Carnegie Hall's Early Childhood Programs Reach Hundreds of Families Throughout 2022–2023 Season

Throughout the season, hundreds of families and children have opportunities for free musical learning, play, discovery, and connection through Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute's (WMI) early childhood programs.

Sing with Carnegie Hall-the weekly free online video series for families and young children-recently returned for a third season. Sing-along videos cover a range of imaginative topics including stories, animals, growing, and drama to encourage connection, well-being, and creativity for families with little ones (ages 3-6) at home. Each video is hosted by Emily Eagen and features special guests-including mandolinist, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Chris Thile, Grammy Award-nominated family music and folk musician Elizabeth Mitchell, Broadway-actor Nathaniel Stampley, and more-who inspire kids to move and sing to classic playtime songs and discover new music. The new episodes, as well as seasons one and two, are available to watch on-demand on the Hall's website at carnegiehall.org/sing.

Big Note, Little Note: Early Childhood Program for Caregivers with Infants

Big Note, Little Note, a 10-week music class for New York City families, offers a range of experiences for parents and caregivers to engage with their babies through musical play, singing, instrument exploration, and more. The program, offered at no cost, is centered around community, and supports family well-being, early childhood development, and parent-child connection. Classes for caregivers and infants are being offered online and in-person this winter and spring, in partnership with local organizations. A selection of short videos and an accompanying "Music Moments" activities series is available for parents everywhere on the Big Note, Little Note webpage, each dedicated to a specific early childhood topic such as movement, brain building, language, play, soothing, rhythm, and more. Additionally, a playlist with original songs inspired by the themes of the class is available on SoundCloud.

Spring Family Day Welcomes Families to Carnegie Hall in April

On Sunday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m., children ages 3-10 and their caregivers are invited to the Hall's Resnick Education Wing for a free daylong open house, Spring Family Day: Spring Fest. This highly interactive, playful day will offer families a multitude of fun activities that celebrate the earth, nature, and all things spring. Highlights of Spring Family Day include instrument building with Bash the Trash, interactive performances by Michael Hearst and his band exploring unique animals, and much more. Spring Family Day is an enriching experience for the whole family, as children can explore their own creativity and learn alongside other children and families. More details on Spring Family Day will be announced in the coming months.

Lullaby Project Inspires Parents to Write Heartfelt Songs for Their Babies

The Lullaby Project returns this season, which pairs new and expectant parents and caregivers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, supporting parental health and wellbeing, aiding child development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. Lullaby Project partners in New York City, nationally, and across the globe serve approximately 800 families annually. In New York City, the project will reach about 200 families this year through partnerships with several city agencies, including the NYC Department of Education, NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), NYC Health + Hospitals, and CUNY. The project also reaches families annually in healthcare settings, high schools, and other community sites. From September to June, Carnegie Hall teaching artists work with community sites to write and sing personal lullabies with participants, offering a creative opportunity to communicate feelings, hopes, and dreams for their child. Carnegie Hall also provides free resources and materials throughout the season to partners to inspire musical learning in their communities. Throughout the year, approximately 15 select lullabies from various New York City sites are professionally recorded by musicians and parents.

The first Lullaby Project took place at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx in December 2011, and since then more than 3,500 families have written original songs for their children, hundreds of which are available for listening and sharing on Carnegie Hall's Lullaby SoundCloud page, which currently has nearly 89,000 listens in more than 50 countries. Lullabies have been written in more than 20 different languages and a wide range of musical styles, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of families that participate in the program. At the end of the songwriting process, each parent receives a recording of their lullaby to listen to and sing with their baby to further support parent-child bonding and early childhood development. Click here to watch a special video about the Lullaby Project.

Select lullabies are performed live each year as part of the Lullaby Project's Celebration Concert. On Saturday, June 3 at 2:00 p.m.-in Zankel Hall for the first time-audiences are invited to listen to heartwarming original songs created as part of the project performed by parents, musicians, and community partners. The concert will also be available for audiences to livestream on Carnegie Hall's Facebook and YouTube channel.

Extending across the country and through international programs, the Lullaby Project enables more than 50 partner organizations (30 across the US and 25 abroad) to support hundreds of families in their own communities. Partners support the creation of new lullabies in a variety of models, adapting the program to best meet the needs of their community and families. Click here for a current list of Lullaby Project partners across the US, ranging from Washington and Texas to Pennsylvania and Vermont, as well as international partners in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Oceania. The annual Lullaby Project international convening will take place on June 1-3, providing professional development sessions for new and prospective partners led by expert teaching artists, consultants, and researchers. Click here to watch a special video on the impact of the Lullaby Project from Live Music Now, a partner based in England.

In 2018, Decca Gold (Universal Music Group) released, Hopes & Dreams: The Lullaby Project, an album that features original lullabies written by workshop participants and performed by major artists, including Fiona Apple, the Brentano String Quartet, Lawrence Brownlee, Rosanne Cash, Joyce DiDonato, Janice Freeman, Rhiannon Giddens, Angélique Kidjo, Patti LuPone, Natalie Merchant, Dianne Reeves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Pretty Yende, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The recording was produced by Glen Roven, Ira Yuspeh, and Mitch Yuspeh. Proceeds from the album benefit the original songwriters and support the Lullaby Project.

Earlier this season, Carnegie Hall presented the world premiere of Camille's Rainbow, a new performance co-commissioned by the Hall and Minnesota Opera. The immersive event, especially designed for babies and toddlers (ages 0-2), encouraged creative play, as children explored a world of colors. In Camille's Rainbow, Camille ventures on a journey to discover herself with the help of her colorful friends Roo, Boo, and Yo. Featuring an international cohort of artists and storytellers, the ten-performance run invited audiences to tap into their imagination and be a part of the show. Performances of Camille's Rainbow will return again next season.

To better understand the effect of music in early childhood development, Carnegie Hall has commissioned research papers from Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf, an expert in the field. The first, titled Why Making Music Matters: Singing, Playing, Moving, and Sharing in the Early Years, points to several key reasons why investing in children early and often is critical to healthy development and a successful future-and demonstrates that music can play a role in everyday interactions that support our next generation. Lullaby: Being Together, Being Well, takes a closer look at how and why lullabies make a difference. The research highlights how the Lullaby Project not only helps families come together and imagine a positive future for children, but how, in some cases, writing a lullaby can support a much longer process of connecting and communicating, resonating with parents, grandparents, musicians, staff, and community members. Inspired by the work of Carnegie Hall's Lullaby Project, the Bernard van Leer Foundation commissioned WolfBrown to write a research paper, Making a Joyful Noise: The Potential Role of Music Making in the Well-Being of Young Families, which explores the Lullaby Project alongside early childhood programming from around the world.

Carnegie Hall makes its digital offerings available to families everywhere through its free family resource page, which is filled with fun activities that promote musical learning and play with children. Favorite activities include a video for parents on singing a simple lullaby; tips on writing and singing your own lullaby; a playlist featuring a collection of Lullaby Project favorite songs for singing with your baby; interactive games; and coloring books that help children learn about musical instruments and icons, such as Duke Ellington.

For the full list of WMI family resources, please visit: carnegiehall.org/Explore/Learn/Families-and-Kids.

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