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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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U.S. Music Education Programs Invited to Join Music Inclusion Hub

 

 

03-04-2026

The Music Inclusion Hub (MIH) invites U.S.-based music education programs to join their online resource center, hosting culturally responsive learning materials for students of all ages.

Creating a Community of Belonging at OrKidstra

Rebecca Russell, Former Director of Development & Communications, Carrie Lauzon, Executive Managing Director, and Tina Fedeski, Co-founder and Artistic Managing Director, OrKidstra

03-04-2026

When you walk down the halls of OrKidstra, you’ll hear the universal language of music around every corner. Laughter as the kids rush to the snack table during their break. And you’ll hear something distinctly Canadian: the beautiful sounds of a community composed of 62 different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. A community of belonging.

Re-birth: 18 Years of Music, Meaning, and Maturing

Elizabeth Njoroge, Founder and Executive Director, Art of Music Foundation

03-04-2026

Many of the students we began with, back in 2006, are the first in their families to finish school, to attend university, and to build careers. The truly amazing part is that now, as young adults, their dream is not to escape. Their dream is to return. They come back to their communities—with purpose, compassion, and determination. More often than not, they come back to Ghetto Classics as teachers. Most of our current 42 teachers once sat where our students now sit. The learners have become leaders.

Which means, of course, that the program no longer “belongs” to me.

Violin Included: Reflections on Leadership, Giving, and Growing Up in This Field

Elizabeth Moulthrop, Executive Director, El Sistema USA

03-04-2026

Last week, I found myself in Union City, New Jersey, USA, sitting in a sea of students, violin in hand, playing “Swan Lake” alongside kids, teachers, and my longtime colleague Melina Garcia. I hadn’t come to visit Melina and her program, the United Children’s Music Project simply for the joy of playing with young people; I was there to deliver a donation. I had just closed a similar program in Pisco, Peru—Notes for Change, Inc.—that I founded 15 years ago, and my donation for UCMP consisted of the final funds from that program. I had expected this to be a bittersweet moment; instead, it felt like a full-circle one. But more about that later.

ESUSA Awarded $1 Million Gift for Summer Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

A $1 million donation from the Peter Compo and Carol Larson Gift Fund will support 15 El Sistema USA member organizations in delivering summer youth programs as part of ESUSA’s Summer Now! initiative.

Music Matters Challenge Open to U.S. Musicians and School Music Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

The Music Matters Challenge is inviting U.S. musicians and schools to enter submissions to win cash prizes aimed at supporting school music programming and salaries for music teachers.

Through Songwriting, Colombian Communities Resolve Conflict and Make Their Voices Heard

Ana Uribe Law, musicologist and violinist; 2023 Alumna, Global Leaders Institute

03-04-2026

Ask any Bogotano about their perception of Colombia’s Chocó Region, and you’ll likely hear that it is a dangerous and remote place, visited primarily for whale-watching. These inter-regional biases are not uncommon—decades of armed conflict have disrupted networks of community and social cohesion, fragmenting them and threatening the practices that sustain communal life. And though a shared sense of Colombian identity exists, each of the country’s regions maintains a distinct cultural character that is often rooted in music.

Before traveling to Chocó, my perception of Colombia’s outer territories was similarly close-minded.

U.S.-Venezuela Relations Impact Music Exchange Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

Musical exchange programs between the U.S. and Venezuela have recently hit an impasse with new travel restrictions between the two countries.

EDITORIAL
Musical Benchmarks Build Equity

Adam Karelin-Anderson, Executive and Artistic Director, Riverside Arts Academy

02-04-2026

Over the past decade, our field has worked tirelessly to ensure that music education is holistic, addresses socio-emotional learning, and is culturally relevant to our students. These are incredibly important objectives that will help us ensure that well-adjusted, diverse people shape the future of our society and music industry.

But to diversify that industry, they have to be able to enter it.

New ESUSA Opportunities & Events

 

 

02-04-2026

El Sistema USA is focusing on inclusion and accessibility in their 2026 programming.

 

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