Program Design

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
The Ensemble Newsletter

Regions

Africa

Asia/Oceania

Europe

Latin America

North America

Topics

Teaching & Learning

Program Design

Student Voice & Leadership

Community Building

Collaborations

Funding & Support

Perspectives & Collective Action

News & Resources

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.

Chiquinha Gonzaga Orchestra: Building a Culture of Peace Through Music

Diogo Pereira, Executive Director, Harmony Project Phoenix; Consultant, Instituto Brasileiro de Música e Educação (IBME)

11-05-2025

The Brazilian Institute of Music and Education (IBME – Instituto Brasileiro de Música e Educação) was launched in 2011 with just 15 students. Today, it serves more than 4,000 young people and continues to grow. Among its many talented ensembles, one stands out: the Orquestra Sinfônica Juvenil Chiquinha Gonzaga, an all-female youth orchestra that celebrates the intersection of Brazilian classical and popular music.

Save The Music Announces New Grant Program

10-01-2025

Save The Music has announced the launch of their Sonidos Latinos Latin Percussion Core Grant to support classrooms in integrating Latino music traditions into their curriculum.

New Guiding Pillars Amplify Our Collective Voice

Elizabeth Moulthrop, Executive Director, El Sistema USA

09-03-2025

Nearly two decades ago, a handful of United States programs that were inspired by El Sistema in Venezuela opened their doors. Since then, El Sistema USA® has become a network of more than 150 organizations—the largest such network in the world. Our members represent a diverse array of music programs from dozens of states, as well as international programs in adjacent countries from Canada to Haiti. Given the diversity and breadth of our network, it’s reasonable to ask: What is the common thread between these programs? And why does this collective work matter? Watching and helping this coalition grow and evolve, we have been able to isolate a few distinct qualities that unite us and affirm the power of our collective voice.

Teacher Learning through the Spark of Action Research

Francis Gagliardi, Program Director, Nucleo, London, England; member of first Firebird team at the Academy for Impact Through Music

09-03-2025

How can I contribute to making something that’s already great even better?

That was the question I asked myself when I took on the challenge of carrying out the first Academy for Impact Through Music (AIM) Chispa, in Caracas, Venezuela, in December 2024.

 

Agents of Change

Loukia Lazarou, Teaching Artist and Project Manager, Sistema Cyprus

05-07-2025

The idea of hosting volunteers had two purposes: one, the additional staff would be an immense help for our organization, and two, they would provide relatable young role models for our students—especially important for those from vulnerable backgrounds. We wanted to create a structure that nurtures leadership, social responsibility, and cultural exchange, both for the young people in our orchestra and for the volunteers.

Between Tradition and Innovation: Reimagining Teacher Training at NEOJIBA

José Henrique de Campos, Educational Director, NEOJIBA

05-07-2025

When trying to renew an initiative that has existed for almost a decade, our great challenge is to find that precise balance between valuing tradition and proposing something new. At NEOJIBA State Nuclei for Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Bahia, this balance is fundamental to our continuous search for improvement—praising what already works, recognizing what can be improved, and having the tranquility to suggest something innovative without losing the essence of an idea.

It was in this spirit that in 2023, on a sunny afternoon during Bahia’s “eternal summer,” we began to redesign PROCEC, our collective teacher training program.

Using Circles to Build Community and Connection in CYD Spaces

John Weiss, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Lori Roddy, Executive Director, Neutral Zone

03-05-2025

It’s 3:30 on a Wednesday afternoon at the Neutral Zone, a creative arts and leadership center for teenagers in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Twenty-four young people and six staff gather in a circle of chairs in the B-Side Venue (a multi-purpose program space that also serves as a 400-person concert venue). As a disco ball glimmers overhead, Ash, a teen participant and high school sophomore, volunteers with an opening question: “What did you like to do at recess when you were a kid in school?”

New Resources from Carnegie Hall

03-05-2025

Carnegie Hall has some new online resources we think our readers will like. And, best of all, they’re free!

Share

ABOUT US MASTHEAD THE AMBASSADORS THE ARCHIVES SUBSCRIBE CONTACT
© Copyright 2022 Ensemble News