Laura Hassler

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

Twenty-Five Years of Music for Peacebuilding: Musicians Without Borders

07-10-2024

Musicians Without Borders started in the Netherlands in 1999, when a choir and small orchestra led by musician and activist Laura Hassler performed a war memorial concert during the Kosovo War. Their repertoire: folk songs from the Balkans, spanning different languages and ethnicities. The choice of music was a poignant one; the Yugoslav wars had consumed much of the Balkan region, while the rest of Europe helplessly watched daily news images of mass killings, bombed-out villages, and refugees.

Safe Passage through Music for the Children of Armonia Cuscatleca, El Salvador

03-03-2021

Looking back, Pablo is sure it was the all-night music-making that inspired him.

Born in war-time El Salvador, Pablo Mendez Granadino grew up in Los Angeles after his parents had fled from their village, San Pedro Perulapán. There had been musicians in his family for generations; he studied violin as a child and taught for five years at L.A.’s Harmony Project, an El Sistema–based music project for children from underserved communities. Chances to return to El Salvador to see his extended family were few and far between; when he went back to San Pedro in June 2015, it had been 15 years since his last visit. He was 30 years old.

Editorial: Music, Standing Still

08-05-2020

A guest editorial during a global pandemic. What to write, what to say? For every person and every organization dedicated to bringing people together with music: what does this pandemic mean for our work if we are literally prevented from bringing people together with music?

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