Mantua-based Hearts for Music helping connect people through song

In 2018, Kitrael Chin was contacted by a music group for those with special needs based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The group, named Sunny Notes, wanted Hearts for Music – the Mantua-based orchestra for people with special needs that Chin founded – to play for them, and vice versa. Chin liked the idea.

To prepare, Hearts for Music learned a popular Russian folk tune, Katyusha, with the goal of connecting the members through song. Their virtual concert took place on Dec. 5, 2020.

He recalled the sudden movement from the monitor showing people dancing, singing and clapping along to the music.

“I told all my kids, ‘look at what we just did with that one song to change the lives and the emotions of people halfway around the world,’” he said.

Chin is a music therapist, a career that uses music to address feelings, communication and wellness. He founded nonprofit Hearts for Music in 2016, inspired to create the organization for the children that came to him, emotional they weren’t able to be a part of an orchestra or band.

“I had some children that I work with who came to me saying they wanted to be part of band, wanted to be part of orchestra, but were not allowed to be, could not be, or if they were allowed to be, ‘here’s a stick and a drum,’ and you had to go to the back of the room,” Chin said. “So that drove me bonkers.”

He realized that if someone played a note on a piano or digital instrument, like an iPad, there was no way to tell if the musician had a disability through the music. Chin said he had the idea to “get together children and adults, all ages, all disabilities, who don’t have any music experience” to play music together.

Hearts for Music was born out of Hilltop Christian Church, where Chin asked people to come together and give the music a try with no age or disability restriction. The musical group is funded through donations from the public, as well as through government grants and support.

At Hearts for Music, Chin works with people with a variety of needs and disabilities, including kids with cerebral palsy, visual impairment, brain injuries and others. He said the people involved in the organization create friendships, and it helps their confidence and communication skills.

“There is no reason for, say, a 10-year-old with autism to make friends with a 50-year-old who has Parkinson’s and is blind and deaf and in a nursing home; you see those wonderful, unusual friendships spring up,” he said.

To produce the music, the members just have to know the alphabet. Chin said they use iPads with the app GarageBand, as they are touch-sensitive, allowing someone to manipulate the surface even if they are missing limbs.

One of Chin’s goals is to unite the members of Hearts for Music with each other, but also people all around the world. He wants to connect people of all ages with disabilities, with an emphasis on including those in hospice or terminally ill.

For example, the orchestra has collaborated with the Akron Symphony Orchestra on many occasions. Chin said they first performed with the symphony in 2021, and their most high-profile combined performance was Mayor Shammas Malik’s swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 6, 2024. Additionally, Hearts for Music was recently invited by Bishop Edward Malesic of the Diocese of Cleveland to perform at St. John Cathedral at 1 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2025.

And, earlier this year, they were invited to the Vatican to perform at the Jubilee of People with Disabilities.

Chin said 12 of their musicians traveled to Rome to perform in April. Their performance was watched by about 10,000 people total, including in-person viewers and those watching from a livestream, he said.

“We were the only American group with disabilities,” he said. “One of the kiddos had a shunt in their head. Two of them were nonverbal.”

One Hearts for Music musician, 8-year-old Journey, traveled to Rome with her guardian and grandmother Cynthia Perrine. Journey is nonverbal, but Perrine said the organization has really helped build her confidence.

“Social-wise, it’s great because she can sit with the group and play songs,” Perrine said. “I just go by how she acts more than anything, and she always has a smile on her face. They said she’d never walk again and now she’s walking, so I know speech is next on God’s to-do list.”

Perrine emphasized Chin’s connection with the musicians, especially Journey.

“He’s very compassionate, and he cares about all of the kids,” she said. “He’s one of the main reasons why we stay in it, just because he is so caring and compassionate.”