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The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
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Child’s Play India’s Glass is Half-Full, Half-Empty

Dr. Luis Dias, Founder/Director, Child’s Play India Foundation in Goa, India

07-09-2025

Unlike more privileged settings, we could not make the switch to online teaching; we did try it, but most of our children did not have their own phones, and there were other issues, such as out of tune instruments, strings broken, and instruments outgrown. When the lockdown eventually lifted, many of our children had moved out of area or progressed to higher mainstream education which took them away from music lessons, either geographically or in terms of available time. We have had to start over, with new groups of children for violin and cello.

But there is also good news to balance things out.

No Matter the Medium, Ensemble Learning Makes Leaders of Us All

Saurabh Sainani, Program Lead, Enabling Leadership

04-02-2025

For many organizations outside of our shared community, leadership is viewed as a title or formal role—something to aspire to professionally. When it comes to youth empowerment, though, it means a bit more. We see it in the everyday actions, habits, and mindsets that empower individuals to make a difference. Leadership, for us, is about inspiring others simply by living your values.

At Enabling Leadership (EL), we strive to support young people as they find their way toward those actions and values.

The Baithak Foundation Works to Measure Impact

Mandar Karanjkar, Co-founder and Lead Communications, Baithak Foundation

12-11-2024

As in many countries around the world, education has become a machine in India. This machine does a good job of building left-brain capabilities, but as Yale scholar Iain McGilchrist argues in his book The Master and His Emissary, our left brain is an exceptional servant but a very poor master. At the Baithak Foundation, this sentiment was more important than we ever realized. When we started working with traditional Indian music as a tool for holistic development of children, we were totally unaware that we were addressing the lack of stimuli and opportunities to develop the right brain in our educational system.

Growing Arts Education in India, No ‘Artist’s Touch’ Required

Dharmesh Moleshri, Growth & Outreach Manager, Saturday Art Class

11-06-2024

In a city like Mumbai, India’s financial capital, 300 out of the 400 public schools do not have a designated art teacher. Many schools rely on academic subject teachers to handle “art classes,” despite their lack of formal training or experience. While working in rural and remote regions, we realized that the situation worsened outside of Mumbai, reflecting a nationwide trend that affects over 250 million children in government and low-income private schools. Recognizing that hiring specialized art teachers was not feasible for many schools, we developed the “Art for Educator” (AFE) program to empower existing teachers as facilitators of visual arts and SEL.

Arts Educators in India Drop Old Habits, and Their Kids Flourish

Rathi, Director, Slam Out Loud

07-10-2024

In 2016, Jigyasa Labroo was teaching in the conflict area of Kashmir, India. She brought a poetry exercise to her class of 60 girls that called for them to express their emotions. Jigyasa expected the regular childhood emotions of joy, wonder, and friendship to emerge; what came out instead was mostly pain, anger, isolation, and sadness. The room that day held a great deal of tension and hurt—but also some catharsis. At the end of class, she realized how important it was to create spaces for children to express themselves safely through the arts.

At Manzil Mystics, Ancient Language Offers Timeless Truth

Anurag Hoon, Co-Founder and CEO, Manzil Mystics

06-05-2024

There are not many music programs in the world with the word “Mystics” in their name. But it serves us well. Like many Ensemble readers, we are a passionate group of musicians working toward creating social inclusion and happy childhoods through music. And we find inspiration in the all-inclusive and peaceful messages of mystic poets like Kabir Das and Mahatma Gandhi.

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