Across the country, from New York to Los Angeles, and as far away as Alaska and American Samoa, families are watching Monkey Monkey Music videos on their local public television stations and asking, "Who's that girl?"
She's Meredith LeVande, the creator of Monkey Monkey Music, and her videos
are broadcast multiple times each day, framing such iconic shows as Sesame
Street and Curious George, on more than 100 public television stations
in 60 plus markets.
In 2011, blockbuster KCET
in Los Angeles became the first public television station to begin airing
Meredith's videos. New Jersey-based NJTV,
owned and operated by WNET,
the nation's largest PBS
station, chose Monkey Monkey Monkey Music videos to launch its kids' programming.
Station after station followed suit, with programmers responding to the energy
created by the special emotional connection that Meredith shares with her
audience.
Meredith LeVande "definitely has a huge future for herself as a children's
entertainer, whether in public or commercial television," enthused Robert
McDonnell, director of education and production services for KCET. "We
are so pleased to be able to be one of the first to be airing her music videos.
Within a couple of years, she's going to have the following and popularity
that the really big children's entertainers have."
Bob Petts, program development manager for the National Educational Telecommunications Association, which distributes Monkey Monkey Music videos to public television stations, was struck by the singularity of Meredith's work. "We get others along these lines and turn many of them down for whatever reason. They didn't do it for us. This one did," Petts declared.
Monkey Monkey Music began in 2001, when educator/songwriter Meredith LeVande
– acting on the way that music engaged the "whole child" –
began writing and performing songs that supported children's natural curiosity
and desire to learn.
Through the years, birthday parties – more than 600 in all – have
provided a laboratory for Meredith to hone the art and craft of capturing
the attention and the hearts of children. Monkey Monkey Music has also performed
at such NYC-area venues as the ESPN
annual summer outing, Tribeca
Film Festival, Victorian
Gardens at Wollman Rink in Central Park, Pottery
Barn Kids, Babies"R"Us,
Dylan's Candy Bar
and Tarrytown
Third Friday, as well as for famous celebrities and and innovative parent
groups like Big City Moms.
Crowned one of New York 's "Best Affordable Children's Performers"
by Time
Out New York Kids, Monkey Monkey Music has been featured in Parenting
magazine and broadcast on Comcast's Kidz
Bop Preschool On Demand channel, SIRIUS
Satellite Radio, Pandora
Internet Radio, Preschool
Radio, and numerous other children's music radio programs throughout the
U.S.
The first Monkey Monkey Music album, 2004's Monkey Monkey Music with Meredith
LeVande, became an instant hit with families nationwide, earning a reputation
as a classic children's recording. What Are the Odds?, released in
2010, gained praise as "brainy and brilliant" and "pure preschool
gold." During the period between these two releases, Meredith LeVande
decided to produce a music video that would capture the fun and interaction
of her live Monkey Monkey Music performances. Parents and educators soon began
calling Meredith to tell her that their children could not stop watching!
More videos followed, culminating in the release of a compilation DVD, Monkey
Monkey Music: The Videos with Meredith LeVande, which received a NAPPA
Honors Award and was endorsed by KIDS
FIRST!: Coalition for Quality Children's Media.
The rest, as they say, is history. So now that you know the answer to the
question "Who's that girl?" – tell someone else. They
all want to know!
