1241 Elm Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions Program
Grant Application:
For over 28
years, Linton Chamber Music’s Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions program has been
providing quality early childhood musical encounters that inspire and enrich
the lives of young children throughout Greater Cincinnati. The intimacy of
chamber music makes for an ideal first exposure to classical music for
preschoolers. Smaller chamber ensembles also lend to the program’s ability to
travel into neighborhoods to engage families closer to home. In addition to the
Main Saturday Series, PB&J continues to broaden its reach and accessibility
through its Free Library & Community Concerts, new in-school programs
offered in partnership with Cincinnati Preschool Promise, and virtual Musical
Mornings programming.
Goals/Objectives:
Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions were created based on the firm belief that music improves a child’s life. The ultimate goals are to inspire learning through music, motivate participation in music, and spark a genuine appreciation and love for music. In the 2021-22 season, Linton Chamber Music was determined to continue providing impactful programming through PB&J to enrich and educate while keeping families safe during the ongoing pandemic.
PB&J program objectives align with many of the National Association for Music Education’s and Ohio Department of Education's Standards for music education for pre-k and kindergarten. Each concert program is designed to cover many musical concepts, including the following:
• Explore a variety of musical instruments and sounds, including the human voice
• Sing and move to music of contrasting styles, composers, and cultures
• Experience music from various styles, composers, historical periods and cultural backgrounds
• Explore and create connections between sound and visual representation
• Exploring and demonstrating steady beat, rhythm, and meter
• Identifying and demonstrating same and different (e.g. musical opposites high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, long/short)
• Describe how music communicates feelings, moods, and images
Grant Evaluation Report:
Despite the winter Covid surge, the program successfully engaged over 1,811 audience members in 2021-22, including 935 children. Attendance down by only 14% compared to pre-pandemic levels. These numbers were very encouraging and demonstrate that the program is rebuilding it audiences.
The PB&J program also served 300 school children at South Avondale Elementary School. In addition, PB&J expanded its work in schools by embarking on an exciting new partnership with Cincinnati Preschool Promise. The PB&J Musical Journeys program was developed and provided weekly, in-class early childhood music education instruction to 60 CPP preschoolers. CPP families were also engaged through special PB&J concert performances in the 2021-22 school year.
“Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions mean a great deal to my class and provides a valuable service to the community as well. Children are offered an opportunity to engage with instruments and hear music that stimulates the brain for learning. Children love music and learn through movement. This program is truly an asset to any early childhood program. The children are always excited to see Ms. Elizabeth each week and practice musical skills that contribute to their development and kindergarten readiness.” – Cincinnati Preschool Promise Educator
Results:
A full season of PB&J Sessions was planned for the 2021-22 season, including 35 performances in 16 different locations. “A Royal Renaissance” was presented September to December, “Winter Winds” in January and February, “Madcap Music: The Frog Prince” with Madcap Puppets in March to May, and “Steel Drum Summer” in June. While two performances were cancelled in the winter due to the Covid surge, an additional four performances were added in four new locations bring the total number of performances to 37 that were presented in 20 different locations.
Over the past couple of years, children were deprived of important social and learning activities during a crucial part of their development. As families continued to strive to emerge from the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, the 2021-22 season of Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions has helped to improve the emotional and mental well-being of children by providing musical encounters in group settings. To help keep young audiences not yet eligible for the vaccine safe, Covid protocols were kept in place for the fall, winter, and spring indoor programs and required masking and vaccinations for adults and older children. These concerts also helped to rebuild a sense of community that had been lost over the past few years. To help reengage the public and assist many young families still coping with the challenges of the pandemic, concerts were made free.