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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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.

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.

EDITORIAL
Accelerating Our Actions

Camille Delaney-McNeil, Director, the YOLA/Beckmen YOLA Center at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, California, USA

12-11-2024

As I pen this, I find myself looking through some of the session schedules of prominent convenings in our field over the course of the next several months. Many of these gatherings have their anchored purpose clarified and grounded—and, on paper, this is truly inspiring! However, it’s unfortunate to see that many of the topics are the same as those we discussed two, three, or four seasons ago. We continue to address the same problems, instead of new, compounded issues that we all must rally around, to course-correct.

Applications Open for Side by Side

12-11-2024

Side by Side is now accepting applications for their international music camp in Gothenburg, Sweden through January 28.

Daniel Barenboim Speaks About the Power of Music against Conflict

12-11-2024

Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim shared some powerful words in a recent interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, sharing how musicians can pave the way toward cultural understanding during times of conflict.

The Baithak Foundation Works to Measure Impact

Mandar Karanjkar, Co-founder and Lead Communications, Baithak Foundation

12-11-2024

As in many countries around the world, education has become a machine in India. This machine does a good job of building left-brain capabilities, but as Yale scholar Iain McGilchrist argues in his book The Master and His Emissary, our left brain is an exceptional servant but a very poor master. At the Baithak Foundation, this sentiment was more important than we ever realized. When we started working with traditional Indian music as a tool for holistic development of children, we were totally unaware that we were addressing the lack of stimuli and opportunities to develop the right brain in our educational system.

Rediscovering Joy at Superar Hungary

Judit Morvay, Founder/Director, Superar Hungary

12-11-2024

When I was growing up in Budapest, Hungary, I had the privilege of learning to play music through the pedagogy of Zoltan Kodály, the famous 20th century Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music educator, linguist, and philosopher. 

Thanks to Kodály, our small country has a well-built school music system, which allows students to learn music theory from a young age and to experience active music-making.

EDITORIAL
Youth Arts Embracing Creativity—and Conversation

Corey Depina, Program Director, Zumix

11-06-2024

Young people have unprecedented access to media, which often leads to a reliance on popular opinions rather than the cultivation of their unique voices. I see this in the classroom when I ask students for their thoughts—they often hesitate, looking around for validation instead of trusting their instincts. This reluctance is disheartening. It highlights a pressing need within youth arts education: we must foster spaces for reflection and honest dialogue.

Growing Arts Education in India, No ‘Artist’s Touch’ Required

Dharmesh Moleshri, Growth & Outreach Manager, Saturday Art Class

11-06-2024

In a city like Mumbai, India’s financial capital, 300 out of the 400 public schools do not have a designated art teacher. Many schools rely on academic subject teachers to handle “art classes,” despite their lack of formal training or experience. While working in rural and remote regions, we realized that the situation worsened outside of Mumbai, reflecting a nationwide trend that affects over 250 million children in government and low-income private schools. Recognizing that hiring specialized art teachers was not feasible for many schools, we developed the “Art for Educator” (AFE) program to empower existing teachers as facilitators of visual arts and SEL.

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