All Regions

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.

Microgrants for Arts Workers of Color

10-05-2021

ARTNOIR’s Jar of Love Microgrants provide relief for artists, curators, and cultural workers of color, launched to ensure that the next generation of Black and Brown arts workers are supported. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and open to all arts workers living in the fifty states, territories, and Tribal Nations. Check out the application process on ARTNOIR’s website, and learn more about ARTNOIR—a female-majority and minority owned global collective based in NYC—here.

Two Opportunities from Sphinx—Deadline Oct. 20

10-05-2021

Sphinx LEAD (Leaders in Excellence, Arts & Diversity) is accepting applications for its next cohort. The two-year leadership program is designed “for arts administrators and leaders looking to slingshot their careers to executive-level placement.” Ten arts leaders of color will be selected to participate in a curriculum that includes mentorship, networking, and leadership retreats at top institutions nationwide, including both on-site and virtual learning. Applications are due by October 20; visit SphinxLEAD.org to learn more and apply.

The 25th Annual Sphinx Competition will take place January 26–29, 2022. This national competition offers young Black and Latinx classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with and receive mentorship from professional musicians. Prizes range from $3,000 to the $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize. The deadline for your students to apply is October 20; read the FAQs and requirements on the Sphinx site.

A September 2021 Resource Bulletin

09-21-2021

Venezuela’s El Sistema will hold a World Congress of El Sistema on September 28th, 29th, and 30th. The virtual event is designed to foster an exchange of ideas on topics of global relevance for like-spirited programs and projects around the world. The Congress will include discussions, presentations, workshops, and screenings, all with Spanish-English translation. Focal topics will include organizational and pedagogical issues, artistic vision, social impact, research in the field, child and youth protection policies, and fundraising.

ITAC Think Tanks: Join Monthly Conversations with International Colleagues

08-18-2021

The International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC) continues to host monthly Think Tank sessions for those looking to learn from and share with their international colleagues. Each session is led by a teaching artist from a different part of the world, who offers insight and moderates discussions around topics pertinent to the field. Sessions are listed through February ‘22; the next Think Tank takes place on Tuesday, August 31 (time TBA), and will explore teaching artistry’s role in developing “Future Literacy, Future Fluency, Future Competency, and Future Consciousness.” Some Think Tanks lead directly into working groups of artists from around the world who are passionate about a topic, and together they take on field-changing projects. Registration is free and easy through this ITAC Google Form, and archived sessions are available on their website.

Global Arts Shares Free Professional Development Sessions

08-18-2021

The Global Arts team has curated a series of “Power Hour” professional development sessions around the topics of “Adultism” (with new El Sistema USA president Angelica Cortez), “Injury Prevention for Musicians,” and “Restarting My Music Classroom.” All sessions are available for free on Vimeo.

In addition to the sessions, the Global Arts team has shared a fun playlist you might use to close out the summer with your students, created by young Global Arts participants. Students compiled this “GALA Summer Playlist” while participating in the GA’s three-week summer program.

World Ensemble Day at SEYO

08-04-2021

Twenty-something short videos in an online gallery. They aren’t the finalists for a film festival “short film” competition, or a set of algorithm-selected favorites. They are us, the best of us—short films about innovative solutions that music for social change programs around the world submitted for World Ensemble Day workshops at SEYO (Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra) Summerfest 2021. World Ensemble Day celebrated the proud history and healthy future of innovation to address the challenges and fulfill the high goals of our programs—a fitting presentation for a news hub that exists to connect our field around all kinds of aspirational ideas.

August Update

08-04-2021

This month, the Ambassadors responded to the prompt: “What’s your favorite place in your city/town?” Read on to learn about their special places.

Join World Ensemble Day at SEYO SummerFest on July 22

07-21-2021

By now, you’ve likely seen our requests for programs to share something fun and innovative about themselves by sending short videos to be featured during World Ensemble Day, part of Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra’s (SEYO) 2021 SummerFest.

Connect with Other Arts Organizations Working with Vulnerable Populations

07-21-2021

If you work with asylum-seekers, refugees, or other vulnerable populations, you will want to subscribe to art27. Founded on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 27), the organization serves as a platform for “artists, arts educators, and arts organizations” who work with vulnerable populations. Specifically, art27 is a network where like-minded organizations can collaborate and share expertise.

New Research on Music and the Brain

07-21-2021

Music has long helped to bring communities and cultures together. A recent study by neuroscientists from Bar-Ilan University and the University of Chicago collected data to demonstrate just that. Its findings, shared in a paper titled “The Social Neuroscience of Music: Understanding the Social Brain through Human Song,” outline the five areas of the brain that contribute to social connection through music: empathy circuits, oxytocin secretions, reward and motivation, language structures, and dopamine.

Share

© Copyright 2022 Ensemble News