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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.

Side by Side by El Sistema Sweden, for a Joyful Decade

09-04-2024

Every year, a joyous gathering of over 2,000 children and hundreds of teachers and chaperones transforms the sunny city of Gothenburg in mid-June into a grand musical jubilee: it’s the Gothenburg Symphony’s youth orchestra festival, Side by Side.

Free Student Membership with the League of American Orchestras

09-04-2024

The League of American Orchestras is currently offering free membership to U.S. high school and university students, as well as alumni who graduated within the last two years.

The Citizens of the World Festival

09-04-2024

For the last eight years, I’ve coached violinists for the YOLA National Festival. Each summer, it is a remarkable thing to walk into the first sectional on the first day and witness an exceptional level of preparation from 18 violinists who, for the most part, don’t know each other and have never played together—a group of students that have made a commitment to each other before even meeting one another. This is what defines the YOLA National Festival: the dedication and integrity of all participants, a spirit that lives in the YNF students and also in the staff and the incredible faculty who return each summer. It is a special and profoundly devoted community, something I have not witnessed elsewhere.

National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras For All

09-04-2024

On the evening of July 10, the Ravinia Festival’s historic Pavilion stage glowed with the combined talents of the 130 students of National Seminario Ravinia. It was the final night of the 2024 Seminario, just in its second year. Students aged 11–18 from 43 El Sistema-inspired organizations around the world—including those from 17 U.S. states, Mexico, Canada, Greece, and Sweden—had gathered for four days of intensive orchestral training and mentorship from members of the Seminario Orchestra Partner, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F). For many of the students, it was their first time having such an experience. 

The 2024 SEYO Summer Residency

09-04-2024

The Seventh Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra Residency was hosted this July by Urbino and Pesaro, Italy; the residency was held within the celebrations of Pesaro Italian Capital of Culture 2024. This event continued a bi-annual tradition that began in 2013: previous summer camps have taken place in Vienna/Salzburg, Austria; Istanbul, Turkey; Milan, Italy; Athens, Greece; Birmingham, U.K.; and Madrid, Spain.

This year’s gathering was more than a musical event; it was also a chance for young musicians to explore the connections between music and nature, guided by the theme “Song of the Earth,” which put a focus on questions of sustainability.

World Orchestra Week at Carnegie Hall

09-04-2024

Carnegie Hall’s World Orchestra Week festival in August was a week of one “WOW!” after another, as seven youth orchestras from five different continents joined forces in and around Carnegie Hall to play for and with each other, to share singular musical works and ethos from their countries, and to show us all what the next generation’s Wishes for Our World might be.

Suggested (Free) Reading: Classical Music Futures

07-10-2024

There’s something for everyone in Classical Music Futures: Practices of Innovation, a free e-book for music scholars, practitioners, administrators, and educators interested in international perspectives on classical music.

YOLA Gives ‘Collective Composition’ New Meaning

07-10-2024

We know that many programs use collective composition as a creative boost for students. But an experiment at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s YOLA Institute Children’s Orchestra was a new one for us at The Ensemble.

Project Music Partners with Orchestra Lumos and GE to Create 3D-Printed Violins

06-05-2024

With an assist from modern technology, music just became more accessible for young people.

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