Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute Presents Lullaby Project Celebration Concert in June

Carnegie Hall today announced that families, musicians, and partners from around the world will gather online Friday, June 11 at 5:00 p.m., for the Lullaby Project's annual Celebration Concert to showcase original songs created as part of the project. The concert will be available to stream for free on Carnegie Hall's website, Facebook, and YouTube channels, as well as on-demand following the stream on carnegiehall.org. The Lullaby Project, pairs new and expectant parents and caregivers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, supporting maternal health, aiding child development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. This season, the project serves approximately 500 families with more than 40 partners in New York City, nationally, and around the globe.

The June Celebration Concert will feature personal lullabies recorded and performed by teaching artists and parents in their homes, alongside stories behind the songs, songwriters, and the community of artists and partners who worked together to create them. This intimate concert will feature many songs written this year across New York City partner sites as well as from families across the US and abroad. The Lullaby Project Celebration Concert is presented as part of Learn with Carnegie Hall, a collection of the Hall's Weill Music Institute programming created for families, educators, and young musicians, exploring the power of music to spark growth, curiosity, and connection.

"We are so excited to bring together parents, caregivers, partners, and more to listen to the beautiful lullabies written this season as part of Carnegie Hall's Lullaby Project," said Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer and Director of WMI. "Writing a lullaby allows families to express their own wishes and dreams, love, and hopes for their child, nurturing a love of music while also strengthening the connection between themselves and their child. Listening to the lullabies written around the globe over the course of this challenging year will be powerful, and we're looking forward to celebrating our vibrant Lullaby community with audiences at home."

From June 8-11, 2021, new and prospective partners will connect online for the Lullaby Project's annual international convening leading up to the celebration concert on June 11. Partners will share best practices on facilitating the project, including dialogue on collaborative songwriting, and participate in a session led by Takiema Bunche-Smith on equitable practices when working with families. Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf, a leading evaluator in the arts, will lead a session on evaluative strategies and practice to support research and evaluation efforts globally. Additional researchers and colleagues who will present alongside Dr. Palmer Wolf include: Hannah Morales, photojournalist at National Geographic; Jo Ward of England's National Health System; and Samuel Mehr of Harvard Music Lab.

Sing with Carnegie Hall and Camille's Rainbow Offer Opportunities for Families to Connect
Over the past two seasons, the Hall has provided families with little ones at home a plethora of high-quality, creative activities to keep children engaged. A new video series, Sing with Carnegie Hall, features interactive sing-alongs-covering a range of topics including rhythm, play, feelings, and imagination-to encourage connection, well-being, and creativity for families with little ones (ages 2-5) at home. Each video is hosted by Carnegie Hall teaching artist Emily Eagen and features special guests, leading families in original and beloved songs from around the globe. The collection of videos is now available to stream on-demand at carnegiehall.org/sing.

The Hall also recently released a set of videos featuring original music from Camille's Rainbow, a new early childhood performance for families and caretakers with children ages 0-2. "Camille's Rainbow"-co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Minnesota Opera-is a joyful, immersive musical journey that explores a magical world of color and celebrates the transformative power of connection, communication, and unbridled creative play. Six animated videos-designed by Dan Scully and featuring original music by Thomas Cabaniss and Saskia Lane and lyrics by Zoe Palmer-introduce audiences to the music and themes of the live performance, which will premiere at Carnegie Hall when conditions allow.