Outreach
Distribution of Music Education Pamphlet to Lodi Public Library
Distribution of Music Education Pamphlet to Palisades Park Library
BeatsLab Music Technology Production at Palisades Park Children's Library
We hosted a BeatsLab session at the Palisades Park Library, giving students a hands-on introduction to digital music creation. Using Soundtrap, students learned the basics of music production, including how to combine beats, sounds, loops, and different musical layers to build their own projects. The session emphasized how flexible music production can be and showed students that they can shape a piece in many different ways depending on the mood, style, and sound they want to create.
All Around The World: Music Exploration at Camp Lots-of-Fun
We brought an interactive music education program to Camp Lots-of-Fun, Family Promise’s annual day camp for children ages 5–12 whose families are involved in its housing and support program. We took students on a musical journey around the world, exploring music and culture from Korea, the United States, Italy, and Argentina through short introductions and live performances. Students also created their own passports, collected stamps as they “visited” each country, and finished with music-themed coloring activities.
Rhythm Makers: Build Your Own Tambourine at Memorial Children's Library
Students explored the fundamentals of rhythm through an interactive presentation covering quarter notes, eighth notes, measures, meter, and other basic rhythmic concepts. They practiced identifying and creating different rhythmic patterns before putting what they learned into action through a hands-on percussion activity. Students then designed and built their own tambourines using everyday craft materials, experimented with how different materials produced different sounds, and used their finished instruments to practice rhythms together.
Violin Discovery Workshop at Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center
Equal Notes’ Illinois Branch hosted an interactive violin workshop at the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center, introducing students to the instrument through live performances and hands-on musical exploration.
The session began with a performance featuring classical pieces and familiar melodies, showcasing a variety of tempos, dynamics, and musical expressions. Students then explored different violin techniques, including pizzicato, tremolo, and muted playing, learning how different playing styles and rhythms produce unique sounds.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the opportunity for students to try playing a child-sized violin themselves, applying the techniques they had just learned with guidance from our volunteers. The session concluded with an interactive Q&A, allowing students to ask questions and deepen their understanding of the instrument.
Through this outreach initiative, our Illinois Branch aimed to make classical music more accessible and engaging, inspiring young students to discover the joy of making music.