I had my first ever voice lessons at Music of Oz in Crown Point. And now, 5 years later, I can honestly look back and thank myself for making that decision. From the minute you walk in the door, you are welcomed into a friendly warm environment and can immediately hear the music fill your ears. My teacher made me reach new levels in my voice by pushing me to have confidence in myself and to not be afraid of those high notes. Music of Oz is amazing, and the people there are awesome.”

Growing up as the middle child in a family of nine kids makes it difficult to find your voice. As the peacekeeper of our family, I would often acquiesce to whatever decision was most convenient for the group at large and hardly ever spoke my mind. It isn’t that I wasn’t encouraged to form my own opinions; just that I never learned how to express them in such a loud (very loving) household. I didn’t know how to make my voice heard.

When I was in sixth grade at St. Mary’s School in Crown Point, my choir director put on a musical cabaret tribute to the late, great Walt Disney. Even though I had never auditioned for a solo in my life, I was encouraged to try out for the Beauty and the Beast classic, “Tale as Old as Time,” and was selected to perform the song during our concert. That was it; I was hooked! Immediately after the concert ended, I begged my parents to allow me to take voice lessons so that I could continue my passion for performing in the Crown Point High School Choir and Theatre Department. Enter Becky Osborn, and what I came to cherish for more than a decade as my home away from home: Music of Oz.

The musical education I received at Music of Oz is unparalleled to any studio I have ever attended, although surprisingly it is not the most rewarding thing I gained from my years taking lessons at the studio. Becky, Pattie, and all the instructors treat their students like their own children, and the community they create feels much more like a family than a business. Under Becky’s masterful direction, I learned how to control my voice and tame my particularly energetic vibrato. She taught me how to train my voice to blend in with a choir as well as how to add individual style choices as a soloist. I learned how to interpret the lyrics much more than just reading words on a page and even gained valuable acting lessons that helped me earn lead roles in the Crown Point High School musical productions.

After graduating from CPHS, I went on to perform with the Purduettes, Purdue University’s premiere women’s vocal ensemble that is a part of Purdue Musical Organizations in West Lafayette. Even while I was away at college, any time I came home to visit I knew that I could drop into Music of Oz to say hello to Becky, and if she was available, have an impromptu vocal lesson or therapy session (whichever was more necessary at the time). I still stop into the studio every time I visit Crown Point because I know that she will always be there for me. She has become one of my closest friends and most respected role models. I am eternally grateful that I decided to audition for that solo in sixth grade, because it not only led me to Music of Oz, but to some of the finest music educators I have ever known and my life’s passion: singing.

I cannot speak highly enough of the musical education I received at Music of Oz and the lessons I learned from Becky Osborn and all the instructors. If you are considering music lessons for your son or daughter, then look no further than Music of Oz. You’ll find more than what you ever expected, and your child will find a home.”

We are so grateful to have found Music of Oz and the Wondermusic program. As our children have gone through the program, we have watched them enjoy a fun introduction to music as toddlers, and now as grade school students they have developed a true love and understanding of music.

We have had the privilege of watching many students in the program along with our three children, and it is always such a joy to see how excited the kids get as they move through the program and begin to blossom as musicians and people. Miss Pattie is absolutely wonderful, patient, and kind and as a result, her passion for music becomes instilled in all of her students.”

My life in music as a singer really began with Becky. I was just a 16-year-old kid with this ultra-low voice and no idea how to use it. I was shy, hadn’t really figured out who I was at all. Through working with Becky, I learned the foundations of how to build my voice, as well as how to use my voice to say what I wanted to say. Without her guidance, I never would have ended up studying voice at DePaul University, which opened the door to the world of opera in which I now live.

I am currently a regular member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, there are around 200 positions of this caliber in the country, and I know I wouldn’t have found my way to this point if it weren’t for the start I had with the start I had with the Music of Oz Studio and Becky. She was and is a mentor to me, and she has this incredible way of distilling issues to their simplest, most easily digestible form that will never cease to be of help to me. She showed me not to be afraid of voice, which has let my voice and my talent create the amazing life I have the fortune to live.”