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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.

Rediscovering Joy at Superar Hungary

Judit Morvay, Founder/Director, Superar Hungary

12-11-2024

When I was growing up in Budapest, Hungary, I had the privilege of learning to play music through the pedagogy of Zoltan Kodály, the famous 20th century Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music educator, linguist, and philosopher. 

Thanks to Kodály, our small country has a well-built school music system, which allows students to learn music theory from a young age and to experience active music-making.

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.

Combining Music with Community Living: Keys of Change in Ghana

Katarzyna Deja, violinist, music educator, and music for social change ambassador

11-06-2024

There are many ensembles made up of family members. But have you ever encountered an entire orchestra where every musician feels like a sibling? The Accra Youth Sinfonietta, a youth music program in a small town near Accra, Ghana, is one such orchestra. What makes this ensemble especially familial is that the children not only make music together—they also live together at a children’s home called Kinder Paradise. Many of the children in residence have suffered abuse or neglect and have spent time in unhoused circumstances.

Beethoven in Cochabamba: The Power of Musician-Run Music Projects

Sergio Escalera, Bolivian pianist, composer, and arranger

11-06-2024

Something genuinely new in Bolivia’s classical music scene is happening here. The last decade has seen a new generation of enthusiastic Bolivian music students and teachers who are notably increasing the size of Bolivian audiences for classical music. As a result, self-managed orchestras have become commonplace not only in Cochabamba but across Bolivia.

A New Zealand “Pōwhiri” for Teaching Artistry

Eric Booth, Co-Founder, The Ensemble; Co-Founder, ITAC

11-06-2024

A good conference asks an important question; a great conference launches an answering process that reaches beyond its few days. In September, ITAC7, the Seventh International Teaching Artist Conference, brought hundreds of teaching artists from around the world to Auckland, New Zealand, to address the question of what the global field can learn from Indigenous wisdom about art and community.

Going Wild in New Brunswick

Larry Matthews, freelance writer with a long association with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra

10-02-2024

The 1,500-strong audience in eastern Canada’s Moncton, New Brunswick erupted with a roar of approval. 

They were applauding the Sistema New Brunswick (Sistema NB) Children’s Orchestra, 110 musicians ages 9-14. But the performance of Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave was only the warmup.

Soon, Dan Brown walked on stage. A world-famous author of bestselling novels such as The Da Vinci Code, Brown is also a composer. In 2020, he released a new work, Wild Symphony.

Learning through Teaching with the AIM Firebirds

Pablo Millanes, AIM Specialist and Strategy; Director of External Relations and Marketing, Reina Sofia School of Music, Madrid, Spain

10-02-2024

This past July, the warmth of the Portuguese summer and the backdrop of the Lisbon sea welcomed a diverse group of teachers and young musicians from social action music programs across more than ten countries. Amidst varied accents and curious glances, a shared energy became palpable—the excitement of face to face meetings among people who had been able to interact with one another only virtually during their four months of preparation. There was also the shared enthusiasm of people doing what they love most: teaching and making music together.

EDITORIAL
Universal Design for Learning: A Natural Fit for El Sistema-inspired Programs

Graciela Briceno, teaching artist and Foreign Service Officer, Accra, Ghana

10-02-2024

Imagine that you are walking up a staircase that leads to a school entrance, and you notice a sign that says, “ramp located at the back door.” Okay, so the sign and the ramp make the building technically accessible—but a person who can’t use stairs has to go all the way to the back of the building, locate the ramp, and hope that the door is open.

What if, instead of a staircase in front and a separate ramp in back, the architect had created a walkway that incorporates stairs and ramps all in one place?

This is the foundational metaphor of Universal Design for Learning, or UDL.

Side by Side by El Sistema Sweden, for a Joyful Decade

Emily Kubitskey, CEO & Founder, Global Arts; Faculty Teaching Artist, Side by Side

09-04-2024

Every year, a joyous gathering of over 2,000 children and hundreds of teachers and chaperones transforms the sunny city of Gothenburg in mid-June into a grand musical jubilee: it’s the Gothenburg Symphony’s youth orchestra festival, Side by Side.

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