The Lullaby Project
The Lullaby Project pairs new and expectant parents with artists to write, record and perform a personal lullaby for their baby.
Our program works with approximately 10-15 participants annually, introduced by four community partners: Jessie’s: The June Callwood Centre for Young Women; Dr. Ester Bui with the University Health Network (UHN); Regent Park Community Health Centre; and Birth Mark. Over five years, 58 parents have participated, and 58 songs have been produced both in-person and online.
The Lullaby Project was initially introduced by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall became a #lullabyproject partner in 2017, joining over 30 other organizations running their own Lullaby Projects internationally.
Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall are proud to deliver the Lullaby Project - where new and expectant parents are paired with artists to write, record and perform a personal lullaby for their baby. Our program works with approximately 10-15 participants annually, introduced by our community partners.
Participation in this program is free due to the generous ongoing support of our donors. Your donation will support this complimentary status and the continuity of this project. Thank you so much for your consideration.
More about the Lullaby Project | Lullaby Project in Action : Listen to songs and testimonials | Our Partners
More about the Lullaby Project
In the Lullaby Project pregnant women and new mothers work with professional musicians to write personal lullabies for their babies. The Project is part of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute who we have partnered with to bring to Toronto. Originally a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall brought the program to Toronto in 2017. since then, we’ve worked with 45 parents to write 45 lullabies, both in-person and online.
The project brings healthy beginnings for families and impact includes :
- Supporting maternal and parental health
- Fostering child development for a lifetime of memories
- Strengthening the bond between parent and child for strong families
- Creating community connections
- Creating harmony across beliefs, cultures, artists, and communities
Participants access the program for free, and we partner with Jessie’s - The June Callwood Centre for Young Women, where our participants earn high school credit for their participation in the program.
We recently expanded the Lullaby Project by partnering with two additional community partners, Regent Park Community Health Centre and University Health Network, to share our program with even more parents in our community.
Previous songwriters involved in the Lullaby Project include Peter Katz, Liz Lokre, Mappe Of, Tanika Charles, Murray Foster, Cathy Nosaty, Carlie Howell, Lis Soderberg; and recordings feature performances from Christine Bougie, Alanna Stuart, Adam Warner, Adrian X, Shawnee, and many more.
In a revitalized Massey Hall:
We’re looking at ways to expand this program to other community centres and organizations. In order to best serve the communities, we will continue to be on-the-ground in neighbourhoods but will use the added space will give us the flexibility to provide a working space as necessary. With increased recording capabilities, we can record our lullabies right at Massey Hall, using the multipurpose room as a holding area and for further workshops and childcare while each mother records their lullaby. Of course, performances could easily now take place at Massey Hall, either in our new venues.
Lullaby Project at Home:
Is a series introduced in 2021 where we’ve shared video prompts and activities for parents, teachers and children to use at home or in the classroom to write their own lullabies.
Lullaby Project in Action : Listen to songs and testimonials
What do our parents say:
“Putting those dreams and thoughts into song is a tool I can use to help bring those thoughts along with me, even after the baby has been born. It's also a wonderful tool to communicate to my child later in life what I wished for them before they were even born and let them know how much they were wanted and loved. I see the lullaby as a potential time capsule of all these ambitions and hopes I have for my child.”
Our Partners
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Regent Park Community Health Centre
University Health Network Epilispy Centre
We feel very thankful for our community partners who are vital to the delivery of these programs. We are fortunate to work with four partners on this project:
Jessie’s: The June Callwood Centre for Young Women
Since the program began in 2017, we have been partnered with Jessie’s: The June Callwood Centre for Young Women. Jessie’s offers comprehensive support services to pregnant and parenting youth and their children. Participants can earn high school credit for their participation.
Dr. Ester Bui at the University Health Network (UHN)
We are partnered with Dr. Esther Bui at the University Health Network (UHN) who leads the largest epilepsy clinic for women's issues and pregnancy in Canada. People living with epilepsy while pregnant are referred to Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall’s Lullaby Project. The Lullaby Project is part of a UHN research project that studies the program as a musical intervention for pregnant individuals with epilepsy.
Regent Park Community Health Centre (RPCHC)
Our fourth partner, Regent Park Community Health Centre (RPCHC), works with people living and working in the Regent Park and Moss Park areas, to support the health and well-being of the community.
Birth Mark
Birth Mark offers complimentary full-spectrum reproductive doula care and perinatal support services for patients in Toronto and throughout the GTA and Hamilton areas of Ontario. Birth Mark partnered with us in the Spring of 2022.
Participation in this program is free due to generous ongoing donor support. Read About The Lullaby Project at WMI (Carnegie Hall)
Prefer to make a donation by an alternative method such as over the phone, mailing a cheque, or e-transfer, please contact Emma Biffi at (416) 593-4728 or emma.biffi@mh-rth.com.
Charitable Registration No. 11922 8633 RR 0001.Tax receipts are issued for all donations $20 or more.