Fifteen years ago a brand new company called ArtsCetera began presenting music classes for pre-schoolers and their parents or caregivers. Very young ones have been enjoying a wonderful first experience with music, movement and friend-making since. The classes additionally provide mommies and daddies the chance to talk to each other about parenthood in a non-pressurized, community-building social setting. From that humble, one-class beginning, ArtsCetera now presents sixty happy, rhythmic, highly interactive group sessions each week. Based upon seeing what has worked best over the years, ArtsCetera is convinced that the best learning happens when kids are having fun, not just as observers, but as active participants. Now, ArtsCetera has developed a play-based curriculum that includes a collection of music CDs to be used in class and enjoyed at home and on the road. The CD’s do not feature a single “star” performer or group, which is the norm in children\'s music. Instead, ArtsCetera works with a broad range of musicians, styles and instruments to provide a diverse first musical experience. The result is wonderful music that challenges young students a bit, giving them a great introduction to different sounds and a small immersion into languages and cultures other than their own. Who is Arfie, you ask? Arfie is the cute, irresistible puppy mascot for ArtsCetera’s classes and music collections. On Sing, Shout & Clap! you’ll hear his theme song and a song about his close friend Pawla. The “voice” of Arfie in ArtsCetera’s music is Morgan Taylor, the critically acclaimed creator of Gustafer Yellowgold. Morgan, who the New York Times has called the Dr. Seuss of children’s music, writes and performs some of the music for ArtsCetera CD\'s and also illustrates ArtsCetera’s album covers and booklets. Another friend of Arfie’s is Frank Longino – a one-of-a-kind sound engineer and musician who can somehow bark musically accurate renditions of classical music, as he does in the William Tell Roverture on this CD. You’ve got to hear it to believe it. We hope that the music on this CD will bring out the kind of joy that only youngsters can generate — the kind that lights up the room. Families are reporting that Sing, Shout & Clap quickly becomes a favorite of their children and that it stands up unusually well with adults even after the hundreds of plays demanded by excited children who discover something they love. Thanks, The Producers