Events/Performances

Side by Side Applications To Open January 7
From January 7–February 6, 2026, Side by Side will accept applications for their international music camp in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Young Musicians Celebrate Sephardic-Latino Connections
Over 1,000 students will perform on December 8 with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony for the closing concert of the multi-week program “A Patchwork of Cultures: Exploring the Sephardic–Latino Connection.”
EDITORIAL
Young People Are Speaking To Us. Are We Close Enough to Hear Them?
Dalouge Smith, Founder and Executive Director, The Creating Abundance Collaborative; Co-founder and CEO, The Lewis Prize, 2018–2024
I’d been missing the presence and perspective of young people in these gatherings dedicated to arts education, young people’s wellbeing, and community health through the arts. When young people were present, it was most often as performers, and occasionally as panelists alongside adults.
Throughout these events, I had been wondering, “How is it that we continue to position young people as objects of conversation, and not the subject?”
An Upstate New York Community Connects through Myanmar’s Music

Andrew Borkowski, Director of Education, Buffalo String Works
During the 2022-23 academic year, Buffalo String Works began asking the question: “How can we be more intentional about the music we’re asking our students to learn and perform?” Over the course of attempting to answer this question, the BSW Music Library Development Project was born—resulting in the commissioning and composition of a brand-new work for student string orchestra: “Aka” by Wai Hin Ko Ko.
Calling All U.S. Artist-Activists
We’ve seen throughout history how the arts can speak louder than words, particularly in places where civil rights are under attack.
ClimateMusic Invites Streaming Partners for Interactive Digital Concert Series
If you’re an artist who is curious about climate action and want to connect with others on the topic in a fun and engaging way, ClimateMusic is inviting people to join their free live-streamed concert EcoEcho on November 8 as a streaming partner.
Musician Steven Banks Launches Community Engagement Initiative
Over the 2025–26 performance season, saxophonist, composer, and educator Steven Banks will bring his new initiative, Come As You Are, to communities across the U.S. and abroad.
New Documentary Film Tells Story of Deaf Musicians
The new documentary El Canto de las Manos goes behind the scenes of a 2022 production of Beethoven’s Fidelio, performed in sign language for the first time in honor of the deaf composer.
In Oregon, a More Neighborly Approach Brings Joy

Neal Spinler, Executive Director, BRAVO Youth Orchestras
The majority of the population is in Portland, at the northern border, with most everybody else residing along the “I5 Corridor”—Interstate 5, a major north-south highway that runs from Portland to California. BRAVO serves a region at the very northern tip of Portland; JOY serves students in Yamhill County. North Portland is a diverse blue-collar area with shipyards, warehouses, and port terminals; Yamhill County is the heart of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley, a region known best for its fabulous wineries. But while the county boasts fancy vineyards and tasting rooms, it is also filled with farms and the hardworking farmhands and families.
Just 46 miles apart, our landscapes could not be more different. And yet the work we do could not be more aligned.

