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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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News & Resources

New Research on Music and the Brain

07-21-2021

Music has long helped to bring communities and cultures together. A recent study by neuroscientists from Bar-Ilan University and the University of Chicago collected data to demonstrate just that. Its findings, shared in a paper titled “The Social Neuroscience of Music: Understanding the Social Brain through Human Song,” outline the five areas of the brain that contribute to social connection through music: empathy circuits, oxytocin secretions, reward and motivation, language structures, and dopamine.

GLP Creative Residency Concludes Week in Southern Poland

07-21-2021

In a history-making moment, the Global Leaders Program finished its first residency in Europe. Each year, the program organizes a seven-day international residency, where participants gather and exchange ideas with local communities. This year, GLP cohort members visited Bielsko-Biala, Poland.

Canadian Program Produces Short Documentary on Pandemic Music-Making

07-21-2021

Enjoy this short documentary from Ottawa-based program OrKidstra about the highs and lows of musical growth and achievement. Produced entirely virtually, You Are Your Own Best Teacher: OrKidstra’s Masterclass Story is a 20-minute video that shares how OrKidstra members kept the music going during distance learning.

Improve Your Advocacy with These Public Speaking Tips

07-21-2021

Many musicians who find themselves in situations of advocating for programs feel awkward about their speaking abilities. More than once, we have heard, “There is a reason I went into a non-verbal art form!” This article by John Millen, titled “How to Control Your Filler Words,” provides tools to become a more powerful speaker.

Celebrate Global Citizenship with “Creativity for Good” Campaign

07-21-2021

In its “Creativity for Good” campaign, Creative Generation is championing the theme of Global Citizenship for July. The call aims to examine how students have connected with artists and creatives from around the world, particularly during the height of the pandemic.

Using Music to Treat Alzheimer’s

07-21-2021

Imagine receiving a prescription to simply listen to music. This is exactly what’s happening for some Alzheimer’s patients, who are participating in trials at the NHS. During trials, an algorithm is created based on each patient’s background in order to suggest which types of music might reduce the patient’s distress and heart rate.

Youth Voice and Creativity Takes Center Stage at L.A. Charter School

07-21-2021

“Student voice” is a focus of many music for social change programs. This recording of the annual school show at Renaissance Arts Academy (created virtually in this pandemic year) sets a high bar for student originality and authentic expression. RenArts, as it’s called, is a charter school in Los Angeles that infuses artistry throughout its curriculum and offers extended-day Sistema-like programs in music and dance.

Sistema Europe Wants to Feature Your Program at SEYO SummerFest

07-07-2021

The world is getting together in a couple of weeks—join the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra SummerFest 2021, July 21–24 and 28–30. Check out the program here and join SEYO’s SummerFest by registering at: bit.ly/SEYOSummerFest2021.

VIDEO: Sweden’s Side by Side Camp Festival Concert

07-07-2021

Last month, El Sistema Sweden and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra held their annual international Side by Side camp, welcoming participants from Sweden, Greenland, Venezuela, the U.S., and elsewhere to play and learn together. For the second straight year, the pandemic forced the camp to take place online, but the results were no less beautiful.

MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett Give High-Impact Arts Organizations Transformational Funding Gifts

07-06-2021

MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett are gifting $2.739 billion to 268 organizations that work to support and center new voices and “build power from within communities.” In a short post on her blog titled “Seeding by Ceding,” Scott explains her perspective, describing how wealth has established and maintained systems of inequity, and advocating for donors to be decentralized from processes of change.

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