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Finding Common Ground through Curriculum Design

Brian Bersh, Music Department Head, Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia, PA; Cohort Member, Global Leaders Program 2022

11-02-2022

Too often, curriculum design is reserved for a few administrators or lead teachers, even though it is integral to understanding and supporting musicianship development. But this process has the potential to unlock incredible opportunities for collaboration in our field, unifying stakeholders by giving everyone an equal voice in the conversation.

Ang Misyon’s Orchestra of the Filipino Youth

Jennifer Rivera, Partnerships and Communications Manager, Orchestra of the Filipino Youth

11-02-2022

When the world stopped in 2020, Ang Misyon’s Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY) had to adapt its programming to a hybrid format. Under the guidance of Gerard Salonga, OFY’s Music Director since 2021, the curriculum was reprioritized to ensure that each scholar receives hands-on mentorship while continuing to develop a sense of community with their peers.

Conserving the Past, Composing the Future at Kakuma Sound

Treynor Tumwa and Mark LeVine, Cofounders, Kakuma Sound

11-02-2022

Africa’s Great Lakes Region has long been a crossroads for migrations of people, from the Indian Ocean in the east to the tropical forests to the west to the headwaters of the Nile up north. It’s precisely these factors that made Kakuma an ideal location for a refugee camp to shelter peoples from the numerous conflicts along these routes. Almost nowhere else on the planet do musicians from so many different African cultures and countries live in such proximity.

Power in the Pride: Providing Ensemble Experiences for SEND Youth

Hannah Carpenter, singing teacher and choral director, Surrey, England; Cohort Member, Global Leaders Program 2022

11-02-2022

The residential element of the program is designed with the recognition that feelings of isolation and loneliness are common among those with additional needs. Participants make the Leiston Abbey their home, and the course leaders and support staff eat, play, and create alongside them, forming a special, trusting atmosphere.

In Navajo Nation, the Beating Heart of Community

Patrick Scafidi in conversation with Gregory Lewis, Assistant Director, Heartbeat Music Project

10-05-2022

Spanning over 27,000 square miles across parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the United States. A land mass greater than ten states, it is home to over half of the Navajo Nation’s 400,000 enrolled people. This enormous population comprises countless diverse communities, each with deep artistic roots. And yet, despite this cultural richness, Navajo Nation had never been home to free, accessible youth music programs…until about six years ago.

Growing Orchestras across Bolivia

Miguel Angel Salazar Hidalgo, President and Artistic Director, Fundación Musical BRAVURA

10-05-2022

In all of Bolivia, we have just two semi-professional orchestras. One of them was founded this year in the city of Cochabamba, which does not even have a theater that can accommodate a large symphonic concert. In fact, there are only four such theaters in the entire country. 

Yet music perseveres.

From ITAC to ITAAC: Celebrating Teaching Artist Administrators in Oslo

Adrián Nájera-Coto, trombonist, pedagogue, teaching artist

10-05-2022

Many artists and teaching artists devote their educational development to artistic study, eschewing (or at least minimizing) the operational learning our field demands. But the ones “brave” enough to transition into administrative positions tend to deliver outstanding results. The reason for this, in my opinion, lies in the arts themselves. The vast set of soft skills developed through artistic instruction, performance, and teaching gives teaching artists strong differentiators in their managerial abilities. It’s just that many don’t yet know it.

In His Own Words: An Interview with Sounds of Change Founder/Director Lucas Dols

09-07-2022

Sounds of Change Founder/Director Lucas Dols agreed to chat with us about where the organization has been, where it is now, and where it’s going.

SEYO 2022’s Young Change Makers

Esther Akinyemi, Harmonie Foundation, Gabriel Nobre, Orquesta Geraçao, and Carlos Fontán, Pedagogic Director and General Manager, SEYO 2022

09-07-2022

Through a lot of note-taking, conversation, and, eventually, a vote, we settled on two questions that would guide our week of collaborative inquiry: “How can we improve the transmission of emotional message through music?” and “How can we provide musical opportunities for students who may not otherwise have them?”

“Music For Every Child”: A New Initiative in Toyonaka, Japan

Yutaka Kikugawa, Founder/Director, El Sistema Japan

09-07-2022

In the Shonai district, an inner-city commercial area in the southern part of the city, population is half what it was in 1970; as families with small children moved out of the area, the number of children has decreased. A survey conducted by the Toyonaka City Council (TCC) showed that only about 40 percent of the younger generation (ages 18–39) in the Shonai area say they want to keep living in their community, while among all city residents in general, that number is 60 percent.

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