PHF YTD Impact Report: Quarter 3, 2025
Dear Foundation Friends,
The dog days of summer are coming to an end, but thanks to your support, we had one of our most exciting and engaging summers yet.
This summer, we brought New Orleans music directly to kids where they gather: summer camps, parades, and community spaces. We then helped kick off the school year with some exciting back-to-school events. In summer 2025, we reached local 2,659 kids across 37 Camp Visits and 5 Back To School Celebrations. During what’s often a slow season for gigs, PHF put 50 musicians to work, dispersing thousands in wages through summer programs and early fall engagements.
Happy Camper @ Art Camp 504 by Camille Barnett
Summer Camps
In 3 summers, student engagement has grown +1,333%, (39 → 559), camp visits have increased +825% (4 → 37), and the number of musicians we’re able to employ has more than doubled (21 → 55).
Why it matters: When school’s out, access matters most. These hands-on sessions build confidence and New Orleans pride while providing paid, meaningful work for local musicians.
“This was Art Camp 504's fourth Parade Camp with Pres Hall, we’re so grateful for this joyful, inspiring partnership! The students were talking about the visit all summer long!.” — Sam, Art Camp 504
Back To School w/ Bruce Brackman + Haruka Kikuchi
Back to School w/ Kevin Louis + Band
Back to School
Since launching in 2024, our Back to School initiative has welcomed nearly 7,000 local students across 10 New Orleans schools into the year with live music and conversations about why New Orleans’ musical culture is special, and why it belongs to them.
Preservation Hall musicians play concerts in gyms and auditoriums, then speak with students about tradition, musical history, and pride.
The goal is simple and local by design: meet students where they are, make the first week feel celebratory, and remind young people that the soundtrack of this New Orleans is their inheritance.
At these events, students are given the opportunity to personally interact with and ask questions to the visiting musicians. PHF Associate and New Orleanian Desiree Edwards noticed an increased interest in student participation following these interactions:
“It opens up the kids' eyes to the fact that they want to play instruments, they want to get in a band… that engagement is priceless because once upon a time there was no way to be able to communicate with and be encouraged by a professional musician in a New Orleans school.” -Desiree Edwards
Digital Media & Education
Our Digital Lesson Plans have seen 36,815 visitors this quarter, and 377,045 views on our Learning Media - this is a 75% growth from Q3, 2024!
Stacy + Dan of 2nd Line Music by Steve Rapport
New Partnership: 2nd Line Music
Recognizing that students needed an easier path to music reading, 2nd Line Music co-founders Stacy and Dan developed flashcards that teach staff-note reading alongside the matching fingerings. These flashcards innovate the way beginners learn clarinet!
Pass It On
We are pleased to announce our Fall NYC fundraiser will take place Tuesday November 4th at City Winery featuring Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irma Thomas, Yola and more.
All VIP proceeds benefit the Preservation Hall Foundation, supporting its work to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the musical traditions of New Orleans through education, outreach, and cultural preservation. Your participation helps ensure this music continues to inspire future generations.
Lagniappe
Check out this Force for Good online event with Walter Isaacson and the leaders of the Preservation Hall Foundation, who share their experiences with Preservation Hall and what you can do to keep it thriving for generations to come.
Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein.
He is a professor of history at Tulane and was CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023.
He is also a huge fan of Preservation Hall, citing it as as a personal musical touchstone in a 2025 podcast.
