Evan Premo of the Northwoods Music Collaborative with a Lullaby Project Participant. (Photo courtesy of Bette Premo)

MARQUETTE — The Lullaby Project, a program out of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, is coming to Marquette. The international project’s aim is to pair parents and caregivers with professional musicians to write, perform, and record lullabies for their children, in doing so supporting the mental health of parents and strengthening bonds between parent and child.

Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project is far-reaching, partnering with 60 organizations worldwide with over 4,000 lullabies having been written in over 40 languages. In Marquette, the project is spearheaded by the Northwoods Music Collaborative, which links Northern Vermont and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through creative and cultural expression.

“Lullabies serve as a tool for healing, joy, and connection, particularly in trauma-sensitive settings,” said Bette Premo, executive director of the Northwoods Music Collaborative. “Attendees express how music supports emotional resilience and transformation. These projects can offer deep meaning — restoring cultural identity, supporting young families, and improving perinatal care. Teaching artists meet families where they are, such as correctional facilities and domestic violence centers.”

In Marquette, Northwoods Music Collaborative has partnered with the Marquette Women’s Center, which provides programs and services to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. Parents and caregivers from the center will develop lullabies during a week-long workshop with Evan Premo, Marianne Perchlik, Dave Ziegner, Bette Premo of the Northwoods Music Collaborative, then will showcase their lullabies in a public concert.

“From its home base in the U.P., Northwoods Music Collaborative combines resources from its member donors and community organizations in order to present innovative, interactive, and affordable music and healing arts programming, provide community outreach and education, create art inspired by the regions, foster a nourishing and welcoming environment in which artists can innovate and support partner organizations to expand the impact of this work,” said Premo.

The Northwoods Music Collaborative has been running the Lullaby Project in Vermont for four years now, but this is its first year in Marquette. In Vermont, the Collaborative has worked to make lullabies with parents and caregivers from the Vermont Department of Corrections, the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Writers for Recovery, among other partners.

“However inspiring, performance is not the project’s primary aim or value,” said Premo.

“The design was to strengthen the bond between parent and child, aid child development and support parent’s health and well-being, all of which have been accomplished — and then some — according to qualitative analysis by arts research firm WolfBrown, which WMI commissioned to evaluate the project from 2011 to 2017.

“Researchers found “marked differences” in participants’ positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and sense of achievement, key markers for measuring well-being. Some of the lullaby writers who performed their songs had never spoken –much less sung– in front of an audience.”

A free concert of the Marquette produced lullabies will be open to the public at 5 p.m. Friday at the Hiawatha Music Organization location called “The Fold,” 1015 N. Third St. in Marquette. Musicians that will be involved include Evan Premo, Marianne Perchlik, Dave Ziegner and Bette Premo. Refreshments will be available for all attending.