New Music and Arts in Action Issue Looks Back to Move Forward

We always champion the social impact of orchestral programs serving youth around the world, and part of that advocacy is a need to self-reflect and revisit our ideas with fresh eyes. To that end, the latest issue of Music and Arts in Action is worth a read. Titled “Youth Orchestras and Sistema-inspired programs as socio-artistic intervention: exploring ambivalence, contradiction, and complexity,” it offers a series of reflections on El Sistema and the programs it has inspired globally, investigating both the benefits of and barriers to participation. The issue’s editors encourage their readers to take stock of the complexities and contradictions in such programs, using that process as a starting point for developing better practices. The conversation doesn’t stop there; MAiA plans to form a study group and organize a conference on youth orchestras, with more details to come on their website.