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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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The NBYO Had Never Sent a Student to the Royal College of Music. Now They’re Sending Two.

Patrick Scafidi, Executive Editor, The Ensemble

04-01-2026

In its 60 years of existence, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO)—Canada’s first provincial orchestra—has celebrated many a milestone. This year, there’s a new kind of success to celebrate: two of its graduating seniors have been accepted into London’s Royal College of Music. 

The Royal College has never accepted an NBYO player before, let alone two. This is relatively rare for programs that value social-emotional outcomes as much or more than musical ones. But for the students involved, those social-emotional outcomes played a critical role in their matriculation, clarifying the value of a movement that builds arts-and-community pipelines traced back to a player’s earliest years.

From Spark to Flame: A Glance at Fire Up! 2025

Elisabetta Lapadula, Communications Manager, SONG – Sistema Lombardia

04-01-2026

Imagine choosing—on purpose—to stop. To give yourself a moment of attention and ask, without judgment, a simple question: “Why do I do this work?” It’s a small exercise of meditation and self-awareness that we rarely find time for in our noisy daily routine. And yet, in that brief pause, something can appear: a spark that feeds the question, gives it space, and makes it louder.

For me, Fire Up! 2025 in Athens—a four-day teaching artist residency led by the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM)—was that spark. 

Violin Included: Reflections on Leadership, Giving, and Growing Up in This Field

Elizabeth Moulthrop, Executive Director, El Sistema USA

03-04-2026

Last week, I found myself in Union City, New Jersey, USA, sitting in a sea of students, violin in hand, playing “Swan Lake” alongside kids, teachers, and my longtime colleague Melina Garcia. I hadn’t come to visit Melina and her program, the United Children’s Music Project simply for the joy of playing with young people; I was there to deliver a donation. I had just closed a similar program in Pisco, Peru—Notes for Change, Inc.—that I founded 15 years ago, and my donation for UCMP consisted of the final funds from that program. I had expected this to be a bittersweet moment; instead, it felt like a full-circle one. But more about that later.

U.S.-Venezuela Relations Impact Music Exchange Programs

 

 

03-04-2026

Musical exchange programs between the U.S. and Venezuela have recently hit an impasse with new travel restrictions between the two countries.

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.

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.

RESEO Offers Free Fundraising Webinar

11-05-2025

The European Network for Opera, Music and Dance Education (RESEO) will host a free webinar on November 17 with specific guidance for arts education organizations looking to apply to major European funding programs.

Asian Cultural Council Grants

11-05-2025

Applications are now open through November 19 for the Asian Cultural Council’s 2026 Fellowships and Grants, supporting cultural exchange activities for arts professionals and organizations in Asia and the United States.

In Oregon, a More Neighborly Approach Brings Joy

Neal Spinler, Executive Director, BRAVO Youth Orchestras

09-03-2025

The majority of the population is in Portland, at the northern border, with most everybody else residing along the “I5 Corridor”—Interstate 5, a major north-south highway that runs from Portland to California. BRAVO serves a region at the very northern tip of Portland; JOY serves students in Yamhill County. North Portland is a diverse blue-collar area with shipyards, warehouses, and port terminals; Yamhill County is the heart of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley, a region known best for its fabulous wineries. But while the county boasts fancy vineyards and tasting rooms, it is also filled with farms and the hardworking farmhands and families.

Just 46 miles apart, our landscapes could not be more different. And yet the work we do could not be more aligned.

Patagonia’s Huilo Huilo Festival Blends Musical Excellence with Social Impact

Barbara Domingos, Artistic Producer, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP); Artistic Operations Manager, Huilo Huilo Music Festival; 2022 cohort member, Global Leaders Institute

07-09-2025

In the heart of Chilean Patagonia, the strings of a violin resonate deep within the temperate forest. Birds sing in harmony with the refined sounds of bows gliding over the strings; leaves whisper centuries-old stories. The Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, where endangered species are protected, also embraces a group of young musicians—along with their mentors, who are string principals in the Brussels Philharmonic—during daily rehearsals and performances. It’s an inspiring fusion of human artistry and Patagonian majesty.

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