OU Music Outreach will collaborate with school of music student groups to perform at “Katlett 4 Kids,” a benefit concert to raise money for the music therapy department of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital on Friday.
OU Music Outreach is a student organization within the OU School of Music that gives students opportunities to give back to the community through performance.
Junior Annelise Huynh, who is a chemical biosciences and music major at OU, co-founded OU Music Outreach with Joseph Mathew, a fellow music and pre-med junior.
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“We realized that there was no philanthropy aspect of the school of music, and everyone here is also super talented,” Huynh said. “We wanted to give students a space to share their incredible gifts.”
The idea sprung from Huynh and Mathew’s passions outside of music.
“Joseph and I are music students but also ultimately on the pre-med track,” Huynh said. “Music and medicine is tied in so many ways. Music can be healing, and that’s what we try to do with Music Outreach.”
While OU Music Outreach has hosted many events since its start in 2024, the “Katlett 4 Kids” benefit concert will be a first.
“Joseph and I have both volunteered at Oklahoma Children’s (Hospital) for a couple years,” Huynh said. “We’ve seen firsthand how they use music to support these kids, and we want to give back as much as we can.”
The benefit concert will feature not only OU Music Outreach, but also OU music sorority Sigma Alpha Iota, music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha and OU’s chapter of the National Association for Music Education, a service and advocacy group for music education students.
“These organizations are all wonderful groups with talented musicians,” Huynh said. “I think this collaboration will be the first of its kind.”
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Junior music education students Megan Austin and Caden Chase, as representatives from the student groups involved in the concert, have played a part in putting the concert together.
“This has been an all hands on deck operation,” Austin said. “My main jobs have been to support the communication within the school of music, promote the event and help cultivate scholarships and donors.”
The collaboration between student groups has made the benefit concert better and also meant a lot to the student leaders involved.
“I would like to give a special thanks to Annelise and Joseph for having me on this project,” Austin said. “It has been an honor to work with such passionate individuals.”
Huynh said she has also enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with her classmates who she wants to show off to the community.
“The people in these organizations are so talented and people I’ve known for years,” Huynh said. “I want the community to know of their talent and get to experience it.”
OU Music Outreach hosts events around Norman every month such as “Sip and Support” at Yellow Dog Coffee Company and performances at Rivermont Independent Living. More information on Music Outreach and updates on future events can be found on Instagram.
The “Katlett 4 Kids” benefit concert will start at 6 p.m. Friday in Pitman Recital Hall in the Catlett Music Center. Tickets are available for $10 online or $12 at the door. Donations can be made online.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Kylie Caldwell and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
