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Agents of Change

Loukia Lazarou, Teaching Artist and Project Manager, Sistema Cyprus

05-07-2025

The idea of hosting volunteers had two purposes: one, the additional staff would be an immense help for our organization, and two, they would provide relatable young role models for our students—especially important for those from vulnerable backgrounds. We wanted to create a structure that nurtures leadership, social responsibility, and cultural exchange, both for the young people in our orchestra and for the volunteers.

Between Tradition and Innovation: Reimagining Teacher Training at NEOJIBA

José Henrique de Campos, Educational Director, NEOJIBA

05-07-2025

When trying to renew an initiative that has existed for almost a decade, our great challenge is to find that precise balance between valuing tradition and proposing something new. At NEOJIBA State Nuclei for Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Bahia, this balance is fundamental to our continuous search for improvement—praising what already works, recognizing what can be improved, and having the tranquility to suggest something innovative without losing the essence of an idea.

It was in this spirit that in 2023, on a sunny afternoon during Bahia’s “eternal summer,” we began to redesign PROCEC, our collective teacher training program.

Using Circles to Build Community and Connection in CYD Spaces

John Weiss, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Lori Roddy, Executive Director, Neutral Zone

03-05-2025

It’s 3:30 on a Wednesday afternoon at the Neutral Zone, a creative arts and leadership center for teenagers in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Twenty-four young people and six staff gather in a circle of chairs in the B-Side Venue (a multi-purpose program space that also serves as a 400-person concert venue). As a disco ball glimmers overhead, Ash, a teen participant and high school sophomore, volunteers with an opening question: “What did you like to do at recess when you were a kid in school?”

New Resources from Carnegie Hall

03-05-2025

Carnegie Hall has some new online resources we think our readers will like. And, best of all, they’re free!

Collaboration Across Cultures—and Genres—in São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau

Eduardo Lála, Conductor and Technical-Pedagogical Coordinator, The Rizoma Project

02-05-2025

When the Rizoma Project launched in 2022 in São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau, I knew we were embarking on an ambitious journey. Our goal was clear: to establish social orchestras in communities with limited resources and significant social challenges. 

AIM Performance Videos Challenge the Status Quo

02-05-2025

The Academy for Impact through Music‘s performance videos invite teaching artists to challenge the status quo in rehearsal and concert formats.

At a Canadian Military Base, a Núcleo Answers an Overlooked Need

Tricia Tunstall, Contributing Editor, The Ensemble; Ken MacLeod, Founder, Sistema New Brunswick; and Kenn Mainville, CEO, Sistema New Brunswick

02-05-2025

“Where can we have the most impact?”

This question will resonate with many Ensemble readers, especially those who’ve thought about starting a new program or adding more sites to their program.

For the leaders of the Canadian network Sistema New Brunswick (Sistema NB), it sparked an unusual answer: “A military base!”

Two weeks, 13 concerts, 22 musicians: The Ghetto Classics All-Stars Tour Kenya

Joanna Priwieziencew, Head of Ghetto Classics Dance, Nairobi, Kenya

02-05-2025

Nairobi, Kenya, November 2024.

A small room bordering East Africa’s largest dumpsite. Heat scorches through tin roofs as dust rises from the cement floor. Inside, 20 Kenyan musicians focus on Belgian saxophonist Toine Thys: they take in his every gesture and expression, eager not to miss a note. In the drum section, Canadian drummer and pedagogue Karl Jannuska passes his drumsticks to a Kenyan musician and picks up the shakers. Together, they are about to carve the thick air with an Afro jazz beat.

They’re also about to embark on their first national tour.

Harmony Program Introduces Teaching Artist Fellowship

02-05-2025

The Harmony Program is inviting applications from New York-based music education and performance graduate students to join their inaugural Teaching Artist Fellowship.

In Harmony Liverpool and the Till Approach: A New Perspective on String Pedagogy

Alex Dunn, Deputy Artistic Director, In Harmony Liverpool, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, UK

02-05-2025

Ten years ago, violinist Sophie Till was in Scotland working with players from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I was there too, attending her sessions and participating in a lesson. When I returned to In Harmony Liverpool, I did so feeling that Sophie’s work would soon change the way we taught our young string players.

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