Spotlight on the NJSO Preschool Program

As any young attendee of NJSO Family Pre-Concert Adventures can attest, when it comes to learning about orchestral instruments, nothing quite compares to actually plucking the strings of a violin, pressing the keys of a clarinet or blowing into the mouthpiece of a trumpet.

This school year is the third season in which the NJSO’s Preschool Program is spreading that joy to Newark preschoolers, introducing 3- to 5-year-olds to the instruments and music of the symphony orchestra in fun, hands-on workshops that put child-sized instruments right into the students’ hands. Presented in partnership with the Newark Public Schools’ Office of Early Childhood Education and Touch the Music’s Claudia Baumgaertner Lemmerz, this year’s program will reach more than 800 students across 14 Newark preschools.

The program teaches students about the four instrument families of the orchestra and basic elements of music. These youngsters not only learn how instruments are made and how they produce their unique sounds, but they also get to create those sounds themselves using real, appropriately sized instruments.

Lemmerz says: “This partnership [introducing] orchestral instruments to preschoolers in Newark has grown into a successful and well-received program. Students are engaged and excited, while teachers and directors are often awed by the responses we get from the children. Many children show a natural affinity for a certain instrument and become fully engaged immediately. Preschoolers are like sponges, soaking up any new experience with curiosity and enthusiasm.

“This hands-on experience is most valuable for a child’s development in many [areas], such as enhancing coordination, promoting social skills, fostering self-expression and much more.”

In an extension of the program, the NJSO presented two concerts for preschool audiences at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark earlier this season, performing for more than 700 tiny patrons—most of whom were attending a concert for the very first time—and their teachers. Associate Conductor Gemma New and actors from Puppet Kitchen inspired the young concertgoers to use their imaginations while learning about fundamentals of music through pieces like Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan.”

Educators from IEP Early Childhood Center of the Ironbound in Newark said that their students loved singing along with the music and imitating the conductor. One teacher said: “I think every young child would love, learn and benefit from this experience. [The concert was] age-appropriate and enjoyable, [and it taught students] new vocabulary.”

“Through this special NJSO concert, the young students get to see what an orchestra looks like on stage and how the instruments create beautiful music together,” Lemmerz says. “This partnership enriches the lives of hundreds of young children, opens up opportunities for learning and personal growth and supports an early appreciation of music that will have an impact on them into their adult life.”

The NJSO Preschool Program is an expansion of the 14-year partnership between the NJSO and Newark Public Schools.

The NJSO gratefully acknowledges the PNC Foundation for their generous support of this program.