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Digital Music Meets Dance through Residency Program

07-06-2021

This past April, we told you about Boston Public Schools’ partnership with Boston Music Project, during which students worked alongside teaching artists to compose original music that shared their perspectives from the pandemic.

Unlocking Creative Force and Artistry through Hip-Hop and Soul

07-06-2021

A new video series that blends music, film, interviews, spoken word, and dance offers young creatives a chance to examine how artists respond to the world around them.

Using the Arts to Fight the Effects of Housing Insecurity

07-06-2021

Since 2016, unstable housing for young people in 5th grade or higher increased by 20-23%—a damning statistic with catastrophic ripple effects. A study from the Seattle Public Schools and Creative Advantage sought to address this crisis, focusing on high school students in their two-year arts program from 2018–20.

A New Network for Arts and Education Leaders to Collaborate and Share

07-06-2021

The Arts Education Partnership has launched a “Collaboration Corner” as part of their ArtsEd Digest newsletter, designed to connect arts and education leaders so they can share ideas and grow their work.

National Youth Network Hosts Weekly Gatherings to Exchange Ideas and Art Forms

07-06-2021

The National Guild hosts weekly calls on Fridays at 6:30 p.m. EDT for young artists ages 13–24 across the country. The calls encourage these young artists to “artistically explore different art forms, challenges, and opportunities to thrive together.”

Helping Leaders Develop Moral Courage

07-06-2021

Designed for changemakers in any field, the Moral Courage Project shares ways to cultivate moral courage as a non-negotiable quality.

The Grand Canyon Music Festival’s Native American Composer Apprentice Project

Clare Hoffman, Founder and Artistic Director, Grand Canyon Music Festival

06-01-2021

In 1983, just a few years out of music conservatory, my husband Robert Bonfiglio and I embarked on a vacation to the American Southwest. We started our trip at the Grand Canyon, with our instruments in our backpacks, a rim-to-rim-to-rim four-day hike through the canyon. The first evening, with my aching feet soaking in the cold waters of the Colorado River, I took out my flute and played. The following morning, we packed up and headed up the floor of the canyon to Cottonwood campground, where I found a washed-out tree trunk to rest under and again played my flute. A park ranger followed the sound of the flute and, when he found us, invited us to the ranger’s hut that evening to play a concert.

Reflections on Our Shared Lineage

Mark Churchill, Founder, El Sistema USA; Dean Emeritus, Preparatory and Continuing Education, New England Conservatory

06-01-2021

In October of 2008, sitting alongside Maestro José Antonio Abreu, I experienced a moment of clarity. We were visiting the state of Trujillo in the far-northwest corner of Venezuela, where the state’s six major núcleos had formed a special orchestra to put on a command performance for the Maestro. A group 200 strong, all between 10–25 years old. A breathtaking interpretation of the first movement of Mahler’s First Symphony ensued, the type of concert I had experienced so many times with awe. But then Maestro Abreu addressed the orchestra. He set out his vision for each of their lives, full of contribution, artistry, and joy. At one point he asked, “Who of you wants to be a teacher?” Every hand shot up; every face was shining. My first thought was: “What a beautiful tribute to the community of educators nurturing these young people.” I came away with the profound understanding that teaching was at the core of it all.

Tracking SEL Growth in Students with the Light My Music Fire Workshops

Christina Placilla, Director of Education, The Harmony Program, and Dan Trahey, Founder and Creative Director, The Collective Conservatory; Creator and Director, Tuned In, The Peabody Institute at the Johns Hopkins University; and Artistic Liaison, OrchKids, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

06-01-2021

Earlier this year, Dan Trahey and Pete Tashjian of The Collective Conservatory were invited by the Harmony Program to facilitate an eight-week Saturday-morning creativity workshop with students from multiple Harmony Program sites across New York City. The partnership was a natural fit. The Collective Conservatory’s work is rooted in creating environments that allow for personal expression, group problem-solving, self-esteem building through promoting individual assets, self-awareness, and increased musical skill sets. The Harmony Program, which provides after-school music education programs in underserved NYC communities, has long prioritized the development of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills. As a natural extension of The Collective Conservatory’s programming, the workshop emphasized SEL to create a framework and pathway to concretely study creativity.

 

Sphinx Announces Illuminate Video Series and 2021 Grant Recipients

06-01-2021

The Sphinx Organization recently announced its partnership with the Illuminate Series, focusing on the stories from Black perspectives in classical music. The series was founded and curated by Sphinx programming alumni Steven Banks, Randal Goosby, and Anthony Trionfo. Conversations range from music education during the pandemic, intersectionality between race, identity, and sexuality, and artist activism.

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