I’ve referred to the Children’s Music Network a few times in my articles. It’s a major part of my life, and I realized, today, that if you don’t already know about it, this is an appropriate medium through which to tell you about it. So here goes:
The Children’s Music Network is a network of children, parents, teachers, songwriters, performers, and others who are committed to empowering children through music – thinking about what music says to children, and what children can say through music. We began coming
together in the mid-1980’s, and have grown steadily, so that now we have members throughout the United States and Canada.
We now have eight regional chapters – Northern California, Southern California, Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, New York Metro, New England, and Canada, which have regional gatherings throughout the
year, and in the fall we have an international gathering of members from throughout the U.S. and Canada. These gatherings are times to share songs,
ideas, and a sense that we are all together in our work to help children grow to be caring and competent adults. We work to expand our membership to other parts of the world, and to increase the cultural diversity of our membership.
Three times per year – in the fall, winter, and spring, we publish Pass It On!, a journal which contains: articles written by members; an interview, by Phil Hoose, of a person who has made significant contributions to children’s music (Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins, Fred Rogers, and Raffi have been interviewed, as well as Nate LaLiberte, a twelve year old boy who organized a concert for relief of Bosnian children, and other people who have done important work without becoming famous); “The Rose and the Apple Tree,” a column by Lisa Garrison which chronicles the history of children’s music; “Curriculi! Curricula!,” a column by me which highlights educators who integrate music into the elementary school curriculum; “Radio Waves,” a column by PJ Swift about children’s radio; songs collected and prepared by Joanne (Olshansky) Hammil; “New Sounds,” Sandy Byer’s collection of announcements of new recordings created by members; and reports of regional activities. We plan to continue finding ways to make this magazine a powerful advocate for the use of music as a tool for empowerment of children, parents, and teachers, and community- building.
To join the Children’s Music Network, write to Caroline Presnell, CMN, Box 1341, Evanston, IL, 60204-1341. Membership gets you a year’s subscription to Pass It On!, a children’s radio directory, a membership directory, and reduced admission to regional and international gatherings.
I’m on the board of directors, and I’m the editor of Pass It On. I hope that reading this article has inspired some of you to join us.