Community Building

 
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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Suggested Listening: Power, People & Planet Podcast with Kumi Naidoo

12-03-2025

The effort required to create systemic change can be daunting, and it can help to hear from others who are doing the work.

Nominate a Changemaker for the Creativity for Social Change Award

12-03-2025

The Creativity for Social Change Award invites nominations for individuals and art collectives using creative means to respond to local and global challenges.

Submit Your Work to Perspectives on Arts in Health

12-03-2025

Perspectives on Arts in Health (PAH) invites submissions from students, academics, and practitioners involved in arts in health initiatives around the world.

An Upstate New York Community Connects through Myanmar’s Music

Andrew Borkowski, Director of Education, Buffalo String Works

12-03-2025

During the 2022-23 academic year, Buffalo String Works began asking the question: “How can we be more intentional about the music we’re asking our students to learn and perform?” Over the course of attempting to answer this question, the BSW Music Library Development Project was born—resulting in the commissioning and composition of a brand-new work for student string orchestra: “Aka” by Wai Hin Ko Ko.

Free Report from Sound Diplomacy: “Why Impact Matters”

11-05-2025

To keep a music program running these days, it’s not enough to just believe in the work. We must be able to demonstrate our impact.

From Accommodation to Co-Creation: How Students Continue to Transform Our Approach to Adaptive Music Education

Erin Parkes, Founder/Executive Director, and Lyanne Fortin, Communications Manager, Lotus Centre for Special Music Education

11-05-2025

When Lotus Centre for Special Music Education opened its doors in Ottawa, Canada in 2012, we thought our mission was clear: provide access to high-quality music instruction for students with exceptionalities and disabilities who were being left out of traditional lessons. What we didn’t yet realize was that our students were about to become our greatest teachers, shifting our organization from a provider of services to a learning community shaped directly by their needs and strengths.

“Giftedness Is Just Access in Disguise”: Lessons in Flourishing Together

Jee-Hoon Krska, Founder/Executive Director, Keys 2 Success, Newark, New Jersey, USA

11-05-2025

The summer of 2025 brought a harsh financial reality. Like so many nonprofits in the United States this year, we lost more than 50% in foundation funding—money we’d counted on to hire adult teachers for our summer programming. We couldn’t bring in the experienced instructors who had anchored our summer camps in previous years.

This loss created an unexpected void that my teaching team and I didn’t know how to fill. To our surprise, our Urban Fellows and Junior Fellows—a group of our older and emerging student leaders—stepped up to fill the void.

News from ESUSA: 2024 Census & Partnerships

11-05-2025

El Sistema USA (ESUSA) just released their 2024 Census Report, with data from 84 member programs serving over 30,000 young people—a 26% increase since 2022! 

Along Italian Coast, a Climate-Conscious Program Turns “Rubbish Into Music”

Chiara Galli, Managing Director, and Stefano Murciano, Communications Manager, LiberaMusica

11-05-2025

In the city where LiberaMusica operates—Pesaro, Italy, right on the Mediterranean coast—the connection with nature is strong and part of everyday life. From the Apennine Mountains to the coastline, children grow up surrounded by an environment that is rich, fragile, and, today more than ever, in need of protection. In recent years, our region has been marked by extreme events: floods, droughts, and changing seasons are reshaping our landscape. Schools and associations have been working hard to raise ecological awareness, and LiberaMusica wanted to contribute by doing what we know best: making music.

Africa-Europe Cultural Exchange Grants

11-05-2025

The Goethe Institut, in partnership with Expertise France and Institut Français, invites proposals for two different grants supporting artistic and cultural exchange projects between African and European artists.

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