The setting is serene and calm, in sharp contrast to the flurry of activity and pedestrian traffic that prevailed when the building housed an ice cream parlour in the not-so-distant past.

Step inside the Bel Canto School of Music and you are enveloped in a deliciously cozy and sophisticated world of rich colours and warm textures. Its interior ambience exudes creativity and energy, conducive to a positive and comfortable learning experience. Music rooms are small, meticulously customized and immaculately accessorized. In the master studio, an ebony Kawai piano sparkles in the afternoon sun as it awaits the first of the students who stream into Bel Canto well into the evening.

This high-end studio, a longtime dream of vocal teacher and professional opera singer Kirsten Pelchat (Pitkanen), opened its doors in September, immediately drawing students from the surrounding towns and villages of Carlisle, Limehouse, Georgetown, Campbellville and Milton.

Bel Canto is an expansion of Pelchat's Academy of Vocal Arts, her elite vocal division, which she continues to operate from her Milton home.

"Music is a very personal thing; it's a relationship type of experience so having an environment that feels safe, warm and inviting is extremely important. We want to foster a positive experience," says Pelchat. "Sometimes people can be overwhelmed with space."

The focus is on pedagogy, with "top of the line" instruction, says Pelchat. Music sales are secondary.

"We want this to be an open and warm experience for students. We want to provide a total experience with instruction that is solid and inspirational."

Even as students await their lessons ,Pelchat's objective is for them to feel welcome -- and how could they not in the tidy, parlour-like lobby filled with the aroma of country kitchen goodies?

Along with the elegant master studio for advanced piano and vocals, there is the cheerful Sing and Play Room, for children primarily four to seven years old where youngsters learn the basics of rhythm and voice, and the small Piano and Instrumental Room. All rooms have two points of visibility, says Pelchat, referring to both interior and exterior windows, not just for light but for parental viewing.

Bel Canto's piece de resistance, however, has to be the metallic silver Rock Room, a funky grotto complete with a set of drums, electric guitars and state of the art recording software. The professional recording studio ,under the label Platinum Productions, is operated by co-writers and producers Ben Pelchat (also the guitar teacher and Kirsten's brother) and Juno-nominee and drum instructor Sam Dufour.

Demos to full albums can be accommodated in the studio, making Bel Canto a veritable one-stop shopping venue and a musical coup for northern Halton.

Intense insulation allows for simultaneous musical diversity within the school.

"We can have drums going at full throttle and in the master studio, a quiet vocal piece and we can co-exist in a small square footage.

"Through all the walls, in addition to the insulation, audio cables feed back to the production room so that in essence, every room is a recording room," says Pelchat, adding that a free recording is included in students' tuition fees.

In one corner of the room sits the Pelchat's old family piano, specifically for songwriters to tinker on.

"Almost all of our teachers are songwriters and half of those teacher/songwriters have recorded too."

Aside from offering rural residents a beautiful new music studio, Pelchat is also hoping to launch a chapter of the Songwriters Association of Canada, an opportunity for locals to network, access resources and "celebrate the art of songwriting and perfecting your craft."

Staff have been handpicked for their impressive credentials and include vocal teacher Jenny Vodarek and piano teacher Ioulia Koznova, a performance student at York University with her Grade 10 piano "and a budding concert pianist."

Because piano lessons can be "drab" and "tedious," Pelchat says she wanted "someone fresh and also in touch with kids today."

Leanne Metsa, a vocal student with her Grade 9 piano and voice honors, and choir director Monique Danek are the Song and Play teachers.

The common thread among her instructors, says Pelchat, is that they approach everyday with a 'life is good' attitude and "they smile a lot."

Originally from Quebec, Pelchat grew up in a musical home, in the small-town communities of Petawawa and Pembroke where her mother was "the" piano teacher.

"I started voice lessons at eight and by the time I was 14, I had my Grade 8 voice and piano."

In her teens, Pelchat began studying opera, specifically the Bel Canto technique, an Italian musical term meaning beautiful singing; "the ability to sing long, beautiful legato lines."

She also studied vocal performance at McGill University and has sung in professional productions throughout the Toronto area as well as locally.

As her dream flourishes, Pelchat relishes the idea of being entrenched in the community. Bel Canto is here for the long term, she says.

"We want to become an established name. We're not run of the mill."

She has worked incredibly hard to bring Bel Canto to fruition, awaiting the most opportune moment in terms of logistics, location and life (she is the mother of two small children).

"I think it's a good match. Campbellville is a real arts community. People here have a real appreciation for things artistic and creative. There are a lot of families here who want programs for their children."

Offering her music school in a rural setting, to people accustomed to travelling long distances for extra-curricular activities, is extremely exciting as well, she says.