Savannah Music Festival brings free concerts to Savannah-Chatham students with Explorer Pass
As music fans from Savannah and all over the world descend on a variety of venues around town for the 2023 edition of the Savannah Music Festival (SMF), there’s a chance a few younger folks will be in the audience as well.
For the first-time, SMF is introducing their “Explorer Pass” initiative, which allows any Savannah-Chatham Public School System student to attend a SMF general admission concert with an adult chaperone for free. All they need is a student ID.
“We have all of these shows that come to Savannah and very rarely does something fully sell out,” said Jenny Woodruff, SMF’s senior director of community impact.
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“Everybody in chamber music, and in all genres, we hear a lot from our patrons, ‘Oh, I wish there were young people here.’ We're really reaching all of Savannah and so we thought why not continue our really great education and outreach programs to the festival itself.”
In order to get free tickets through the new Explorer Pass program, SCCPSS students can report to the venue Box Office an hour prior to the listed showtime to show an active school-issued ID, report card or other communication from SCCPSS indicating that child is an enrolled student. The student and a parent, guardian, or chaperone can then enter the venue and choose their seats.
“What we came up with as a staff is that it's all about access. It's about giving them the experience of seeing really great live music of all genres to anybody that wants it –– to remove the ticket price barrier,” Woodruff added.
“It's not just a ticket for the kid, but it's a ticket for the adult that brings them as well. So it's really for the whole family.”
The 2023 Savannah Music Festival offers a diverse range of genres, including jazz, blues, world music, bluegrass, Americana and classical. The 2023 festival includes more than 30 general admission performances in historic venues across Savannah.
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Outside of the festival, Woodruff works the Savannah Music Festival’s free Musical Explorers program, which connects local elementary students to diverse musical communities, building basic music skills as students learn songs from different cultures and reflect on their own communities.
After focusing on three musical genres each semester, in-person and digital concerts allow students to “meet” the professional musicians that have guided them on their musical journeys.
“We are so excited about the new Explorer Pass,” said Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Superintendent Dr. Ann Levett. “Giving our young scholars and their families access to first-class musical experiences is one of the things we love most about the Savannah Music Festival. We hope the exposure to all types of music inspires our students and gives them new windows on the world.”
For more information on the SMF Explorers Pass, visit savannahmusicfestival.org/education-programs/explorer-pass/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Explorer Pass allows Savannah-Chatham students into SMF 2023
