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Reggae Roots at Sistema Toronto – Jane Finch

Kelsy Vivash, Marketing & Communications Manager, Sistema Toronto

06-04-2025

Working in this field has shown us how a diverse, inclusive curriculum can activate a student’s passion and sense of self. At Sistema Toronto, our goal is to have repertoires that represent our students and the communities they live in. With that in mind, Sistema Toronto invited Juno-nominated reggae artist Jah’Mila to work with students at our Jane Finch Centre this March as part of a months-long exploration of reggae music titled Reggae Roots. Our students spent January and February preparing for three days of workshops led by Jah’Mila and a culminating concert.

Two Youth Ensembles Honored by Their Governments

06-04-2025

Sistema-inspired ensembles in Canada and England recently received big accolades at two high-profile events.

In Chicago, One Piece of Music Brings a City Together

Christine Taylor Conda, Executive Director of Education & Community Engagement, Ravinia Festival

06-04-2025

During the two magical years I spent in Jamaica as a child, my aunt would visit our house every Thursday evening after work. I remember our family spending dinnertime on orange pleather cushions, listening to broadcaster Leonie Forbes recite poetry on the radio as classical music played in the background. That dinner table is where I first fell in love with Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, and my family still talks about those Thursday nights we spent together.

Now, as Ravinia searches for inventive ways to reinvigorate interest in great musical works, those Thursday evenings come to mind.

Now, as Ravinia searches for inventive ways to reinvigorate interest in great musical works, those Thursday evenings come to mind.

AI-Powered App Measures Creative Health Program Outcomes

06-04-2025

A research partnership between Kenji Health, Queen Mary University, and four arts organizations in London has reimagined how we can evaluate the impacts of arts and health programs in rigorous and engaging ways.

Suggested Reading: “Expanding the Path to Equitable Arts Funding”

06-04-2025

The Lewis Prize for Music Co-founder Dalouge Smith challenges funders to reconsider grantmaking priorities in a recent article for Grantmakers in the Arts.

EDITORIAL
Navigating Constraint with Dignity: Lessons from Kinshasa’s “Positive Fatalism”

Lukas Pairon, Professor and Founder of Chair Jonet, University of Ghent, Belgium; Founder of the scholarly network SIMM; Founder of the Music Fund philanthropy; Co-founder of the contemporary music ensemble Ictus.

06-04-2025

What can we learn from people who live in one of the most constrained urban environments in the world—and still find ways to make life possible?

GUEST PERSPECTIVE
The Courage to Create: Helping Students Sing through Fear

Meagan Mayne, Founder, Meagan Mayne Voice Studio

06-04-2025

Singing (really, any artistic act) is an act of vulnerability. Your voice is you—your breath, your body, your emotions, your story. When you sing, you offer all of that up; even after a lifetime of performing, I still feel that fear when I step on stage.

If performing can be scary for us educators, how much scarier must it be for teen students still discovering their identity—for whom “fitting in” can feel like the most important thing?

The Arts of Dream Begin with Children’s Dreams

Kim Kibun, actor and arts educator

06-04-2025

In both Korean and English, the word dream carries layered meanings. It can refer, first, to the images and sensations we experience during sleep; second, to the hopes and ideals we wish to realize; and third, to a fleeting illusion or unrealistic fantasy.

When I was designing the framework for the Theater of Dreams last year, I leaned into the second meaning—the kind of dream filled with high ideals.

Essaouira World Music Festival Promotes Human Rights

06-04-2025

On June 19–21, the annual Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Morocco will return with a diverse program of live music and events that promote human rights.

Suggested Reading: To Be Young, Gifted and Black

06-04-2025

To Be Young, Gifted and Black, a new book by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, offers an intimate look at how her children navigated their professional path into the classical music world while exploring their cultural, racial, and national identities.

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