About us
Hi, my name is Julia White, and I have been teaching music in the Valley for over 33 years. I have a passion for watching children develop their musical ability as well as encouraging movement and incorporating elements of nature into my workshops.
As a community-oriented studio, Young Artists Music Studio, or YAMS, aspires to promote the positive values of music by bringing families, neighbors, and friends together, inspiring all to embrace the gift of music. Classes are paced according to age and include singing, dancing, instruments, partner games, circle games, pitch matching, and parent-child interaction. Children and parents will feel they are part of something especially remarkable!
I hope you will join our family at YAMS!
Every musical lesson is passed down from Julia’s family to yours.
YAMS History
YAMS, formerly Kindermusik, was founded in 1989 by Julia J. White. In the past 33 years Julia has offered:
Musical Babies (Birth - 16 months/parent or caregiver) 30 minute class
Musical Beginnings (1 1/2 - 3 1/2 years old/parent or caregiver) 30 minute class
Growing with Music (3 1/2 - 5 years old/parent or caregiver) 40 minute class
Around the World pre-piano class (5 - 6 years old/parent or caregiver), 50 minute class
Pre-piano lessons (6-7 years old) 25 minute lesson
Private piano lessons (ages 7-12) for 30, 40, or 50 minutes depending on level
Preschool workshops for preschool teachers
Class observation for area university music education students
Pipe Organ Festival, "Father Bach Meets Kids" for young children
Special events for children in the community: Young Artists Recitals, trips to hear concerts, and much more!
Our mission is to foster a love of learning in your little ones, through creative lesson plans and active music classes.
“A musical education has the power to inspire children for a lifetime.”
— Julia, Founder of YAMS
Julia White
Julia began the Young Artists Music Studio (formerly Shenandoah Kindermusik) in 1989 in Staunton and Harrisonburg and has taught infants through age seven for 33 years. She is the originator of the young children's music program at Eastern Mennonite University (1991-1996).
Credentials
Bachelor of Music: DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
Master of Music: Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ
Certified and licensed in Kindermusik and Musikgarten
Level I and II certification in Kodaly
Long-term study abroad in Vienna, Austria, and London, England
Co-director of the JMU Scotland Study abroad (five terms) and JMU London semester abroad (two terms)
Affiliations
Member of Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA)
Member of Virginia Music National Teachers Association (VMNTA), Harrisonburg Chapter
Community Involvement
Preschool music workshops and other programs in the community including:
Creator: "Father Bach Meets Kids" pipe organ program
Creator: Week of the Young Child Festival music class
Teacher: Rockingham Memorial Hospital's Child Care Connection Classes
Teacher Trainer: Development of Preschool Music Curriculum for preschool teachers through EMU Early Learning Center
Honors & Awards
Governor's School Award Recipient in Richmond in 1998 and 2000
Received the Distinguished Artist-in-Residence title at Eastern Mennonite University in 2003
Children's Honor Choir Director for the American Choral Directors Association Western Division in Anaheim, CA ('08)
Director of the National Children's Choir for the Organization of Kodaly Educators in Denver, Colorado ('08)
Honors choir Director in Wisconson, Connecticut, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia
Virginia Girlchoir
Artistic Director and founder 2014-16
Julia, along with Marie Masincup, founded the non-profit Virginia Girlchoir in Fishersville, VA to provide a place for local girls to receive advanced music education & performance. In two years the Girlchoir served nearly sixty girls and performed at National Presbyterian Church, Washington DC, Trinity Episcopal Church, Staunton, and First Presbyterian Church, Waynesboro. Invitations included festivals at Carnegie Hall, NYC, and the pre-Olympic games in Japan in 2017.
Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir
Artistic Director and founder:
Julia celebrated her twentieth year as founder and Artistic Director of the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir (SVCC) of Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 2012. Under her direction, the SVCC included nearly 225 children ages 6-17 in three auditioned choirs and two young children’s classes. Under her direction, the choir performed at the following Invitationals:
The American Choral Directors Association Southern Division conferences ('00, '02, '06, '12)
The Virginia Music Educators Association conferences ('96, '98, '04, '08)
Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Conference ('01 as headline choir, '09)
The White House ('99 and '11)
Pageant of Peace National Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington D.C. with Placido Domingo and the National Coast Guard Band ('97)
Tuscany International Children's Choir Festival ('01) in Italy
Carnegie Hall Children's Choir Festival ('98, '07, '12)
Pacific Rim Children's Chorus Festival ('05, '09) in Hawaii
Performance for the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence Awards Ceremony at James Madison University for Archbishop Desmond Tutu ('07)
Additional choir performances:
For former President Jimmy Carter ('09) at JMU for Gandhi Awards
With The Washington Symphonic Brass Quintet ('03, '06, '09, '11)
With the James Madison University Percussion Ensemble ('11) and JMU
With American Boychoir (6 times, 1994 -2010)
