CEDAR CITY – Sound is one of the first experiences for a baby and the Orchestra of Southern Utah wants those sounds to be beautiful.

The OSU is providing CDs to new mothers through the Valley View Medical Center. The “Baby Ears” project encourages the use of music as a home enrichment tool. Recordings will be donated to the Cedar City and Enoch Public Library as well.

“We have chosen some of our favorite performances to share with the families,” Sara Penny, OSU manager, said.

Ken Hedgecock recorded the performances and produced the CD. Jamie Bayer assisted with the recordings.

OSU launched the Baby Ears Project because of research indicating that classical music can affect the way the brain develops, creating new pathways and improving spatial reasoning. Classical music, such as played by symphony orchestras, has a complex pattern musical structure that appears to prime the brain to solve spatial problems more quickly.

Other benefits exist in listening to classical music. Premature babies who have been exposed to classical music have also shown greater weight gain and lower blood pressure after as little as four days. Babies have also shown recognition to familiar classical music patterns as young as three months old.

Music educator Shinichi Suzuki wrote, “If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline, and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart.”

“Cedar City has a positive cultural environment and we want to share music early and often with our youngest residents,” Penny said. “We hope that we can continue to encourage people of all ages to play instruments, sing, and enjoy music.”

For more information on the Baby Ears Project and the Orchestra of Southern Utah, visit the OSU Web site at orschestraofsouthernutah.org. Free music, via podcasts, is available at the Web site produced by Ken Hedgecock and hosted by Sandy Hedgecock.

CDs may also be ordered from the website and the orchestra will seek additional funds to offer more than the initial 170 CDs since about 600 babies are born in Cedar City each year. Anyone who would like to help with the project should designate “Baby Ears” on their donation.