In New York City, Mrs. Edgar Leventritt and Mrs. Lionello Perera (Mrs. Collier’s mother) immediately saw the possibilities in Mr. Menuhin’s experience. It confirmed that direct contact with the best professional artists could awaken and stimulate a strong sense of beauty and creativity in children. Both women also recognized the urgent need to give the best artists of the day employment. By bringing artists together with children in an educational setting, both could be enriched.

Initially named “Young Musicians Series,” Young Audiences evolved out of Nina Collier’s concern that young people were completing school and living their lives without ever having heard a live performance by a professional musician.