North America

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
The Ensemble Newsletter

Regions

Africa

Asia/Oceania

Europe

Latin America

North America

Topics

Teaching & Learning

Program Design

Student Voice & Leadership

Community Building

Collaborations

Funding & Support

Perspectives & Collective Action

News & Resources

A Space of Our Own: The Atlanta Music Project’s New Headquarters

Adewunmi R. Oke, Development Associate, Atlanta Music Project

07-02-2019

Nine years ago, 19 elementary schoolchildren gathered at the Gilbert House, an old house in southwest Atlanta, to begin their journey towards becoming musical artists. Over the course of the following decade, these children were joined by hundreds of others; together, they all practiced, performed, and evolved into dedicated young artists. Some students played string instruments and wind instruments, while others sang. Across the city of Atlanta, Atlanta Music Project (AMP) students have performed at both small community centers and large venues like the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Changing Lives; Changing Interlochen

Trey Devey, President, Interlochen Center for the Arts

07-01-2019

I first discovered Interlochen as a young child. The campus is just seven miles from my grandparents’ summer cottage, and my love of classical music was inspired by Interlochen Public Radio.

Fostering Epic Parents

Anne Campbell, Education Director, Catamount Arts/EPIC Music

07-01-2019

EPIC Music, in St. Johnsbury, VT, was one of four El Sistema-inspired organizations recently invited to partner with a team of Duke University undergraduates to explore parent engagement in El Sistema USA member organizations. Parent engagement is an important goal for us; we have talked for more than a year about offering violin workshops for parents, so that they can understand our students’ challenges and learn how to help their children practice at home.

Editorial: July 2019

Tricia Tunstall

07-01-2019

I went last week to Side By Side By El Sistema Swe- den, an intensive international music camp spon- sored by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the city and El Sistema Sweden. Let’s start with the statistics.

Announcing the launch of Music In Action Journal: A Knowledge Hub for the Frontlines of Music-For-Social-Action

Mariano Vales, Music Program Director, The Organization of American States and Mark Gillespie, Creative Director & Co-CEO, the OA Group

06-15-2019

When cultural historians reflect on the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one of the most significant paradigm shifts noted will be the explosion of music-for-social-action initiatives across the globe. Inspired by the work of pioneering figures including Jorge Peña Hen, José Antonio Abreu, Ana Milena Muñoz de Gaviria, Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, Ricardo Castro, and others, largely in Latin America, the centuries-old platform of the symphony orchestra has found renewed purpose at the epicenter of grassroots transformations from inner-city Port-Au-Prince to rural Canada, from Scotland to Kenya, from Jamaica to Honduras.

Ten Years of Learning

Paloma Ramos, Chief Program Officer, Harmony Project, Los Angeles, CA

06-01-2019

After 10 years of programming at Harmony Project’s YOLA EXPO site, what have we learned?

We have learned that 7 years old is generally too young to start the French horn; it’s better to wait until at least 10 years of age. We learned that it’s best to start classes a few weeks after school starts, and end them a few weeks before the school year ends.

FROM THE EDITOR, June 2019

Tricia Tunstall

06-01-2019

When a famous conductor finishes an artist residency at a storied Ivy League university, he should be given a proper sendoff, right?

The members of the El Sistema New Jersey Alliance, which includes all the Sistema-inspired programs in the state, thought so. So they brought in a 250-piece orchestra to do the job.

Illuminating True Progress for All Students

Reynaldo Ramirez, Program Director, Soundscapes, Newport News,VA

06-01-2019

As a Sistema movement, the two main goals we aspire to are musical growth and social growth. We often use some iteration of the motto “social change through music.” However, it is often hard to show data that supports this. El Sistema-inspired programs tend to more easily keep track of information pertaining to musical growth. They accomplish this through playing tests, juries, and concerts.

Intentional or Accidental? Creating Powerful Organizational Culture

Ken MacLeod, CEO New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/Sistema NB, Canada

05-28-2019

Picture this: In ten years, your traditional orchestra, with four decades of history, has morphed to include a rapidly expanding community social outreach component.  From an initial pilot project, you now teach 1,100 children daily, in 10 locations, with 60 Teaching Artists from 7 countries.

The Ambassadors’ Exchange, May 2019

05-07-2019

Exciting things have been happening every day this month at Ghetto Classics. We had 4 two-week camps take place. First was the Ghetto Classics Mukuru kwa Ruben, a music program in Nairobi. The kids have grown a lot during the last camp performance.

Share

ABOUT US MASTHEAD THE AMBASSADORS THE ARCHIVES SUBSCRIBE CONTACT
© Copyright 2022 Ensemble News