For 21 years, Music at Eden’s Edge’s commitment to outreach has extended into the classroom through the Youth Chamber Concert (YCC) program, bringing the joy of music and live performance to more than 37,000 students. In lively and interactive presentations, MEE players help students discover their own ability to respond and relate to classical chamber music as well as to many other kinds of music also offered in these concerts.

The YCC is presented in partnership with nine public elementary schools in six North Shore communities – Newburyport, Gloucester, Ipswich, Beverly, Salem and Lynn. Provided at no cost to the schools, the program teaches music appreciation skills while giving students a chance to experience live chamber music and work with professional musicians in a classroom setting.

The program is designed to assist public schools in deepening students’ experience with and understanding of the arts. MEE uses live chamber music performances to teach four topics of music fundamentals:

• Year 1: Musical structures: Melody, variation, and accompaniment
• Year 2: Motion in music: The energy source of music.
• Year 3: Approaches to listening: Ways to listen to, understand, and describe music
• Year 4: Uses of music: How music offers an expressive vehicle for cultural experience.

At the request of music teachers, MEE supports the requirements of the Massachusetts Frameworks Curriculum by putting music and instruments into a cultural and historical context. Each segment of the YCC curriculum includes a plan for an annual Residency Day when MEE artists visit the schools and perform for each grade. A new plan is created each year to keep the materials and performances vital and fresh. This year, MEE presents 32 programs during these residency days. Keeping the groups small allows students to experience the instruments up close and personal; to feel the vibrations of sound; and to participate in interactive games and improvisations. Hands-on activities and a question and answer session enhance the engagement level for each student. Feeling close to the music-making and sharing in the excitement and involvement of the musicians themselves makes a lasting impression and encourages students to get involved in their own school’s music programs.

Funding for the Youth Chamber Concerts is provided in part by the Cultural Councils of Councils of Ipswich, Salem, Beverly, Gloucester and Lynn and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Generous support has also been granted by the following businesses and foundations: Institution for Savings 2 Depot Square Foundation, McCarthy Family Foundation, Marion L Decrow Foundation, General Electric Foundation, Neal Rantoul Foundation and the Harpley Foundation.