Top 20 Under 40- Candace Alper

Shalom Life is proud to present our 2nd annual ”Top 20 Under 40” list. This list encompasses 20 individuals of diverse occupations and backgrounds from businessmen and businesswomen and innovative entrepreneurs, to philanthropists, entertainers, doctors and more, the list places a spotlight on the myriad of talented, creative and passionate Jews, all under 40, who call Canada home.

Top 20 Under 40- Candace Alper

Age: 38

Candace’s love for children, combined with a strong passion for arts and music, inspired the creation of the popular Name Your Tune.

Name Your Tune is a unique and interactive concept that encourages children to sing, dance, and appreciate music. Founded in 2003, Name Your Tune is a compilation of children’s classics such as “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” that feature the child’s name in every song. To date, over 5000 names have been recorded for the catalogue.

Alper and Name Your Tune won an iParenting Award and Parent To Parent Award. She was named one of the 50 Mompreneurs of 2011 by Babble.com and was also a nominee for Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Candace’s husband, Eric, co-founded Name Your Tune. His experience in the music industry combined with her background in education and children’s programs have proved to be the perfect “marriage”, so to speak.

“Name Your Tune was inspired by my daughter while I was on maternity leave. We are a music-loving family and from birth, music was a big part of Hannah's routine. We listened and sang all the time. At the park, I used to sing to her when she was on the swing and she used to smile, squeal and giggle when I would through her name into a song,” Alper explains.

Alper believes that including a child's name in a song takes the experience of introducing them to music to a whole new level of engagement.

“Including the child's name in the music, material or activity is to include them. When you make it personal, when you make it about them, I find that they are more apt to engage and remain engaged throughout. As long as they are engaged, they are learning and growing. With respect to Name Your Tune, the children love that this whole collection of songs is truly theirs. It makes them feel special and important when they hear their favourite songs that make them the star ‘Little Max had a farm E-I-E-I-O’ or ‘If you're Emma and you know it clap your hands’.”

Parents absolutely love Name Your Tune. Alper has been told from customers that their children learned to talk and sing through her product, and that children who previously displayed no interest in music have come to love singing, clapping, and dancing.

When Candace and her family (husband, Eric and 9-year old daughter, Hannah) are not in the studio recording for Name Your Tune, they love going to concerts.

“We take Hannah with us to as many shows as we can so that she is introduced to so many different kinds, styles and genres of music. She has seen Woody Guthrie and Family, Randy Bachman, Natalie McMaster, The Indigo Girls and yes, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber too.”

For more information on Name Your Tune, visit www.nameyoutune.com

Shalom Life is currently searching for the best and brightest Jews under 40 in New York who have gained recognition in business, entertainment, philanthropy, technology and more. Please send suggestions to top20NY@shalomlife.com