the ensemble

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

In Guam, Marrying Past and Future through ‘Beautiful Gatherings’

02-07-2024

Our story begins in 2000, when I first began to teach at a public school in Guam.  I had just come back from studying in the States, where I’d felt increasingly disconnected from my Chamorro identity, and I was teaching social studies and physical education.  I noticed that there were some kids who liked to hang out in my classroom during recess and lunch…

We’re Back!

02-07-2024

AIM’s Music Capsules Offer Snapshots of How We Learn

06-07-2023

If you’re a teaching artist, or have ever been one, you’ve probably wondered: Should I always take the lead in the learning process? Are there ways students can take the lead sometimes? What’s the best way for my students to learn?

Such questions are often the focus of “The Firebird Fellowship,” the program at the heart of the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM), a global innovation lab for changemakers tackling educational inequality through music education.

The Ambassadors’ Exchange: In Our Own Voices

06-07-2023

To complement the “Ambassador (Re)Introductions” published in April, the cohort recorded video introductions for the month of June. Listen to the Ambassadors as they say hello in their native languages, from every corner of the globe.

From Music Rooms to Policy Meetings: Taking Lessons from a Life in Music

06-07-2023

In my first Ensemble editorial, I wrote about how opportunities within classical music allowed me to bypass barriers caused by economic inequality in the Philippines. But this unequal distribution of resources still bothers me today, which is why I’m studying political science and hoping to go into policy research after graduation.

With just one year to go at college, I’ve been reflecting on the ways my musical training has influenced how I approach the social sciences

In the Netherlands, Public and Private Sectors Partner toward Music for All

05-03-2023

In 2014, arts education in the Netherlands was in a dire state. In particular, music education had suffered from years of budget cuts in primary schools. There was an increased focus on the “case subjects,” such as language and math, as well as changes in the teacher training colleges, where only one or two modules of music education remained in the curriculum. 

El Sistema USA Youth Ambassadors: The Start of Something New

05-03-2023

In the second week of March 2023, El Sistema USA, an organizational network of Sistema-inspired programs in the United States, held their first in-person national symposium since the pandemic began. Attendees converged to attend workshops, rekindle friendships, and share perspectives and questions about the field. They also encountered something unprecedented: a lively cohort of Youth Ambassadors, students from programs across the country, who often took the lead in key activities.  

The Ambassadors’ Exchange: May Happenings

05-03-2023

This month, the Ambassadors were asked to explore their daily lives in their programs. Our most recent entry explores ideas such as: 1) their daily routines outside of rehearsal; 2) what their rehearsal settings look and feel like; and 3) their relationships with their colleagues/instructors. We hope to share different slices of life from different corners of the world.

Putting Music at the Center of Global Development Conversations

12-01-2021

Why is music almost entirely absent from global development conversations, outside of staging benefit concerts?

This is one of the questions that led me to launch two organizations in recent years, Sound Diplomacy and the Center for Music Ecosystems. I realized that in the key conversations that drive development decisions across the world, there is little understanding of the value of the music ecosystem and what it can bring to human development.

A Partnership to Amplify Black Teaching Artists and Afrocentric Pedagogy

11-05-2021

By now, you likely know about Creative Generation and The Black Teaching Artist Lab (BTAL); we’ve shared many of their resources over the past year. As of mid-August, the two organizations have formed a partnership aimed to support BTAL’s mission to provide Black teaching artists with an Afrocentric SEL teaching framework.

Share

© Copyright 2022 Ensemble News