WNED Classical - Buffalo Toronto Public Media

Why Donate:

Since our founding, education has been at the very core of our mission – and that includes musical education. We believe that the world is full of possibilities, and so is every child. Teaching children the language of music unlocks doors to creativity, imagination and self-expression in our community.

Hear Us Out! is a series of free, interactive, enriching performances celebrating musical diversity for underserved young audiences in WNY. Concerts featuring multicultural artists and repertoire by BIPOC, Hispanic, and/or women composers are hosted in the Buffalo Toronto Public Media Performance Space and published online on YouTube as a free resource to extend impact across the region.

Quotes from past Hear Us Out! participants

• Grateful for such talented performers making themselves available to educate children and adults alike
• I’m so glad I got to finally play the steel drums!
• I loved learning a piece of music I then got to play
• I’m so glad I brought my grandchildren – we all enjoyed the event and the music
• I loved the diversity of sounds and music
• My favorite part was getting to play the African drums
• I didn’t want the event to end!

Each one-hour session includes an enlightening educational talk, a printed program with resources and links for at-home exploration, a dazzling performance, an open Q&A discussion, and a tour of the BTPM facility. Hear Us Out! debuted in Fall 2023 with six performances through the spring of 2024, and is now preparing for its second season.

While designed to serve youth ages 8 and up and their caregivers, Hear Us Out! aims to engage young audiences from low-income and historically underserved communities in particular.

The series also elevates diverse musicians and acknowledges the creative works of composers who have been marginalized or overlooked due to their race, gender, country of origin, and/or musical genre.

Hear Us Out! allows a young, multicultural audience to see themselves as possible performers and creators through the talents and accomplishments of performers with whom they can identify. For some attendees, this program may serve as a first time experiencing live musical performance, interacting with musicians and their instruments, or hearing music from different genres and cultures.

Recordings of Hear Us Out! create a platform to share these experiences with a broader audience, regardless of factors such as physical ability, geographic location, income, and transportation access. The resulting performance and discussion session videos are a fun and educational resource for classroom educators and at-home caregivers alike, and can be accessed on BTPM’s YouTube channel for free, on demand, any time.

Any donation of $60 or more includes WNED PBS Passport, our on-demand streaming service with thousands of hours of your favorite programs, including full seasons of many current and past series.

WNED PBS, WBFO, WNED Classical, WBFO The Bridge, WNED PBS KIDS, and WNED Create have been serving our binational communities with quality public media for decades.

Buffalo Toronto Public Media - Engaging our communities through exploration and entertainment--everywhere.