Spotlight on The Music Class Alumni: Thieriot Family

In celebration of The Music Class's 25th anniversary in 2023, we have asked past and present students and teachers to share their TMC stories. We will be spotlighting some of these stories on the blog! All information and pictures below were shared by the Thieriot family. If you would like to share your TMC story, please click here!

Names:  Nadia, Kevan, and Karina Thieriot

Current Ages: Nadia is 19, Kevan and Karina (twins) are 15*

Ages attended Music Class: Nadia started at 1 year old and continued through age 7. Kevan and Karina started TMC basically at birth with their older sister and continued through age 4.

Location attended Music Class: The Music Class Atlanta

Musical or creative activities currently involved in: 

Nadia continued with piano lessons after TMC Keyboard and sang with her school chorus every year. She went to all-state chorus and participated in musical theatre productions throughout high school. Now that she is at Rice University she is not a music major, but she is continuing to sing, both in the Rice Chorale and campus theatre productions. 

Karina took piano lessons for many years until she discovered clarinet in middle school. She now plays clarinet in both marching band and symphonic band in high school. She's been involved in theatre both on stage and off stage, most recently doing the costuming for a production of Little Women.

Kevan also took piano lessons for many years. He has developmental dyspraxia, which is a motor skills disorder -- it affects speech, balance, fine and gross motor, etc. It especially affects his timing and coordination, which makes playing an instrument a herculean task. When he started piano lessons, he couldn't independently push a key down with his pinky or ring fingers. Reading music proved difficult, too. But he made tremendous strides while playing piano, and even played in a few talent shows at school. He loves theatre, especially being on stage in comedic roles as well as working backstage in his high school's musical.

TMC Story: 

The Music Class impacted our family in a tremendous way -- really. Bill and I aren't musical at all. We joke that Bill can't sing the ABCs in tune if his life depended on it, and I'm not much better. But music turned out to be a huge part of Nadia's life, and I can't help but think her early exposure at The Music Class was the impetus. And then, Kevan and Karina came out of the womb listening to Music Class songs, because we were still playing them constantly for Nadia (she was 3 when they were born). I feel like the class strongly benefited all three of my kids in different ways.

Nadia gained an overall love of music, and I think she developed an early love of singing because of The Music Class. That talent definitely didn't come from us! Karina gained an appreciation for instruments, and she's pretty good at picking apart an instrumental piece and telling us exactly what we're hearing. And Kevan, for all his challenges, has the ability to improvise a ditty and plug in his own relevant lyrics -- he sings something funny every morning while getting ready for school. (Perhaps wildly off-key, but still. This is a kid who didn't have any intelligible speech until age 3, so I love it.)

There is no musical or performing arts background in either of our families at all, but all three of our kids have gravitated that way, and I can't help but think The Music Class was a huge influence. And I feel like it's shaped so much of their social lives, too -- both Nadia and Karina found their people and comfort zone at school in chorus/theatre and band, respectively. Kevan is in mainstream public school for the first time this year (always private special ed before), and he has met the friendliest and most welcoming kids by getting involved in theatre.

*Nadia, Karina, and Kevan's ages in May 2023.