Natalie Merchant Releases ‘Cabinet of Wonder,’ Reimagining Mother Goose With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Natalie Merchant Cabinet of Wonder, a new project created with musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre, was released Friday, August 21, through Nonesuch Records. The collection reworks traditional Mother Goose material through orchestral arrangements while expanding the music into videos and educational resources intended for children.

The release represents the public-facing culmination of a multiyear collaboration connecting Merchant’s songwriting with musicians, educators, theater artists and children in Chicago. Nonesuch describes the project as a collection of songs and accompanying videos built around modern interpretations of traditional nursery rhymes alongside original material written by Merchant.

Natalie Merchant Cabinet of Wonder turns nursery rhymes into orchestral songs

The musical range of Cabinet of Wonder goes well beyond a single children’s-music style. According to Nonesuch Records’ official album materials, the arrangements move through chamber music, Dixieland jazz, Calypso and Celtic influences as Merchant and the musicians reinterpret familiar rhymes including “Little Miss Muffet,” “Humpty Dumpty” and “Hickory Dickory Dock.”

Megan Gould created the orchestral arrangements, while the performances bring Merchant together with Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians and other collaborators. The recordings were made at Electrical Audio in Chicago, with Ryan Freeland serving as chief audio engineer.

The accompanying visual component also extends the project beyond a conventional album release. Videos feature Merchant and musicians alongside shadow puppetry from Chicago theater company Manual Cinema and children recruited through Chicago Children’s Theatre’s education program.

That combination reflects the project’s larger purpose. Cabinet of Wonder was designed not only as recorded entertainment but as an enrichment program introducing young audiences to music, poetry and dramatic arts.

The project grew from Merchant’s work with young children

The origins of Cabinet of Wonder stretch back years before its August release. Nonesuch says Merchant began developing the idea while working as an artist-in-residence with an upstate New York Head Start preschool program.

There, traditional nursery rhymes became part of lessons built around language, imagery and music. Merchant eventually connected that experience with collaborators at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre, creating a much larger project around the same educational premise.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra said the collaboration took three years to develop and was overseen through its Negaunee Music Institute. Material from the project was presented during CSO for Kids concerts at Symphony Center in May before the digital release.

Those performances followed pilot work with Chicago Public Schools. Nonesuch says the program culminated in concerts involving thousands of children at Symphony Center before plans expanded toward broader educational use.

Cabinet of Wonder extends beyond the album itself

One of the most unusual aspects of the release is the amount of material surrounding the recordings. The project makes rhymes, music, photographs, videos, sheet music, teaching guides and other resources available as part of its educational framework.

Merchant also took on multiple creative responsibilities. Nonesuch credits her with performing and composing while also contributing to costumes, teaching materials, video editing and overall creative direction.

The project therefore occupies a different space from a typical singer-songwriter album campaign. Its songs can function independently as recordings, but the broader undertaking is designed around introducing children to storytelling and music through a combination of performance, visual art and classroom resources.

That distinction also gives the release longer-term relevance beyond its first weekend on streaming services. Merchant is expected to spend the 2026-27 school year working with the National Head Start Association through teacher training, site visits and educational conferences as the program reaches additional communities.

A new chapter in Natalie Merchant’s work with children

Merchant’s involvement with children’s arts and education predates this project by decades. Cabinet of Wonder brings those interests into one of her most elaborate collaborative releases, combining recorded music with teaching resources and live-performance work.

The album arrives more than three years after Merchant’s 2023 studio release Keep Your Courage. Rather than following that record with a conventional singer-songwriter collection, the new project places her alongside orchestral musicians and educators in a format designed for both listening and learning.

With its August 21 release, the work that began in classrooms and developed through Chicago performances can now reach audiences outside the original program. For Merchant, that makes Cabinet of Wonder less a standalone album than the recorded centerpiece of a wider arts-education project.