England

In its 60 years of existence, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO)—Canada’s first provincial orchestra—has celebrated many a milestone. This year, there’s a new kind of success to celebrate: two of its graduating seniors have been accepted into London’s Royal College of Music. 

The Royal College has never accepted an NBYO player before, let alone two. This is relatively rare for programs that value social-emotional outcomes as much or more than musical ones. But for the students involved, those social-emotional outcomes played a critical role in their matriculation, clarifying the value of a movement that builds arts-and-community pipelines traced back to a player’s earliest years.

Earlier this year, the BBC launched Get Singing, the largest U.K.-wide music education program in a decade.

“We do things differently.” That’s the motto of Manchester, England—and if you’re walking through the city, it doesn’t take long to see that it prides itself on its innovation and creativity. I’ve been fortunate to spend my 20s here, learning from the legacies of changemakers both past and present. So many of the city’s most impactful figures have been—and still are—artists working directly with communities.

Inspired by the people, creatives, and communities around me, I spent the second half of my 13 years in Manchester founding The Untold Orchestra, a “non-classical” collaborative orchestra that centers community engagement. But this piece isn’t about Untold. It’s about an Art City—that is, a place where arts interventions are prioritized and supported by the people who live there, and then rewarded with community, creativity, and positive social change.

The Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London was recently awarded a £3.5m Wellcome Discovery Award for a seven-year research study on the impact of arts and cultural engagement (ACEng) on health outcomes.

A global focus on musician wellbeing is growing more visible through initiatives like InTune, a digital platform providing musicians with personalized health and wellness support.

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

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.

Some of the UK’s biggest musicians are calling on UK politicians to restore funding for music education.

Leeds Beckett University and Musicians Without Borders are collaborating to run a five-day training (June 9–13) for musicians interested in using their skills to support individuals affected by war and armed conflict.