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

Emily Kubitskey, CEO & Founder, Global Arts; Faculty Teaching Artist, Side by Side

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.

National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras For All

Isaac Sinnett, Senior Associate Director, Ravinia Reach Teach Play

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. 

International ‘Chords of Harmony’ Resound in Barcelona

Tricia Tunstall, Advisory Editor and Co-Founder, The Ensemble, with “Chords of Harmony” participants

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

Ed Holland, Content Creator, 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

Rathi, Director, Slam Out Loud

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

Hanna Wiskari, Cofounder and Musical Director, Ethno New Zealand; freelance musician & teacher

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

Ensemble Editorial Team

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.

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