“Jennifer has an uncommon drive and love of music that is truly infectious. After a short period, my 7 year old is already playing piano songs with two hands and demonstrating an understanding of chords, tempo, rhythm, and harmony. It is easy to find a piano teacher, but remarkably difficult to find a good one. Jennifer is very, very good at what she does.”
--Rich H.
--Rich H.
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Summer Registration is NOW OPEN!!!!!!
Summer Early Childhood Classes at Park Ridge Park District
**Now including up to age 5!!!**
Classes on Mondays & Thursdays!
Starting Monday, June 8, 2026!
Maine Park Leisure Center
Park Ridge
Session I: June 8-July 9
Session II: July 13-Aug 13
Register at the Park Ridge Park District website!
Email: [email protected] for more info
Register at the Park Ridge Park District website
or view page 60 of the Park District Summer Program Brochure
*Real-life-friendly: Make-ups for missed classes encouraged*
Upcoming FREE Family Concert!
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
6:00pm
Prospect Park
733 N Prospect Ave
Park Ridge, IL
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
6:00pm
Prospect Park
733 N Prospect Ave
Park Ridge, IL
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Send your: 1) Name and 2) Student's name and 3) grade, and 4) Demo you want to attend:
to [email protected] to sign up for a free trial!
Please visit each class's webpage for more info on those classes & Spring Session Schedule:
Group Piano Classes Early Childhood Classes
Amazing news...
I have just added this gorgeous baby grand piano to my home studio! All students at my home studio will get to play on it weekly, and we'll plan field trips for students at other locations to come and play!
Welcome! I'm so glad you're here!
I'm Jennifer McCormick, founder of Kitty-Orca Music & Piano!
Weird name for a business, right? It's an important part of my story:
I'm a professional opera and music theatre singer, and I LOVE sharing my passion, and I LOVE helping my students grow in confidence and skill. I've been doing just that for 17 years by performing, music directing, and teaching voice and piano lessons. I've sung, directed, and taught at music stores, middle schools, community centers, high schools, churches, you name it. When my own (amazing!) kids were born nine and six years ago, I found a way to balance my family life and my professional life, and I loved it!
Fast forward a few years...looking ahead to the time my own children would be in school full time, I knew that I wanted to find a way to continue working with kids, but also be with my own kiddos after school. I took training and fell in love with the Musikgarten classes. I knew that helping parents connect through with their babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and Kinders would be my chance to keep basking in the "baby glow," even though my kids are Big Kids now. And, by teaching groups of kids how to play the piano after school, I could live my dream of teaching my own children and their friends all the skills that have brought me such great joy!
So, what's in a name? Only the most important kids in my life! My own children have had their same favorite animals for the last 5 years. I bet you can guess which ones! I have hosted at least 3 orca-themed birthday parties, 3 kitty-themed birthday parties, and 3 Kitty-Orca-themed parties. What's a Kitty-Orca? Usually, it's an orca with cat ears and whiskers (check out the banner on my FAQ page). Sometimes it's a cat with an orca tail. Sometimes its a party with both orcas and cats.
What on earth does a Kitty-Orca have to do with music or parent/caregiver-child connection, though? Easy. Any parent will tell you that having a kid with a passion means you get to learn about their passion, too. Most people know that whales and dolphins sing--and so do orcas! In fact, each larger group of orca pods has its own unique language! The adults of the pod sing to their calves to pass on their language!!! Without this culture of song, there would be no orca language, and no communication. This is exactly what we do at Kitty-Orca Music & Piano Early Childhood Music Classes!
But Miss Jennifer, what about the Kitty part? Come on, you've all heard the Meow Mix commercials! I did try for years to teach my first cat, Giles, to sing that theme song, but no dice. So much for get-rich-quick schemes. But, do you know what a cat's favorite hobby is?
