Fred Rogers Center event in Unity will aim to help grown-ups 'learn to listen'

Millions of children grew up singing songs including “It’s You I Like” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” with Mister Rogers — but those children, now grown, might not realize the musical depth present in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

The Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College in Unity this month will host its first music education event through the Gretsch Fellowship program. Katie Palmer, the 2021 Gretsch Fellow, will present the inaugural event, “Learning to Listen: Music, Empathy and the Work of Fred Rogers.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, will aim to educate the community on the empathy, diversity and developmental importance of Rogers’ tunes. Palmer, who also serves as curator of education at Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum, will share her findings after two semesters of research.

Dana Winters, executive director of the Fred Rogers Center, said attendees will witness Rogers’ “values and philosophies” mesh with Palmer’s expertise.

Palmer is an ethnomusicologist, or someone who studies the social and cultural context of music.

“(Palmer is) doing her best to apply these frameworks so that people in general can support children in their exploration of music and using music and musical sounds as an important part of development, especially in kindness and empathy and understanding toward others,” Winters said.

Palmer combed through the Fred Rogers Archives to research his music. It’s well known that Rogers had substantial training in music, starting with a degree in musical composition from Rollins College, and that he wrote the melodies and lyrics for all the songs on the show. Winters said attendees will learn facts about Rogers that are not public knowledge.

“There will certainly be things that she discusses that are not known by general people right now,” she said. “Her application of those to her own background in music will be really interesting.”

After Palmer shares her research, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Winters said she believes Palmer’s findings and Rogers’ “timeless values” will benefit childhood and adult development alike.

“(Rogers’ values) are certainly geared more toward human development, and I think we as grown-ups can benefit from thinking about a lot of those values,” she said.

The Gretsch Fellowship program seeks to study Rogers’ approach to music and his music’s impact on children.

The program’s second event, scheduled for the fall, will feature a percussive story­teller. While Palmer’s presentation is catered toward adults, the fall event will be geared to a “more general audience,” Winters said.

“Learning to Listen: Music, Empathy and the Work of Fred Rogers” will begin at 6:30 p.m. March 23 at the Fred Rogers Center. For more information, contact info@fredrogerscenter.org or call 724-805-2750.

It is free and open to the public. Masking is optional.