My daughter started taking voice lessons from Katie Marino Crist about 4 years ago at the age of 7. Katie was in the early stages of developing her vision of The Music Box. My daughter was a very shy and self-conscious child early on. Katie gave my daughter positive and enthusiastic feedback every lesson. She helped her to fine tune her vocal skills while at the same time encouraged her to gain the confidence to reveal her voice to all. My daughter frequently became discouraged from most every creative or active outlet we tried for her, except for voice lessons with Katie at The Music Box. Katie who is the studio director at The Music Box is one of the most professional, positive and enthusiastic people I have ever met and is an exceptional role model for my daughter. As the visionary of The Music Box, she leads her fellow instructors in the same direction. The facility is brand new and state of the art with a recording studio. Once a year, my daughter was given the opportunity to record her song of choice the annual album. The experience of recording is very exciting and fun. Many times I am invited in to experience the recording or a lesson and most of the time brought to tears to hear and see my daughter’s joy and confidence expressed through music. Accordingly, my daughter is encouraged and given the opportunity to sing at public venues several times a year. These performances have been so instrumental in building confidence and character with my daughter. Most recently she was invited to perform vocally with another student learning piano with Jason Bailey who is also a very positive and talented instructor with The Music Box. We coordinated rehearsals together and each student encouraged each other along the way. These performances have become like a tradition in our family, in a way a celebration. All together Katie and The Music Box is a most creative and supportive community for my daughter. As a mother I feel that nurturing confidence in my daughter is such an important aspect of her learning as a whole. This is sometimes overlooked in academics. I really cannot say enough wonderful things about The Music Box. We are so grateful and looking forward to many more years with them!