Denise Bacon founded The Kodály Center of America (KCA) in April 1977; it was incorporated with a new Board of Trustees, as an outgrowth and continuation of KMTI.

The goals of both institutions were nearly identical. Both KMTI and KCA played an important role in the early development of the Kodály Concept in this country, producing high quality teachers in academic year and summer programs, many of whom are leaders in the Kodály movement today.

The early years were difficult, due to the limited capital with which KCA had been established. It nevertheless established an intensive academic year program, a highly successful summer program at Southeastern Massachusetts University (SMU), summer courses in collaboration with the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, and affiliations for master's degrees with four of the institutions that had been affiliated with KMTI. It expanded its presence in the Boston Public Schools, produced many new choral octavos and video tapes, and conducted research in the field of learning disabilities.

In the spring of 1990 KCA lost its 22-room rented headquarters building to a higher paying state agency. Rents in the Boston area were prohibitively expensive; facing a bleak future and strong competition for students from an ever-increasing number of developing Kodály programs across the country, KCA entered into negotiations with Capital University in Columbus, Ohio; where Sandra Mathias, an outstanding graduate, was professor of Music Education. KMTI, KCA and Capital University had three-way discussions over a two-year period, which resulted in KMTI's merging with Capital in 1993. KCA transferred its certification program and student records to Capital but elected to remain independent as a Resource Center.

In 1995 Denise Bacon retired, and KMTI graduate Faith Knowles assumed leadership of KCA. Under her four-year administration, KCA advanced on several fronts: the Center offered special courses in Kodály for early childhood, the curriculum which Faith Knowles had developed was submitted to OAKE for consideration of certification; several new publications were launched, two new video tapes made, and a research project in Pawtucket, RI, mentored by Faith Knowles drew national and international attention. During these years, KCA attempted to make a strong case for the importance of Kodály music in early childhood; at the same time it stressed the importance of continued learning through advanced refresher courses.

Faith Knowles also added a new dimension in launching several outreach programs such as a collaborative, pre-school project with several social agencies in South Boston, a choral-centered drug-alternative activity for at-risk young people, various pilot programs in Providence, RI area schools, and a program fostering communication, interaction and understanding between teen mothers and their infants and young children - all through Kodály-based music education.

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