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Music Matters Challenge Open to U.S. Musicians and School Music Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

The Music Matters Challenge is inviting U.S. musicians and schools to enter submissions to win cash prizes aimed at supporting school music programming and salaries for music teachers.

Through Songwriting, Colombian Communities Resolve Conflict and Make Their Voices Heard

Ana Uribe Law, musicologist and violinist; 2023 Alumna, Global Leaders Institute

03-04-2026

Ask any Bogotano about their perception of Colombia’s Chocó Region, and you’ll likely hear that it is a dangerous and remote place, visited primarily for whale-watching. These inter-regional biases are not uncommon—decades of armed conflict have disrupted networks of community and social cohesion, fragmenting them and threatening the practices that sustain communal life. And though a shared sense of Colombian identity exists, each of the country’s regions maintains a distinct cultural character that is often rooted in music.

Before traveling to Chocó, my perception of Colombia’s outer territories was similarly close-minded.

U.S.-Venezuela Relations Impact Music Exchange Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

Musical exchange programs between the U.S. and Venezuela have recently hit an impasse with new travel restrictions between the two countries.

New ESUSA Opportunities & Events

 

 

02-04-2026

El Sistema USA is focusing on inclusion and accessibility in their 2026 programming.

 

Funding Opportunity for Arab Artists Based in Europe

02-04-2026

The cultural organization Ettijahat is accepting applications for their 2026 grant program, Zad: Miles for Connection, supporting individual artists and groups from the Arab region who have relocated to Europe since 2015.

The Importance of Free Play in Music Education

Dr. Richard Marsella, Executive Director, Community Music Schools of Toronto

02-04-2026

In my doctoral work, I did an instrumental case study of the Music Box Village in New Orleans. This alternative music space wears many hats. It functions as a music venue, learning space, playground, and much more. It includes interactive art installation and instruments made from salvaged materials that form a kind of sonic playground. It’s also widely welcoming: when I was observing grade-four children playing in the space, I noticed that multiple intelligences were accepted and fostered. 

Applications Open for Youth Orchestra Summer Programs

02-04-2026

Two outstanding youth orchestra programs are now accepting applications for their summer camps.

New Open-Access Report: “Intercultural Resonances among Music Teachers”

 

 

02-04-2026

RESONANCES marked the completion of its multi-year research project with a new report published in English and Portuguese: “Intercultural Resonances among Music Teachers: Their Impacts on Practices and Teaching Methods.”

 

February 5 Deadline: 12th SIMM-seminar Expressions of Interest

02-04-2026

Expressions of interest for the 12th SIMM-seminar, happening May 4–6 in Brussels, Belgium, are due February 5.

In Jerusalem, a Space for Healing

Micah Hendler, Founder & Artistic Director, The Jerusalem Youth Chorus

02-04-2026

The Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC) is a music and dialogue program for Israeli and Palestinian teenagers in Jerusalem. We bring young people from East and West Jerusalem into the same room each week to sing together, practice structured dialogue, and build the leadership skills needed to navigate a deeply unequal and polarized reality.

If you work in music for social change, none of that is conceptually new—“music builds connection” is something we all believe. What has surprised us over time is how much the container matters.

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