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Dear Foundation Friends,

Halfway through our 15th year as the Preservation Hall Foundation, we're taking a moment to reflect on what has already been an extraordinary year of growth. Every field trip, workshop, performance, and community partnership is a celebration New Orleans and those who embody its traditions.

So far this year, we've brought programming to hundreds of students, expanded our reach to local schools, and increased access to music education for young people across New Orleans.

We've continued to support the city's musicians through consistent opportunities and community programming, while making exciting progress toward our next chapter with the Jaffe Center at 730 St. Peter Street.

As we celebrate 15 years of impact, we're grateful to everyone who has helped make this work possible — every musician, donor, staff member, teacher, camp counselor, and concert-goer — this community continues to show up for us and allow this ecosystem of musical magic to flourish.

Most of all, we’re feeling grateful for the incredible musicians we work with in the Preservation Hall Collective. They are the reason we show up every day, the steadfast beacon of this wonderful community, and living proof that music and culture are a force for good.

Read on to learn about our impact in the first half of 2026.

Support Our Mission

Preservation Hall opened its doors to 5,893 students from around the country in the first half of 2026 for Kids in the Hall field trips.

Preservation Hall Foundation's free field trips and music programming reached record numbers of local students and schools this year. In the first half of 2026 alone, we welcomed 2,084 students into the Hall and saw an 88% increase in school visits over the same period last year.

*3rd graders from Samuel J Green Charter came downtown to spend an afternoon listening & learning with us*

“The live performance was not only entertaining but also a great opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world culture.

Our visit to Preservation Hall sparked meaningful conversations about music, heritage, and community. I’m so grateful for spaces like this that honor tradition while inspiring the next generation.

Highly recommended for educators and families looking to enrich their children’s understanding of the arts and New Orleans culture.”

-Ms. Brety, Samuel J Green Charter School

Thanks to repeat successes and strengthened relationships with local educators, we’re finding that local schools are bringing bigger student groups than years past: we’ve seen 115% more local students participating in our KIH programming than the first half of last year.

Kids in the Hall

Forty-eight musicians earned $365,650 through classroom teaching, workshops, and community performances — the kind of steady, local income that's hardest to find as a working musician today.

Construction of the Allan & Sandra Jaffe Center is now 60% complete, bringing us one step closer to a transformative new home. The first floor is on track to open this fall.

Our Pass It On campaign aims to bring a new home to 730 St Peter Street, to transforming what was once an underutilized historic building into a center for music, education, and community.

We are halfway through year 4 of our 5 year campaign- with $2.5 Million left to raise, now is a great time to contribute and secure customized naming opportunities throughout the building.

We will focus the final year of our campaign on raising critical programming and operational funds that will allow us to fully animate this expanded campus.

The renovation work on the Allan & Sandra Jaffe Center continues to make great progress, with electrical and plumbing systems installed, the elevator shaft completed, and the entrance and lobby exhibition space taking shape.

Completing this building will expand PHF's reach and impact by creating room for new programs, deeper partnerships with educators, and greater access to mentorship and resources for students and musicians alike.

Please support us in our mission to Pass it On.

PASS IT ON

Community Spotlight: Remembering & Preserving Stories for Future Generations with LEDE

This year, Preservation Hall Foundation partnered with LEDE New Orleans to present "ask me to remember," a free, community-centered workshop series exploring memory work, storytelling, and the preservation of personal and cultural histories.

Spearheaded by archivist and team member Felli Maynard, participants reflected on how memory is carried across generations, learned practical tools for creating digital archives, and discovered best practices for preserving keepsakes through physical archiving.

Turnout exceeded expectations across three sessions, connecting local journalists, artists, storytellers, and musicians of all generations. We welcomed New Orleans-based storytellers, as well as journalists visiting the city for the Hispanic Journalism Conference.

This partnership reflects our commitment to ensuring that community stories are not only remembered, but saved for future generations. By equipping participants with the knowledge and resources to document their own histories, these workshops helped strengthen the community surrounding cultural heritage while affirming that every family's stories, traditions, and memories are valuable pieces of living history.

NORDC Campers Beat the Heat at Preservation Hall

Local New Orleans Recreation & Development Campers visit Preservation Hall for the first time.

In the heat of the summer, Preservation Hall Foundation welcomed a handful of special groups of young visitors to The Hall through our partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD). A longtime partner in providing subsidized programming for local youth, NORD helps us provide fun and inspiring musical experiences for local children in the long summer months.

In previous years, we’ve brought our programs directly to NORD campers at recreation centers across the city, but this summer marked an exciting milestone: welcoming these students into Preservation Hall for an in-person experience.

For local campers, visiting this magical space provided the opportunity to experience New Orleans music in the very place where it has been shared with audiences around the world for generations.

In Honor of Our Dear Friend Ronell Johnson

Our community is grieving the heartbreaking loss of Ronell Johnson, a beloved musician, friend, colleague, and family member whose life and artistry touched so many.

For nearly 30 years, Ronell was part of the Preservation Hall family, performing multiple times a week at Preservation Hall in New Orleans and traveling the world with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Ronell's unique joy, energy and humor were always a highlight of any performance. Night after night, city after city, he carried the spirit of New Orleans with him, sharing the music with audiences near and far.

Though celebrated for his work on trombone, Ronell’s talent knew no bounds. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he could jump on just about anything and make it sing. We were so blessed to see him do this at the Hall & between sets.

Ronell had a rapport with audiences of all ages, but it was a particular delight to see him interact with children — at the Hall and through his frequent work with the Foundation's education efforts. His unique ability to inspire and excite a room of students left a lifelong impact on so many young musicians.

Thanks so much to those of you who have reached out and shared your memories, condolences and contributions to the family.

Thank You To Our Supporters, Donors, Partners & Collaborators

Preservation Hall Foundation's year-round programming is not possible without the contributions of donors from around the world. This mid-year impact report reflects an incredible investment made in sharing the cultural legacies of New Orleans music at Preservation Hall.

We are proud to have received recent institutional support from Arts New Orleans, David & Jacquie Clark Family Fund, Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation, Good Chaos, Gia Prima Foundation, Goldring Family Foundation, Leffler Family Fund, Live Music Society, Mikes Amazing Foundation, Music Performance Trust Fund, and the City of New Orleans.

Help us keep the momentum going by supporting Pass It On today.

Thanks for Staying Connected!

Keep up with the Foundation's day-to-day activities via our social media accounts below or check out our website.

Preservation Hall Foundation: Our Impact So Far in 2026!