Making Mew-sic, of course!! 😹
It is my mission to make sure parents and kids have the opportunity to experience their own innate musicality! All humans are innately musical. Sometimes we humans can lose sight of our musicality, but I can tell you from experience that what once was lost can always be found! Every baby is born with the need to connect with the rest of humanity, especially their parents and caregivers. Through Early Childhood Classes at Kitty-Orca Music & Piano, I help parents and caregivers--grandparents, nannies, aunts, uncles, friends--connect with their beloved children in a way that reverberates throughout their lives. We are also a community where parents can connect with each other and start to build a village of friends for themselves and their children. It means a lot to have friends going through the same things you are, because raising kids is a big job!
Click here to learn about how our Early Childhood classes work, all the music and childhood development skills your child will learn, and sign up for a free trial class!
That community doesn't stop once kids are in school. I have been teaching piano lessons for a looooooong time now, and I have made lots of mistakes and learned from them. In private lessons, I now teach parents and kids at the same time, so learning piano transforms from the traditional torture of nagging "go sit at the piano and struggle by yourself for half an hour," into a beautiful opportunity for parent and child to learn and grow together! Group Piano Lessons take all of that a step further, and create the perfect social environment for kids to learn to play piano in the ways that kids learn best!! We sing, dance, play drums and other instruments, and play piano, all to learn music as a primary language. Everyone has heard of the studies that show that playing a musical instrument has been shown to lead to higher success in school and life. But what if your kids could have the confidence and discipline from learning an instrument, but without the constant struggle to force them to practice?
What if in their elementary years they learned the musical skills to be successful at whatever instrument interested them next?
What if they could not only read music, but write, transpose, and compose?
What if they felt in their soul that they are competent, talented, skilled, and worthwhile people, capable of doing whatever they set their mind to?
Group Piano Classes with Kitty-Orca Music & Piano will empower you to help your child do just that. Click here for more info about how Group Piano Classes Work and to sign up for a free trial class!
I'm a professional opera and music theatre singer, and I LOVE sharing my passion, and I LOVE helping my students grow in confidence and skill. I've been doing just that for 17 years by performing, music directing, and teaching voice and piano lessons. I've sung, directed, and taught at music stores, middle schools, community centers, high schools, churches, you name it. When my own (amazing!) kids were born nine and six years ago, I found a way to balance my family life and my professional life, and I loved it!
Fast forward a few years...looking ahead to the time my own children would be in school full time, I knew that I wanted to find a way to continue working with kids, but also be with my own kiddos after school. I took training and fell in love with the Musikgarten classes. I knew that helping parents connect through with their babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and Kinders would be my chance to keep basking in the "baby glow," even though my kids are Big Kids now. And, by teaching groups of kids how to play the piano after school, I could live my dream of teaching my own children and their friends all the skills that have brought me such great joy!
So, what's in a name? Only the most important kids in my life! My own children have had their same favorite animals for the last 5 years. I bet you can guess which ones! I have hosted at least 3 orca-themed birthday parties, 3 kitty-themed birthday parties, and 3 Kitty-Orca-themed parties. What's a Kitty-Orca? Usually, it's an orca with cat ears and whiskers (check out the banner on my FAQ page). Sometimes it's a cat with an orca tail. Sometimes its a party with both orcas and cats.
What on earth does a Kitty-Orca have to do with music or parent/caregiver-child connection, though? Easy. Any parent will tell you that having a kid with a passion means you get to learn about their passion, too. Most people know that whales and dolphins sing--and so do orcas! In fact, each larger group of orca pods has its own unique language! The adults of the pod sing to their calves to pass on their language!!! Without this culture of song, there would be no orca language, and no communication. This is exactly what we do at Kitty-Orca Music & Piano Early Childhood Music Classes!
But Miss Jennifer, what about the Kitty part? Come on, you've all heard the Meow Mix commercials! I did try for years to teach my first cat, Giles, to sing that theme song, but no dice. So much for get-rich-quick schemes. But, do you know what a cat's favorite hobby is?
