Music Education

 
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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Students in the League of American Orchestras

10-07-2026

Conservatory and university music students and recent graduates can join the League of American Orchestras for free as a League Student Member, or upgrade to the professional level for $80.

Apply for ESUSA’s Youth Leadership Institute

10-07-2026

El Sistema USA just opened the applications for the 2027-28 Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), a year-long cohort that brings together program leaders and young musicians as co-learners.

A Living Network Meets in Milan

Nikoletta Polydorou, Executive Director, Sistema Cyprus; Board Member, Sistema Europe

10-07-2026

“It gave me great peace of mind to know that there are such capable and inspiring people whom I can turn to when I face problems that I cannot solve on my own.”

This was how one of my peers reflected on our three days together in Milan last August. Her words got to the heart of a question I had been thinking about for some time: 

What keeps a network alive?

Solving the Instrument Crisis in Global Music Education Programs

Graciela Briceno, Program Manager, In Concert Opus Network

10-07-2026

The image is jarring: a vibrant green lawn scattered with brass instruments in various forms of disrepair, some rusted, others broken or bent. A few rest in old cases with broken hinges. This video was shared by Kyewalyanga Fredrick (Freddie), founder of Saved by Music Foundation, a nonprofit in Uganda that serves 111 children between the ages of 8 and 16. Alongside shelter, food, healthcare, and school fees, the program teaches music through the Elgon Youth Brass Band that rehearses every day. Unfortunately, like a majority of programs in the region, Saved by Music Foundation does not have enough playable instruments for all of its students.

RESEO’s 30th Year Conference

10-07-2026

RESEO, a European network dedicated to education, participation, and transformation through opera, music, and dance, is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year with a conference titled Making Noise: The Future that We Want.

In Gaza, Children Sing with Drones

Ahmed Abu Amsha, Founder, Gaza Birds Singing; musician, singer, composer, sound engineer, music teacher, and manager of music education programs in Gaza, as told to Ensemble editor Tricia Tunstall

10-07-2026

In the beginning of the war on Gaza, I was displaced from my town of Beit Hanoun at 3 a.m. We were running, without shoes, without anything. We arrived in Jabalia, near Gaza City. I was not thinking about music; I was just running for a safe place.

Jeunesses Musicales International: The Story Behind the Movement

Matt Clark, Programs and Marketing Director, JM International

10-07-2026

Almost a hundred years ago, as construction began on the majestic Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, Director Marcel Cuvelier walked through the construction site with a dream. “I always thought of giving concerts for young people,” he later wrote. “When I walked like an insect in that huge frame that would become a concert hall, meeting rooms, offices, halls…I thought about an audience that is demanding, worthy of respect, living: young. I could already hear the shouts and the applause.” 

EDITORIAL
When an Instrument Case Means ‘Don’t Shoot’: Symbolic Recognition in Medellín

Nathaly Ossa Alzate, strategic arts management and social impact consultant

10-07-2026

In Nancy Fraser’s framework, social justice requires both redistribution (economic resources) and recognition (cultural and symbolic status). Symbolic recognition is the validation of one’s identity, dignity, and self-worth within a broader socio-cultural context. And in 1990s Medellín—our time—young people faced material deprivation and severe symbolic misrecognition, viewed solely through the lens of urban violence, stigma, and invisibility. 

In-House Instrument Repair

10-07-2026

When the team at Community MusicWorks built the program’s new home, they brought their longtime luthier into their building.

Two Resources from Carnegie Hall

10-07-2026

Celebrating 15 years of the program, “Exploring Identity” is one of three recently released playlists featuring performances from Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

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