Music Institute To Launch RCM Smart Start For North Shore Families In Fall 2026

EVANSTON, IL — North Shore families will be able to enroll in a new early childhood music program at the Music Institute of Chicago beginning in fall 2026.

The institute said RCM Smart Start will be offered exclusively through its Evanston, Lake Forest and Winnetka campuses for babies, toddlers and preschool children.

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The program was developed at the Royal Conservatory of Music and is described by the institute as an internationally recognized, research-based early childhood music curriculum. According to the Music Institute, RCM Smart Start is designed to accelerate the development of four primary cognitive skills: attention, memory, perception and cognitive flexibility.

Weekly age-specific classes target core components of early literacy and school readiness through more than 1,000 activities involving movement, instruments, play and music from around the world.

The Music Institute said the program is based on a four-year longitudinal study at RCM. Children in RCM Smart Start classes showed improved letter and number naming, vocabulary and musical abilities, including a 33% reduction in singing error, according to the institute.

The program was created by experts in early childhood music education and neuroscience and is one of few early childhood music programs built by an in-house team on ongoing research into children's cognitive development. According to the Music Institute, the program is intended to help children develop focus and attention, build language and early literacy foundations, strengthen memory and listening skills, improve coordination and motor development, grow confidence and self-expression, and begin a broader music education journey.

"Music is one of the most joyful and powerful ways young children learn," said Music Institute President and CEO Shalisa Kline Ugaz. "RCM Smart Start gives families the opportunity to nurture curiosity, confidence, and the foundational cognitive skills that help children thrive in school and throughout their lives."

The institute said its faculty have studied at leading music schools, with 84% holding advanced degrees and most having at least 10 years of tenure at the school. Early childhood faculty members are also certified in RCM Smart Start through RCM.

Classes begin in September, and the institute said they are intentionally intimate and likely to fill quickly. Information and registration for RCM Smart Start are available at musicinst.org/smart-start.

The Music Institute also said general enrollment is open for its fall semester, with music lessons and classes available for children, teens and adults at musicinst.org/classes.