KeyNote Music Education Programs
KeyNote (San Diego Youth Symphony), 2820 Roosevelt Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106
About
KeyNote Music Education Programs offers interactive music classes where children and caregivers sing, dance, play, and learn together. Classes include music and movement activities, singing songs, and instrument demonstrations, with specific experiences such as ukulele playing and guitar playing.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
KeyNote’s early childhood program, ChIMES, is an early childhood music program in San Diego for children from birth to age 5 and their parents and caregivers, with early childhood options in three levels for ages 0–5 and a two-year curriculum for ages 5–7. KeyNote also includes 15 ensembles for ages 7–18, school-based programs for grades 3–6, and ensembles for intermediate and advanced musicians ages 11–18, as part of KeyNote’s cradle-to-college initiative. ChIMES supports the phase of child growth and development from birth to age 5 with interactive music classes that encourage family bonding, at-home learning, and future musical development, and offers English/Spanish bilingual options, an exclusive curriculum, and activities designed to develop socialization, school readiness, and motor skills. KeyNote is described as a family’s partner on a child’s music education journey, and every program in the KeyNote family is described as a step on that journey, with opportunities at every stage for children to learn, grow, and succeed through music.
KeyNote’s teaching staff are experienced and qualified teaching artists who are professional musicians and early childhood specialists. The broader organization notes that SDYS is now the sixth longest continuously operating youth orchestra in the nation and has twelve orchestras and bands serving beginner to advanced musicians. The leadership team includes Dr. Michael Remson as President & CEO and Sameer Patel as the fourth Artistic Director, succeeding Jeff Edmons. The program’s mission statement says that KeyNote instills excellence in musical achievement and personal growth through rigorous and inspiring music education experiences.
KeyNote’s cradle-to-college initiative builds on San Diego Youth Symphony’s 80 years of music education, which began when founder Leo Scheer conducted the first performance of the “Youth Symphony Orchestra of San Diego City and County” on September 6, 1945. Community involvement includes partnerships with some of San Diego’s educators and musicians, the Community Opus Project in collaboration with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, and ChIMES in the Community.
Parent testimonials describe classes that incorporate different cultures, languages, and music theory at a young age, and mention music and movement activities, playlists, and teachers they call amazing. Parents note instructors’ ukulele and guitar playing during singing, describe staff as offering a warm welcome and a sense of community, and mention teachers adapting to varying needs and energy levels, including special touches like a penny whistle and a preschool booklet to practice at home. Several parents describe the program as the best music class they have tried in San Diego and say that class time is filled with smiling, laughing, and playing, with one parent sharing that their child began doing the “Do Re Mi” scale correctly before bed.
Last updated April 9, 2026.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
KeyNote’s early childhood program, ChIMES, is an early childhood music program in San Diego for children from birth to age 5 and their parents and caregivers, with early childhood options in three levels for ages 0–5 and a two-year curriculum for ages 5–7. KeyNote also includes 15 ensembles for ages 7–18, school-based programs for grades 3–6, and ensembles for intermediate and advanced musicians ages 11–18, as part of KeyNote’s cradle-to-college initiative. ChIMES supports the phase of child growth and development from birth to age 5 with interactive music classes that encourage family bonding, at-home learning, and future musical development, and offers English/Spanish bilingual options, an exclusive curriculum, and activities designed to develop socialization, school readiness, and motor skills. KeyNote is described as a family’s partner on a child’s music education journey, and every program in the KeyNote family is described as a step on that journey, with opportunities at every stage for children to learn, grow, and succeed through music.
KeyNote’s teaching staff are experienced and qualified teaching artists who are professional musicians and early childhood specialists. The broader organization notes that SDYS is now the sixth longest continuously operating youth orchestra in the nation and has twelve orchestras and bands serving beginner to advanced musicians. The leadership team includes Dr. Michael Remson as President & CEO and Sameer Patel as the fourth Artistic Director, succeeding Jeff Edmons. The program’s mission statement says that KeyNote instills excellence in musical achievement and personal growth through rigorous and inspiring music education experiences.
KeyNote’s cradle-to-college initiative builds on San Diego Youth Symphony’s 80 years of music education, which began when founder Leo Scheer conducted the first performance of the “Youth Symphony Orchestra of San Diego City and County” on September 6, 1945. Community involvement includes partnerships with some of San Diego’s educators and musicians, the Community Opus Project in collaboration with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, and ChIMES in the Community.
Parent testimonials describe classes that incorporate different cultures, languages, and music theory at a young age, and mention music and movement activities, playlists, and teachers they call amazing. Parents note instructors’ ukulele and guitar playing during singing, describe staff as offering a warm welcome and a sense of community, and mention teachers adapting to varying needs and energy levels, including special touches like a penny whistle and a preschool booklet to practice at home. Several parents describe the program as the best music class they have tried in San Diego and say that class time is filled with smiling, laughing, and playing, with one parent sharing that their child began doing the “Do Re Mi” scale correctly before bed.
Last updated April 9, 2026.
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