The Department of Music's National Association for Music Education Collegiate Chapter has won the 2020 Chapter of Excellence Service Recognition Award. 

Their service project, The Classical Kids Club, will be recognized Thursday, June 25, at the NAfME Reimagined National Leadership Assembly 2020 "National Rally for Music Education." 

The Classical Kids Club is a collaborative partnership between the University of Arkansas NAfME Collegiate Chapter and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Classical Kids Club invites young concertgoers between the ages of 5 and 12 to come and experience a fun learning environment during the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra concerts. This opportunity provides children attending the concerts the chance to be a kid while still learning about the music being performed in the concert hall.

Members of the U of A NAfME chapter also serve as APO Teaching Artists, planning and enacting music lessons centering around each concert's theme. Experiences have included musical activities such as learning traditional folk dances, playing party games, creating original compositions using boomwhackers, STEAM activities with Makey Makey boards and watching and listening to portions of the concert from backstage – a unique vantage point that many do not get to experience.

"I am extremely proud of our chapter members for their commitment towards music education throughout the Northwest Arkansas community and beyond! May you continue to do the important work you do and continue to share it with collegiate peers of Arkansas," said Daniel Abrahams, professor and U of A NAfME advisor.

The chapter will receive a plaque from NAfME and will be recognized in an upcoming issue of either Teaching Music or Music Educators Journal.