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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.

NAfME Report: Divisive Concepts Laws and Music Education

05-17-2023

Regressive lawmaking in the U.S. has led some music educators to feel unsafe talking about race, gender, or history in the classroom. In response, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) a published a must-read report earlier this year on Divisive Concepts Laws (DCL)legislative and executive orders that restrict teaching and learning activities related to race, gender, sexuality, and U.S. historyand their impact on music educators across the U.S.

VYC Kindred Sings Songs for Belonging

05-17-2023

As communities grow increasingly diverse in places like British Columbia, where 29% of the population identify as immigrants, programs like VYC Kindred, from the Vancouver Youth Choir, are offering music as a meeting place for the region’s past and future.

El Sistema USA Youth Ambassadors: The Start of Something New

05-03-2023

In the second week of March 2023, El Sistema USA, an organizational network of Sistema-inspired programs in the United States, held their first in-person national symposium since the pandemic began. Attendees converged to attend workshops, rekindle friendships, and share perspectives and questions about the field. They also encountered something unprecedented: a lively cohort of Youth Ambassadors, students from programs across the country, who often took the lead in key activities.  

The Ambassadors’ Exchange: May Happenings

05-03-2023

This month, the Ambassadors were asked to explore their daily lives in their programs. Our most recent entry explores ideas such as: 1) their daily routines outside of rehearsal; 2) what their rehearsal settings look and feel like; and 3) their relationships with their colleagues/instructors. We hope to share different slices of life from different corners of the world.

Bachtrack Shares 2022 Statistics on Classical Music Performance

04-18-2023

Bachtrack has released their annual statistics report on classical music performances around the world. The numbers are encouraging: while the top ten composers are still dead white men, there are notable increases in performances of living and female composers.

Online Resources for Teaching Artists

04-18-2023

Free stuff! Check out these self-paced online courses available to teaching artists worldwide:

New (Free) Database Catalogs Works by Women and Gender-Marginalized Composers

04-18-2023

The Boulanger Initiative, with the support of Sphinx, launched its newest project this past March: the largest open-access database of works by women and gender-marginalized composers. 

El Sistema News around the World

04-18-2023

A few news hits from Sistema programs around the world:

Music Therapy Takes on ChatGPT

04-18-2023

By now, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence program that can “write” an essay or a song by synthesizing information from the Internet. Despite valid reservations about its role in art, some educators and musicians are considering whether they might want to team up with this technology rather than fight it.

Voices of Culture Brainstorming Report: “Youth, Mental Health, and Culture”

04-18-2023

The European Commission has set out to show how participation in arts and cultural programs positively impacts youth mental health in a recently published Brainstorming Report, Youth, Mental Health, and Culture.

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