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News & Resources

Free Online Tool Blends Coding with Music-Making

10-05-2021

Coding is a popular buzzword in schools, especially when it comes to STEM education. If your tech-savvy students are also interested in coding, they may be excited to learn about EarSketch. This new learning tool is designed for teachers and students alike—helping students learn to code as part of their music-making process, and offering teachers a complete curriculum that includes teaching materials and resources. The service is free to use; visit their website to learn more.

Last Call to Attend the YOLA National Symposium

10-05-2021

It’s not too late to register for the YOLA National Symposium, which will be held in the new Beckman YOLA Center from October 20–23. The full schedule will be posted on October 13, and registration is required by October 15. (There’s no deadline for virtual participation.) There will be over 30 community-generated and interactive sessions, workshops, and panels, as well as performances by youth groups such as the YOLA National Institute cohort. COVID safety procedures require proof of full vaccination for all attendees, and one free, on-site test on attendees’ first days. Conference registration is available via Eventbrite; hotel information is available through this reservation link.

A September 2021 Resource Bulletin

09-21-2021

Venezuela’s El Sistema will hold a World Congress of El Sistema on September 28th, 29th, and 30th. The virtual event is designed to foster an exchange of ideas on topics of global relevance for like-spirited programs and projects around the world. The Congress will include discussions, presentations, workshops, and screenings, all with Spanish-English translation. Focal topics will include organizational and pedagogical issues, artistic vision, social impact, research in the field, child and youth protection policies, and fundraising.

Join the 10th World Summit on Arts Education, Oct. 11–15

09-15-2021

The 2021 World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE) Virtual World Summit, titled “Arts Impact: Context Matters,” will be held October 11–15. Produced by Creative Generation, The University of Florida (UF), and the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE), the Summit will welcome arts education professionals from across the world to share their learning and develop a set of international principles for arts assessment. Learn more from Creative Generation and UF, and register via Creative Generation.

New Project Connects TAs across Asia

09-15-2021

Singapore-based teaching artist Jeffrey Tan is exploring ways that fellow TAs can advocate for inclusive arts practice in Asia, through his ITAC-funded program Teaching Artist Asia. The project seeks to document, map, and advocate for TAs working across the region, exploring inclusive practice and collaborating with the sector’s disability community. As part of the project, Tan and a series of guest speakers host monthly online sessions that unpack the unique ways that TAs in Asia approach their work. Sessions are free to attend, and the next one is September 27. View the schedule via ITAC to get involved. The project’s findings will be shared at the ITAC6 Conference in Oslo in 2022.

Funding for Youth-Led Community Service Projects

09-15-2021

The pandemic has led many to confront longstanding inequities in their communities—none more so than our young people, who have made their voices heard in unprecedented ways. The Karma for Cara Foundation’s Microgrant Program seeks to support these young people as they work to improve their communities around the world. Available to youth ages 18 or younger, grants range from $250 to $1,000 and are given to young people working on community service projects, from rebuilding school playgrounds to helping senior citizens prepare for winter. Many of our students have creative community service projects in mind—let’s share this opportunity with them. Application deadlines are quarterly throughout the year, and this year’s final deadline is October 1. Visit Karma for Cara Foundation’s website to apply online.

Lewis Prize for Music Shares New Research on the State of Our Field

09-15-2021

The Lewis Prize for Music has done something unusual in the grant-making arena: it just released a detailed, probing report on the state of the field, titled “Midcasting Toward Just Futures: Creative Youth Development’s Waymaking to Systems Change Through and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Download the report via Lewis Prize to learn how over 280 music CYD organizations are meeting the challenges of our time, and what youth leaders are saying about systems change. The report focuses on “the intersection of this deep trust-building relational work with CYD’s internal justice orientations, direct service and immediate needs responsiveness, movement building, and partnerships, as a nexus of systems change.”

Conductors Stepping up as Community Advocates

09-15-2021

How are young conductors breaking the traditional mold and learning to reach out to their communities in new ways? According to this article by Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times, it has a lot to do with Gustavo Dudamel. The Dudamel Fellowship Program, which he started at the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009, has produced a number of rising conductors—many of them women—who think about “what is needed to serve diverse audiences…and what it means for an orchestra to belong to a community.”

Free Webinar Series on Social-Emotional Learning for Teachers, Parents, and Advocates

09-15-2021

A recent survey conducted by the Save The Music Foundation shows that students are having a difficult time returning to the classroom. Responses from their partner teachers indicate that students are now dealing with increased stress (81%), anxiety (75%), depression (56%), and isolation and loneliness (56%). To help music educators and families support these students, Save The Music has produced a free webinar series on social and emotional learning (SEL). It is called “Student Empowerment through SEL in Music Education,” and it can be accessed here via their website. You must register in advance of every session. Each session features special guest speakers and focuses on a unique element of SEL, so check their calendar for the upcoming schedule.

Funding for Community-Minded Musicians

09-15-2021

The Sparkplug Foundation provides grants to start-up nonprofit organizations, or new projects of established nonprofits, that are addressing the fields of music, education, and community organizing in the U.S. or Palestine/Israel. In the Music category, Sparkplug supports emerging professional musicians in developing new work, sharing existing work with a wider community, bringing together musicians to collaborate, or facilitating new workshops that bring music to oppressed communities. The grant application process can be initiated on their website any time before October 11.

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