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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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Los Angeles Musician Records Duets with Unlikely Partner: The Golden Gate Bridge

08-18-2021

Ever wondered what the largest wind instrument in the world sounds like? Look no further than the railings of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. During periods of high winds, the newly renovated railings produce an eerie humming sound that has caught the attention of locals and tourists alike. That includes Los Angeles guitarist and musician Nate Mercereau, who was inspired to record a series of duets with the world’s biggest wind instrument. Read more about composing a duet for musician and bridge, and listen to his project, Duets | Golden Gate, via this Guardian article.

Musicians Without Borders Hosts Leadership Summit, October 11–15

08-18-2021

Here is an extra item for those with access to funding. Musicians Without Borders is hosting its Musical Leadership Summit on October 11–15 in Ede, Netherlands. This year’s focus: “Innovative Approaches Responding to the Needs of Displaced People.” Pre-sessions will happen in September and there is a €895 fee to attend. The fee covers all aspects of the week apart from travel expenses. Attendees are asked to have some musical background, leadership experience, and a strong interest in music for social change. More information about the Summit can be found on the MWB website.

Growing Seeds in Tetuán

Carlos Fontán, Orchestral Area Coordinator, Acción por la Música Foundation; Alumnus, Global Leaders Program

08-04-2021

Turina Youth Orchestra of Acción por la Música Foundation is a clear example of how values of the human spirit can be developed through music. It is here that, through orchestral rehearsals, resilience, trust, social justice, kindness, beauty, and compassion grow.

Empathetic Music Programming
Or: How I Learned to Stop Teaching Like an Englishman

Philip Monk, Founder, Mbale Schools Band

08-04-2021

I’m often asked about the Mbale Schools Band. It’s easy to see why: we are a celebrated and widely visible British-style brass band founded in Uganda, a country with no tradition of or overwhelming interest in such an ensemble. But while ours is a success story, it is also one of listening and deep empathy—a parable for the virtue of placing yourself in your students’ shoes. Without their wisdom, it’s likely that we would not have made it past year three.

The Life of Jorge Peña Hen, Part I: A Giant of Our Cultural Heritage

Raúl Vergara, Cofounder and International Programs Director, Global Leaders Program; Graduate, La Escuela Experimental de Música Jorge Peña Hen

08-04-2021

Winter 2012, La Serena, Chile: an overcast but mild day, with a soft, chilly ocean breeze from the Pacific Ocean’s Humboldt Current. I was with Victor Hugo, a high school friend of mine who had put his trumpet aside to study law and journalism at the university before becoming the editor of a local newspaper. We were both accompanying Don Juan Orrego Salas, a 93-year-old gentleman who was visiting our city to pay a posthumous tribute to a dear friend of his, to whom he had never gotten to say goodbye in person. We bought a bouquet of flowers and entered the front gate of the cemetery without an exact knowledge of where we were going—which was not a problem, since everyone we passed knew the precise location of the memorial to Jorge Peña Hen.

Using Music Learning to Help Our Young People Rebuild Affective Ties

María Guinand, Artistic Director, Fundación Schola Cantorum de Venezuela; Vice President, International Federation for Choral Music

08-04-2021

The pandemic has not been just a biological or epidemiological problem. It has also created enormous disruptions in our social and affective lives. Especially in the spaces of education and social interaction, it has inhibited all the imperceptible links that unite us and that allow us to interact socially. For our children and youth, this has produced reluctance, lack of interest and enthusiasm, and, in some cases, depression. A year of isolation changes people—especially young people—and their perspectives on what is important in life.

Floods of Fire: An Evolving Artist-Led Community Building Project

Hilary Kleinig, multi-disciplinary musician based in Adelaide, Australia

08-04-2021

What is the role and purpose of the orchestra in the 21st century? As society, culture, and funding models change, how audiences engage with live music also continues to shift, which has led to an “industry-wide existential soul-searching.” Some argue that the traditional orchestral model is risk-averse and outdated, and that orchestras could better address some of these issues by “creating a new canon” and “better connecting with the world.”

With orchestras around the world seeking new ways to work, engage, and connect with communities, I’d like to share with you a project that I’m involved in, where an orchestra and its community are collaborating in deep and meaningful ways to tell their unique stories.

World Ensemble Day at SEYO

Eric Booth, Cofounder, The Ensemble and World Ensemble Newsletters

08-04-2021

Twenty-something short videos in an online gallery. They aren’t the finalists for a film festival “short film” competition, or a set of algorithm-selected favorites. They are us, the best of us—short films about innovative solutions that music for social change programs around the world submitted for World Ensemble Day workshops at SEYO (Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra) Summerfest 2021. World Ensemble Day celebrated the proud history and healthy future of innovation to address the challenges and fulfill the high goals of our programs—a fitting presentation for a news hub that exists to connect our field around all kinds of aspirational ideas.

August Update

08-04-2021

This month, the Ambassadors responded to the prompt: “What’s your favorite place in your city/town?” Read on to learn about their special places.

Join World Ensemble Day at SEYO SummerFest on July 22

07-21-2021

By now, you’ve likely seen our requests for programs to share something fun and innovative about themselves by sending short videos to be featured during World Ensemble Day, part of Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra’s (SEYO) 2021 SummerFest.

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