My name is Catherine Olson and I am delighted to have a chance to meet you and your child/children!  I took my first Music Together class when our first daughter was under a year old.  We loved the community, musical learning, and of course the fun!  A couple of years later, I decided to quit my full time job to stay home.  I then trained to become a Music Together teacher. I had a great year, in St. Paul, MN, meeting wonderful families and sharing the joy of music with each other. We've since moved to the Madison area and have two more children. The bittersweet time of seeing my last child go off to school opened up an opportunity to start teaching again.  My mother helped instill the love of making music in our family, teaching piano lessons in our home, and entertaining us with the piano, banjo, and accordion. I play the piano and played the trombone during my school years.  I look forward to meeting you and helping instill the joy of music making in your family!

Julie has enjoyed a lifelong love of music, and singing in particular. Growing up in a musical home, there was always some form of music, be it singing, experimenting with instruments (and pots and pans!), listening to recordings, attending concerts, taking Suzuki piano lessons, or performing in ensembles. Julie’s undergraduate focus was on Music and Speech Communication, and she holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology, a background that greatly informs her approach to parenting and teaching. Now the mother of two young children, Gabriel and Elena, Julie is thrilled to have discovered what she calls "the magic of Music Together". What she found particularly exciting and compelling about the Music Together approach is that the curriculum does so much more than foster music-making. It marries the joyful fun  and expression of music with building and strengthening the parent-child bond, all of which have an incredibly powerful and positive impact not only in childhood but on one's entire life. “This program is such a gift, and I'm deeply grateful to share it with my family and yours!" Julie believes music to be a nourishing experience as well as a healthy outlet for adults and children alike. "Whether you have a background in music or you have never sung a note, we will have an amazing time making music together!"

After finishing my undergraduate degree in vocal performance and sociology at Indiana University, I taught music to young children with and without disabilities in Seattle before shifting to work full time with students with autism and other developmental disabilities. I went on to earn my master's in special education from the University of Washington and taught early childhood and elementary special education for several years before returning to school for my PhD. That eventually brought me to Madison, where I have been a Professor of Special Education since 2012.

Along the way, my own Music Together journey began — as a mom, taking classes with my children Caroline and Abby first in Chicago and then here in Madison. I spent those years thinking "I could do that," and in 2026 I finally took the plunge and trained as a Music Together teacher.

While teaching about inclusive education is deeply rewarding, being a Music Together teacher brings me back to the direct work with children and families that I love. I can't wait to share the magic of early childhood music development in a class where all children and families can experience the joy of music!