Blog
Future So Bright
Written by Jahsol Drummond The 2017 Bloomberg Arts Intern and Filmmaker delivered the following speech at Young Audiences’ annual Impact Breakfast earlier this month. My name is Jahsol Drummond. I am eighteen and currently a senior at Bard High School…
It Only Takes a Spark…
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Spark. Ahh, now that’s a great word. Quick, simple, to the point. And it’s versatile – noun or verb – it’s all good. And if you’re a fan of…
Steve Cyphers Talks the Physics of Sound on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, May 5 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with professional frontman and percussionist, Young Audiences teaching artist Steve Cyphers. Tune in and you’ll hear why Maryland…
STEM Cells? Nah, STEAM Sells!
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Excited. Proud. Love. These are the three words that I heard repeatedly as I attended the unveiling of the mural that sixth-grade students from Brooklyn Park Middle School created. Though…
Donor Spotlight: PNC Bank
Young Audiences of Maryland (YA) believes that every student – even the smallest ones – should have the opportunity to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts. That is why YA serves as the Maryland affiliate of…
Donor Spotlight: M&T Bank
For 58 years, Young Audiences of Maryland (YA) has been combining arts and education to create inventive and exciting learning experiences for children across the state. We believe that these experiences shouldn’t stop when the school year does, so we…
Repping Baltimore: Young Poets Take the Stage
Children have a lot to say. Slam Poet and YA teaching artist Femi the Drifish worked with students in last year’s Summer Arts & Learning Academy to help them get their poem to the stage for all of Artscape to…
Realizing Possibility: Announcing the 2018 Bloomberg Arts Internship Partners
Young Audiences is excited to announce the arts and culture worksite partners for the 2018 Bloomberg Arts Internship in Baltimore. This year’s expansion of the program meant that we needed to partner with even more of Baltimore’s high-quality, renown institutions…
Storytelling Visualized: Assigning Functions to a Narrative
You can feel a good story in your core- the sadness, the suspense, the bitterness, and the beauty. We are good at registering and reacting to all of the characters, events, and plot twists a story throws at us, but…
Summer Arts & Learning Academy to Double in Size, Serve 2,200 Students
Young Audiences’ Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA), the innovative, free, five-week arts-integration program for Baltimore City Public Schools students, will double in size this summer, expanding to eight sites and serving nearly 2,200 students across Baltimore City. New data…
smARTbeats: Up to Eleven!
It’s been almost a year since we announced our partnership with WTMD to feature YA teaching artists on their family-favorite Saturday morning radio show Young At Heart! Since May 6, 2017, host Lisa Mathews—YA teaching artist and lead singer of…
Rock and Roll and Learn: smARTbeats returns with Elias Schutzman
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, March 10 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Young Audiences teaching artist and internationally renowned resident rock and roll…
The Flavor of Math: Understanding Algebraic Terms
What do you call a collection of two or more equations using the same set of unknowns? Can you identify the variables and constants in a mathematic expression? Why would a person ever use the Method of Matrices? If you…
smartbeats is Back with Uncle Devin!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, February 10 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, hostLisa Mathews sits down for a chat with the original “Drumcussionist,” Young Audiences teaching artist Uncle Devin. Tune in and…
Bloomberg Arts Internships to Expand this Summer
The Bloomberg Arts Internship program is returning to Baltimore this summer, expanding to 35 paid, six-week internships for Baltimore City rising seniors at local arts and cultural institutions.
Building Up STEAM
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member If you follow education trends even a little, you can’t avoid the STEM acronym. In fact, at many area high schools, getting a slot in the highly popular STEM…
Jamaal “Mr Root” Collier Talks smARTbeats on Young At Heart
smARTbeats is back this Saturday, January 13 on WTMD during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Hip Hop performer, YA teaching artist, and Maryland Wolf Trap Artist, Jamaal “Mr. Root” Collier. A dynamic…
Young Audiences Hires New Chief Operating Officer, Creates New Director of Summer Learning Position
Young Audiences, the statewide nonprofit that boosts student achievement by bringing arts integration into classrooms and children’s learning experiences, has hired Leyla Layman as its new Chief Operating Officer. Former Young Audiences COO Kurtis Donnelly will remain with the organization,…
America Celebrates: Maryland
In 1923, a 48-foot Balsam fir was erected by the District of Columbia Public Schools to the south of the White House. The tree was decorated, lit, and named the “National Christmas Tree.” Though the trees have varied, the National Christmas Tree still…
Algebra in the Drum Shop: Plotting the Rate of Change with Kevin Martin
“Will I ever use this in real life?” A teacher could rattle off the professional fields that a mathematician could enter after pursuing a degree when students challenge, “Why do we have to learn this?” Or, they could show them…
123 Andrés Talks Music for Bilingual Learners on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns Saturday, December 2 during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart on WTMD. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down with YA roster artists and Latin Grammy winners Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria, better known as…
Art Crawl: The Intersection of Arts, Education, and Cocktails
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member On Friday, November 17, Young Audiences hosted its second annual Art Crawl at City Neighbors High School, an arts-integrated public charter school in Baltimore City. Approximately 75 attendees filled…
The Global Beat Connection: Explore Music’s Rhythmic Roots
YA roster artist Ryan Diehl and the Global Beat Connection’s music assembly connects students’ love of modern music to its rhythmic roots, revealing its history. Their highly interactive assembly invites students to explore a diverse array of cultures from…
Hear Slam Poet Femi the Drifish on smARTbeats!
smartbeats is back this Saturday, November 4, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart on WTMD. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with professional spoken word artist, slam poet, highly-animated and engaging frontman,…
North County High School: Creating Learning Opportunities Through the Arts
The Arts Empowered Minds Initiative (AEMI) is aimed at ensuring equitable access to the arts for Northern Anne Arundel County Public Schools through in-school arts integration, out-of-school arts programming, and professional development for teachers. Now in its second year, the…
The Artist-Teacher Partnership: A Teacher Reflection
Written by Jaime Clough, 2nd Grade Teacher at Margaret Brent Elementary Middle School and Summer Arts & Learning Academy Classroom Teacher “This hit, that ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold.” As soon as I heard the music echo into…
Beatboxer Max Bent on Young At Heart
smARTbeats returns to WTMD Saturday, October 14, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with beatboxer and YA teaching artist Max Bent. Performing for adults and the Pre-K set…
Tasty Monster Productions: Tackling Bullying Through Empathy
Promoting empathy and kindness in all schools is a priority across school systems, with particular attention paid to encouraging a positive school climate in the month of October, National Bullying Prevention Month. New YA roster artist Tasty Monster Productions designed an…
Meet the Parents
It was a summer filled with activity, singing, dancing, reading, creating, and sunshine. We witnessed the excitement of mastering new skills and discovering new talents. We felt the calm of classrooms illuminated with only the rays of light peeking in…
smARTbeats returns Saturday with Alden Phelps!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD Saturday, September 9, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with artist, songwriter, musician, and YA teaching artist Alden Phelps. A graduate of…