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OrchKids Opens Applications for Two-Year Teaching Fellowship Beginning Fall 2021

03-02-2021

OrchKids is now accepting woodwind, brass, musicianship, and string applications for their next class of OrchKids Teaching Fellows, Fall 2021 – Spring 2023.

Apply for a Challenge America Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

03-02-2021

Might your organization be ready to apply for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts? Challenge Grants are for first-time applicants, and they support smaller organizations (that’s us) for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to populations that are underserved.

Connect, Adapt, Thrive: Lessons in Resiliency and Community from the 2021 El Sistema USA Symposium

Liz Moulthrop, Director, and Shanna Lin, Director of Education, Paterson Music Project

03-02-2021

Over the course of a week in mid-February, members of El Sistema USA met for the annual El Sistema USA Symposium and Seminario. Permeating this year’s sessions were the twin pandemics our country has grappled with for the past year: COVID-19 and systemic racism. El Sistema programs have had to confront the impacts of these crises at the local community level, and they had a lot to share.

WATCH: Video Showcases History of Venezuela’s El Sistema, Including Vintage Footage

02-17-2021

On Day Two of the El Sistema USA Symposium & Seminario (happening this week—get tickets here!), a group of five leaders from El Sistema Venezuela joined the gathering to present a pre-recorded video that may be useful and informative for many programs.

Arts and Disabilities: Service-Learning in Trinidad and Tobago

Caitlyn Kamminga, Associate Professor Music (double bass), University of Trinidad and Tobago, Academy for the Performing Arts; Global Leaders Program alumna

02-03-2021

The first service-learning course I taught at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) Academy for the Performing Arts (APA) was a Residency in Community Arts. I chose to partner with the Consortium of Disabilities Organization (CODO) to offer my students a mentored residency working with students with disabilities. As I don’t have a background in special education, I decided to collaborate with a colleague from the University of the West Indies, music therapist Jean Raabe, to run an intensive workshop before the semester and join me in mentoring students on the project.

Youth Voices: The ChiMOP Alumni Internship Program

Ciera Henderson, Alumni Intern, Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project

02-02-2021

During the fall of 2020, I participated in the Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project’s (ChiMOP) new Alumni Internship Program (CAIP). CAIP was designed to offer recent ChiMOP graduates hands-on leadership experience during program hours as well as introductory-level job experience behind the scenes—helping staff with everything from lesson planning to administrative tasks. I signed up to gain experience, having never done anything like it before (unless you count trying to teach small groups of little ones while still a student myself). At first, it was a difficult adjustment. I worried that it would be a lot of work that didn’t come naturally to me. But despite some early struggles, I had a good time doing it—especially sharing the experience with the other interns.

Words Matter, More Than You Think

Eric Booth, Founder of the ITAC Collaborative, Contributing Editor at The Ensemble News

02-02-2021

If I were King of Arts Education, I’d post an edict banning five words: amazing, fantastic, unbelievable, outstanding, incredible.

Most music educators use those words a lot, and always with good intent. They want to encourage, celebrate, and motivate their students. The words express the enthusiasm and affection they feel for their students. The King supports all of that. The edict has its eye on the cost of that impulse when it results in hyperbolic acclaim. Cumulatively, the cost is high.

Imagining New Orchestra Partnerships

Penny Brill, violist, Pittsburgh Symphony; Founder, MUSACOR.com (Musicians as a Community Resource)

02-02-2021

During this time of profound disruption, music for social change organizations have the opportunity to explore new possibilities for collaboration with professional orchestras. This is easier for some than others; not every city has both an orchestra and a social change program. The Pittsburgh Symphony, for example, does not have an El Sistema program in the city—but through their Learning and Community Engagement Department, they have collaborated with many local youth programs.

Actos de Confianza Relief Funding from NALAC and Mellon

01-20-2021

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation want to support Latinx artists and arts organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. Their Actos de Confianza relief grants provide emergency funds to these organizations, one geographical region at a time. The first calls are for programs in mid-America, moving then to the East and West Coasts. The funding cycle will take place between January and May 2021. If your organization qualifies, be sure to review the application information on their website. In addition to listing all relevant deadlines, it includes information on which states qualify for which regions.

Aim High Grants Support After-School Programs for Middle Schoolers—deadline Feb. 1

01-20-2021

The Aim High Grant supports out-of-school programs serving middle school youth in the U.S. Aim High works with eighth graders in need of significant economic support, helping them succeed in high school by supporting after-school, summer, and expanded learning programs. Programs must serve at least 75% low-income youth. One-year grants of $15,000 will support programs in their racial equity and social justice efforts; two-year grants ($50,000 or $100,000) will support programs in expanding direct services, technical assistance, and capacity amid pandemic challenges and beyond. The program is funded by the New York Life Foundation (administered by the Afterschool Alliance), and the application deadline is February 1, 2021. Learn more on the Afterschool Alliance website.

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