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Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s “Cabinet of Wonder,” a digital collection of 17 songs and accompanying videos that reimagine Mother Goose rhymes for a new generation, on Aug. 21. The project, a collaboration of the acclaimed singer-songwriter, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre, was presented in CSO for Kids school and family concerts on May 8-9 at Symphony Center.
Three years in the making, the project was overseen by the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It consists of modern interpretations of classic children’s songs, along with three originals by Merchant, all performed by Merchant, CSO musicians and special guests, in orchestral arrangements by Megan Gould.
The project was made possible thanks to Leadership Support from Megan and Steve Shebik and Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation; Major Support from Lisa and Paul Wiggin, D. Elizabeth Price, Mary and Lionel Go, Fred and Phoebe Boelter, Margo and Mike Oberman, and Additional Support from Nancy and Bernard Dunkel, Lisa Henner and Tim Hundt, Lloyd Khaner, Loretta A. Peterson, Stephen & Rumi Morales, Amanda Sonneborn and The League of the CSOA.
Two songs from the album, “Little Miss Muffet” and “Peter Pumpkin Eater,” along with their videos, are available now at the project’s official site. Meanwhile, “Cabinet of Wonder” can be heard via these streaming services/platforms.
Designed as a free enrichment program that introduces music, poetry and the dramatic arts to young children, “Cabinet of Wonder” represents the culmination of Merchant’s four decades of involvement in children’s arts and education. Drawn to working with children since her high school days, Merchant has continued to work with them throughout her life.
“I wanted to find a way to share all that joyful learning I was witnessing,” said Merchant (pictured below). “I found wonderful partners in the CSO and Chicago Children’s Theatre. They assembled a remarkable team of creative collaborators, and together, we devised a way to do just that."
The seed for “Cabinet of Wonder” began germinating eight years ago, when Merchant was artist-in-residence at an upstate New York Head Start preschool program.
During her three years there, she began writing songs based on the classic nursery rhymes that she had learned from her mother and then had passed on to her own daughter. Realizing that the centuries-old verses could become powerful teaching tools, Merchant built lessons around their delightful language and absurd imagery.
All of the music was recorded at Chicago’s Electrical Audio with Grammy-winning chief audio engineer Ryan Freeland. Over the 17 tracks, many musical styles and instruments are introduced, from the elegant chamber-music arrangement of “Little Nut Tree” to the brassy Dixieland jazz of “Little Miss Muffet,” the calypso swing of “Humpty Dumpty” to the Celtic rock of “Hickory Dickory Dock” and the danceable “The Queen of Hearts.” Music videos highlight performances by Merchant, CSO musicians, shadow puppetry by the Chicago-based theater group Manual Cinema, and a cast of 24 Chicago children recruited from Chicago Children’s Theatre’s educational program.
“I’ve reached the point in my life where I’m considering what I’ll leave behind,“ Merchant said. ”I believe ’Cabinet of Wonder’ will be my legacy; every skill that I’ve acquired over the last 45 years has gone into this project,” said Merchant, who perrforms a dual role as Mother Goose and a librarian-teacher figure named Miss Natalie, but also designed and stitched the costumes, wrote teaching guides, edited the videos with post-production company Abstrakt and oversaw creative direction for the project’s content-rich website. The site makes available, at no charge, all the rhymes, music, photographs, videos, sheet music, teaching guides and other resources.
After a year of successful pilot programs in Chicago Public Schools, the model is now ready for other school systems and orchestras to replicate.
The digital album brings the public arts project to a wider audience. To support the project as it is launched nationwide, Merchant will spend the 2026/27 school year in partnership with the National Head Start Association, leading teacher training sessions, conducting site visits, attending educational conferences and collaborating with early childhood education divisions of public and private schools.
