Colaboraciones

In Gaza, Children Sing with Drones

Ahmed Abu Amsha, Founder, Gaza Birds Singing; musician, singer, composer, sound engineer, music teacher, and manager of music education programs in Gaza, as told to Ensemble editor Tricia Tunstall
In the beginning of the war on Gaza, I was displaced from my town of Beit Hanoun at 3 a.m. We were running, without shoes, without anything. We arrived in Jabalia, near Gaza City. I was not thinking about music; I was just running for a safe place.
SIMM Seminar Deadline Extended
The deadline for applications to attend the SIMM research seminar on participatory opera and music theatre has been extended to October 15.
Jeunesses Musicales International: The Story Behind the Movement

Matt Clark, Programs and Marketing Director, JM International
Almost a hundred years ago, as construction began on the majestic Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, Director Marcel Cuvelier walked through the construction site with a dream. “I always thought of giving concerts for young people,” he later wrote. “When I walked like an insect in that huge frame that would become a concert hall, meeting rooms, offices, halls…I thought about an audience that is demanding, worthy of respect, living: young. I could already hear the shouts and the applause.”
In-House Instrument Repair
When the team at Community MusicWorks built the program’s new home, they brought their longtime luthier into their building.
Two Resources from Carnegie Hall
Celebrating 15 years of the program, “Exploring Identity” is one of three recently released playlists featuring performances from Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
Global Focus on Youth Creativity
The Global Extended Learning and Youth Development Association (GELYDA) has produced a special double issue of their magazine Extensions, themed entirely around Creative Youth Development (CYD).
Participate in the Next SIMM Research Seminar (Applications Due Soon)
SIMM (Social Impact of Making Music) is calling for applications to participate in the 14th SIMM research seminar, happening February 24–26, 2027 at Vienna’s mdw-University of Music.
GUEST PERSPECTIVE
Why Willing Volunteers Still Don’t Show Up: How youth music programs can turn goodwill into support
Kathleen Staten, Founder, Your MBA Friend Consulting
Last month, my daughter’s choir director needed parents to take tickets to the year-end concert. I had been a choir singer and director myself, so I know the invisible work it takes to put students on a stage. When the request came, I wanted to be the kind of parent who showed up.
Then, my week got overwhelming. By the time the concert arrived, I was no longer deciding between helping and not helping. I was deciding which responsibility would boil over first if I took my attention off it.
Music Education as an Economic Force
When we think about the income generated by the music industry, we don’t usually think of music education as a major contributor.
Every Lullaby Begins with a New Encounter

Fenia Biniari, Communications Manager, El Sistema Greece and Project Manager, ESG Lullaby Project, and Michalis Kalkanis and Christos Kalkanis, Seeds (composer duo)
The first chapter of a Lullaby Project song is usually written in a room where strangers have just met. Professional composers sit beside a mother who has never written music before. A child wanders around the room, curious but unsure. Participants may speak through an interpreter. Others may communicate more through gestures than words. At first, there are introductions, hesitant smiles, and long pauses. There is no score, no lyrics, no expectation of what the music should become.

