Student Voice & Leadership

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

International ‘Chords of Harmony’ Resound in Barcelona

07-10-2024

“Throughout the entire concert, the young musicians were free to laugh. And so was the audience…Music was being felt and lived in another sphere.”

Isn’t this a description of how we would all love our students to experience music, at some point in their learning journey?

Twenty-Five Years of Music for Peacebuilding: Musicians Without Borders

07-10-2024

Musicians Without Borders started in the Netherlands in 1999, when a choir and small orchestra led by musician and activist Laura Hassler performed a war memorial concert during the Kosovo War. Their repertoire: folk songs from the Balkans, spanning different languages and ethnicities. The choice of music was a poignant one; the Yugoslav wars had consumed much of the Balkan region, while the rest of Europe helplessly watched daily news images of mass killings, bombed-out villages, and refugees.

Sistema Toronto Students Release Hip-Hop Track ‘Earth’

07-10-2024

A recent project by Sistema Toronto offers an impressive example of how young people are committing to environmental stewardship.

Arts Educators in India Drop Old Habits, and Their Kids Flourish

07-10-2024

In 2016, Jigyasa Labroo was teaching in the conflict area of Kashmir, India. She brought a poetry exercise to her class of 60 girls that called for them to express their emotions. Jigyasa expected the regular childhood emotions of joy, wonder, and friendship to emerge; what came out instead was mostly pain, anger, isolation, and sadness. The room that day held a great deal of tension and hurt—but also some catharsis. At the end of class, she realized how important it was to create spaces for children to express themselves safely through the arts.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, Kaupapa Leads to Connection

07-10-2024

I had known about Mixit for quite some time. Their work was not only fascinating from an artistic and pedagogical perspective but inspiring in its longevity; the organization has provided opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds for the past 19 years. Still, I was curious to learn more. As a migrant myself, I had found there to be a lack of projects in Aotearoa New Zealand that use creativity and artmaking in intercultural, collaborative settings—despite the nation’s rich multicultural population.

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.

News from The Lewis Prize for Music

07-10-2024

Yesterday, The Lewis Prize for Music debuted four short films featuring stories of impact from Creative Youth Development organizations across the U.S.

Growing AIM’s Firebird Fellowship into an Alumni Program

06-05-2024

“Your alumni will become your best assets for your mission.” That’s what social entrepreneurs from Changemaker Fellowships told AIM’s leadership when we began in 2018. So far, we agree. 

At Manzil Mystics, Ancient Language Offers Timeless Truth

06-05-2024

There are not many music programs in the world with the word “Mystics” in their name. But it serves us well. Like many Ensemble readers, we are a passionate group of musicians working toward creating social inclusion and happy childhoods through music. And we find inspiration in the all-inclusive and peaceful messages of mystic poets like Kabir Das and Mahatma Gandhi.

ESUSA Musicians Celebrate Ninth Annual El Sistema Residency

05-01-2024

The King School and Project Music just wrapped their Ninth Annual El Sistema Residency, hosting a cluster of east coast–based El Sistema USA programs for a weekend of musical exchange and performance.

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