Making Mew-sic, of course!! 😹
It is my mission to make sure parents and kids have the opportunity to experience their own innate musicality! All humans are innately musical. Sometimes we humans can lose sight of our musicality, but I can tell you from experience that what once was lost can always be found! Every baby is born with the need to connect with the rest of humanity, especially their parents and caregivers. Through Early Childhood Classes at Kitty-Orca Music & Piano, I help parents and caregivers--grandparents, nannies, aunts, uncles, friends--connect with their beloved children in a way that reverberates throughout their lives. We are also a community where parents can connect with each other and start to build a village of friends for themselves and their children. It means a lot to have friends going through the same things you are, because raising kids is a big job!
Click here to learn about how our Early Childhood classes work, all the music and childhood development skills your child will learn, and sign up for a free trial class!
That community doesn't stop once kids are in school. I have been teaching piano lessons for a looooooong time now, and I have made lots of mistakes and learned from them. In private lessons, I now teach parents and kids at the same time, so learning piano transforms from the traditional torture of nagging "go sit at the piano and struggle by yourself for half an hour," into a beautiful opportunity for parent and child to learn and grow together! Group Piano Lessons take all of that a step further, and create the perfect social environment for kids to learn to play piano in the ways that kids learn best!! We sing, dance, play drums and other instruments, and play piano, all to learn music as a primary language. Everyone has heard of the studies that show that playing a musical instrument has been shown to lead to higher success in school and life. But what if your kids could have the confidence and discipline from learning an instrument, but without the constant struggle to force them to practice?
What if in their elementary years they learned the musical skills to be successful at whatever instrument interested them next?
What if they could not only read music, but write, transpose, and compose?
What if they felt in their soul that they are competent, talented, skilled, and worthwhile people, capable of doing whatever they set their mind to?
Group Piano Classes with Kitty-Orca Music & Piano will empower you to help your child do just that. Click here for more info about how Group Piano Classes Work and to sign up for a free trial class!
NO-QUIT Group Piano Classes!
Group Piano classes for kids grades K-5
Email to try a free trial class today!
Please email [email protected] to reserve your spot!
Please include your child's name, grade, and school, and your name and phone number.
Music becomes a primary language with Group Piano
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Join our dynamic Group Piano classes as we sing, dance, and play our way into piano playing and music-reading proficiency. By the end of this 4-year curriculum students will be able to read, write, compose, and transpose in all 12 major and all 12 minor keys! All while having a great time in a social setting, growing in confidence, and getting set for wherever our musical journey will take us next.
From group piano to...Rock Star? Marching band champ? Trombone Superstar? First Chair Symphony Violinest? Singing on Broadway? Chopin's next Big Thing? Or maybe... ...simply onto a life of confidence and joy in music and beyond! |
Group Piano Lessons
Enrolling now for
Fall Session!
Give the gift of NO-QUIT Group Piano Classes!
Group Piano classes for kids grades K-5
Email to try a free demo class today!
Please email [email protected] to reserve your spot!
Please include your child's name, grade, and school, and your name and phone number.
Now enrolling for immediate start!
It's not too late to start your musical journey!
Come play with us!
Orca calves learn to sing from their parents.
Their song is their language, passed on from generation to generation.
Surrounded by the songs of their family, they echo back the song of love.
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Q: What is a cat’s favorite activity?
A: Making “mew-sic!”
Their song is their language, passed on from generation to generation.
Surrounded by the songs of their family, they echo back the song of love.
_______________________________________________________________________
Q: What is a cat’s favorite activity?
A: Making “mew-sic!”
Kitty-Orca Music & Piano
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We offer Musikgarten early childhood music and movement classes for children and a caregiver, pre-piano classes for Pre-K and Kindergarten, and Group Piano Classes for 1st-2nd and 3rd-5th grades.
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A room full of joy!
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Adventures await!
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Start your musical journey today!
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