away from New York City, and ended up in Vermont!” she said with a grin. “I came here as an adult. Our family has had connections to this area for 30 years. My mother lived on Gilead Brook Road in Bethel for a long time.” After graduating from Harvard College, she became an educator and spent 27 years teaching high school, middle school, and elementary school students; most recently at a school in San Francisco, working with infants through fifth graders. “That school sent me to Reggio Emilia, Italy to study early childhood education and I became fascinated with the earliest ages,” she explained. “I’m thrilled to be focusing on how parents and their young children can make music together. When I took the classes to be able to teach ‘Music Together,’ it was a revelation for me that the parents are your students, too. I want them to be comfortable making and sharing music with their children at home.” Fein is currently leading music classes for children ages infant through five-year-olds, and their parents, grandparents, or caregivers on Monday mornings in the Esther Mesh Room at Chandler Music Hall on Main Street in Randolph. Participants have a 45-minute class once a week, get a songbook and two CDs (“one for the car and one for home” she explained), and have access to a Music Together “family music zone” online, as an educational resource for parents. “When I came back from that two-week study tour in Reggio Emilia, I was describing their approach to education to my mom, and she summarized it this way: ‘It’s about recognizing and honoring the intelligence of very young children,’” Fein said. “That, for me, is what ‘EarthSONG presents Music Together’ is all about — to be able to share this music with parents, grandparents, and caregivers, so that they feel comfortable making music with their children.”   Fein explained that the Music Together program, which was first offered to the public in 1987, was developed from research based on how children naturally develop musically and strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement. A friend of hers, Ken Guilmartin, who is the founder and director of Music Together LLC, created nine collections of music, covering a variety of genres, and including original arrangements of music from around the world. “The space in the Esther Mesh Room at Chandler is fantastic,” Fein said. “Katie Trautz and Emily Crosby have been so welcoming and they were so happy that I wanted to do music there. I love that it has lots of light and a beautiful wood floor, a kitchen area for a snack, and the parents and grandparents get to meet each other. We’re creating a little village—a new community.” “I looked around at a recent class and saw a one-year-old mesmerized by my hands playing the guitar; a mother beaming at her child and her child beaming back at her; and two children leaning into each other as they enjoyed the music,” she said. “I thought, ‘this is the peaceable kingdom,’” Fein added. “In my heart of hearts, that’s what I want. EarthSONG is about caring for and loving the Earth, because we’re part of it. That’s what I want to share with the community — Vermont is my heart song.” Back in 2006, Fein recorded a CD, a collection of 15 original songs called “Step Into the Water,” marking the occasion with a release party at Randolph’s Three Bean Café. She also dreams of creating what she calls “a family-friendly Full Moon Band Night" for all ages that would happen on the night of the full moon. It’s like a hootenanny — bring a kazoo, car keys, instruments — kids love it! I want to have the first one in January, hopefully at Chandler. “I also would love to bring in an Italian educator I met who gave a program called ‘The Road of Notes.’ Another goal of mine is to turn one of my favorite children’s books into a musical show, and I also want to create a Windsinger Orchestra using 24 Windsinger instruments.” EarthSONG’s Music Together classes will continue... For more information, call Fein at 206-818-8078, email earthsongvt@gmail.com or visit www.EarthSong.earth.” - Martha Slater