Sol La Ti’s Music Together in Morningside Heights
In the summer of 1997, as a jazz vocalist with a strong background in dance, Gabriele Tranchina was searching for a way to share her knowledge with the next generation. At the suggestion of a close friend, she attended a training program to become a Music Together® Teacher.
Upon completion of the training, Ms. Tranchina was approved for a license to open a Music Together® classes in Morningside Heights on 114 St and Broadway. The first class consisted of 7 families. From that point on, the number of families steadily increased.
In 1999, Tiana Norgren, of the Children’s Play Club of Morningside Gar
dens, approached Gabriele with the prospect of holding Saturday classes there.
Together with the MG Play Club group, Sol La Ti’s Music Together has been able to offer classes to the MG residents on Saturdays at a discounted price.
The Saturday morning classes have been ongoing, enabling families of moderate income to enjoy this highly educational program with their children.
To find out how Sol La Ti got started and lived through 9/11 and more: HERE.
Sol La Ti’s Music Together in Harlem
Harlem community was in need of a location further uptown. Hence, a third location was started in the Spring of 2003 at the Harlem School of the Arts.
Judith Insell, a Harlem parent, musician and educator made possible this wonderful connection for the community of Hamilton Heights.
In 2015 another Harlem location was added at the Church of the Master in Central Harlem.
Sol La Ti’s Music Together Outreach in Harlem
Over the years Ms Tranchina has successfully partnered with organizations to help bring Music Together to families of lower income. Budding Blossoms Daycare, a Harlem based day care, Sheltering Arms Headstart program in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership were among such partnerships.
Sol La Ti Music has enabled many families of lower and moderate income to receive scholarships and work scholarships at her own expense. During the pandemic she opened a scholarship fund and many families donated to help out others who were in need. We especially thank Katherine Fox and her mom who fully sponsored twins for 2 years and Cynthia Hanawalt for their very generous donations.
New Offerings
Aside from MT Preschool Model, Music Together teamed up with Tom Foote and his Rhythm Kids™ in 2015. Together they created 
a wonderful addition to the regular Music Together classes for children ages 4-5 and 6-7. Sol La Ti’s Music Together is proud to be offering the PreRhythm kids classes at our BPC location.
In the summer of 2016, Music Together added a Spanish immersion program to its offerings called Cantar Y Baila Conmigo.
Our Goal
As one of the smaller centers in Manhattan, the emphasis of Sol La Ti Music is a very personal one.
The Sol La Ti team is interested in tightening the community bond, helping to create a feeling of a cozy neighborhood within the Big Apple.
Many play dates and friendships start in class, and parents and caregivers feel welcome in a comfortable and relaxed setting.
We are proud to say that the families who join our locations successfully understand the value of active participation in class. Their joyful contributions enable us to hold great classes. This wonderful class experience, accompanied by the reinforcement of the songs at home, results in the children finding joy in music, dance and music making. This joy can follow them for a lifetime. We hope to help our next generation to become active music makers, more aware of the quality of music and its diversity.
