Music Education

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

Free Report: Complexity Thinking is Changing Music Education

03-04-2026

For those interested in theoretical perspectives on music education, a new research report proposes that complexity thinking is changing approaches to music education.

BBC Launches U.K.-Wide Program “Get Singing”

03-04-2026

Earlier this year, the BBC launched Get Singing, the largest U.K.-wide music education program in a decade.

U.S. Music Education Programs Invited to Join Music Inclusion Hub

03-04-2026

The Music Inclusion Hub (MIH) invites U.S.-based music education programs to join their online resource center, hosting culturally responsive learning materials for students of all ages.

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

03-04-2026

Last week, I found myself in Union City, NJ, 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.

EDITORIAL
Musical Benchmarks Build Equity

02-04-2026

Over the past decade, our field has worked tirelessly to ensure that music education is holistic, addresses socio-emotional learning, and is culturally relevant to our students. These are incredibly important objectives that will help us ensure that well-adjusted, diverse people shape the future of our society and music industry.

But to diversify that industry, they have to be able to enter it.

The Importance of Free Play in Music Education

02-04-2026

In my doctoral work, I did an instrumental case study of the Music Box Village in New Orleans. This alternative music space wears many hats. It functions as a music venue, learning space, playground, and much more. It includes interactive art installation and instruments made from salvaged materials that form a kind of sonic playground. It’s also widely welcoming: when I was observing grade-four children playing in the space, I noticed that multiple intelligences were accepted and fostered. 

Side by Side Applications To Open January 7

12-03-2025

From January 7–February 6, 2026, Side by Side will accept applications for their international music camp in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Young Musicians Celebrate Sephardic-Latino Connections

12-03-2025

Over 1,000 students will perform on December 8 with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony for the closing concert of the multi-week program “A Patchwork of Cultures: Exploring the Sephardic–Latino Connection.”

Arts Communities Drive Manchester Forward

12-03-2025

“We do things differently.” That’s the motto of Manchester, England—and if you’re walking through the city, it doesn’t take long to see that it prides itself on its innovation and creativity. I’ve been fortunate to spend my 20s here, learning from the legacies of changemakers both past and present. So many of the city’s most impactful figures have been—and still are—artists working directly with communities.

Inspired by the people, creatives, and communities around me, I spent the second half of my 13 years in Manchester founding The Untold Orchestra, a “non-classical” collaborative orchestra that centers community engagement. But this piece isn’t about Untold. It’s about an Art City—that is, a place where arts interventions are prioritized and supported by the people who live there, and then rewarded with community, creativity, and positive social change.

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