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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.
 
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Call for Faculty: 2024 Haitian Orchestra Program of Excellence

03-06-2024

BLUME Haiti, a nonprofit serving over 60 music schools across Haiti, is seeking orchestral faculty to lead their Haitian Orchestra Program of Excellence (HOPE) from March 26–31 in Cap Haïtian.

Mutual Teaching, Mutual Learning at the Queen of Paradise Program

Jesús Briceño, Co-founder and Director, The Queen of Paradise Program, as told to The Ensemble

03-05-2024

The Queen of Paradise program was originally the brainchild of Father Miguel de la Calle, a priest at the IVE (Instituto del Verbo Encarnado) mission in Papua New Guinea. Father Miguel, says Maestro Briceño, “had full confidence, from day one, in the power of music to positively change lives.”

WolfBrown Report on NYO2

05-17-2023

Researchers from WolfBrown spent six years studying Carnegie Hall’s NYO2 orchestra, a free orchestral program engaging musicians from historically underrepresented communities in classical music. Their resulting report, “With Freedom of Soul to Do and Be: A Longitudinal Study of Young Musicians in Carnegie Hall’s NYO2 Orchestra,” offers an insider’s look into what makes a youth orchestra truly inclusive.

El Sistema Returns to the United Nations to Pay Tribute to Maestro Abreu

05-17-2023

The National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela returned to Geneva this past April for a special performance at United Nations Headquarters, marking almost a decade since the visit of El Sistema founder Maestro José Antonio Abreu.

New Resource: The Posture Project

05-17-2023

What’s the backbone of healthy musical practice? As it turns out, our backbones; when our bodies feel at odds with our music–making, we risk injury, fatigue, and poor development.

Spotlight on Venezuela

04-18-2023

El Sistema programs, mark your calendars: the second Global Congress of El Sistema will be held at the Centro Nacional de Acción Social por la Música in Caracas, Venezuela on September 10–24, 2023.

New Tool for Music Educators: The Comprehensive String Pedagogy & Curriculum

05-19-2021

The new Comprehensive String Pedagogy & Curriculum (CSPC) has been written by Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet as an in-depth tool for Sistema-inspired youth orchestra teachers, conductors, and administrators. A longtime admirer of José Antonio Abreu, Young has taught extensively throughout Latin America, Europe, and the U.S.

PBS NewsHour Spotlights Genre-Bending Group Black Violin

03-17-2021

PBS Newshour recently caught up with Black Violin to discuss the group’s ongoing mission to disrupt people’s impressions of what classical music should be.

A Musical and Communal Journey in Lesotho and South Africa

John Minnaar, teacher and conductor, Maseru Preparatory School

01-06-2021

The story of music education as a catalyst for social change in South Africa and Lesotho is long and complicated. The history of human struggle and social unrest in southern Africa is well documented, but it gave birth to a new era of growth and potential for its people. One might say that in the wake of South Africa’s newfound freedom from Apartheid, democracy opened many doors to Black South Africans. Within that greater context, I share my own musical journey as a snapshot of three decades of music, equity, and opportunity in South Africa and Lesotho.

YOLA National Festival Opens Auditions for the 2021 Season—deadline Mar. 1

01-05-2021

The YOLA National Festival has opened its audition portal for its July 2021 orchestral training program. Open to students from all Sistema-inspired programs; students ages 12–18 are encouraged to apply for one of the two ensembles, the Symphony Orchestra (ages 14–18) or the Chamber Orchestra (ages 12–14). The intensive experience is tentatively scheduled to take place in person in Southern California, but an official update on in-person vs. virtual programming options will be shared no later than April 1. Applications are due March 1 and recommendation letters are due March 8.

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