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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EDITORIAL
Navigating Constraint with Dignity: Lessons from Kinshasa’s “Positive Fatalism”

Lukas Pairon, Professor and Founder of Chair Jonet, University of Ghent, Belgium; Founder of the scholarly network SIMM; Founder of the Music Fund philanthropy; Co-founder of the contemporary music ensemble Ictus.

06-04-2025

What can we learn from people who live in one of the most constrained urban environments in the world—and still find ways to make life possible?

GUEST PERSPECTIVE
The Courage to Create: Helping Students Sing through Fear

Meagan Mayne, Founder, Meagan Mayne Voice Studio

06-04-2025

Singing (really, any artistic act) is an act of vulnerability. Your voice is you—your breath, your body, your emotions, your story. When you sing, you offer all of that up; even after a lifetime of performing, I still feel that fear when I step on stage.

If performing can be scary for us educators, how much scarier must it be for teen students still discovering their identity—for whom “fitting in” can feel like the most important thing?

The Arts of Dream Begin with Children’s Dreams

Kim Kibun, actor and arts educator

06-04-2025

In both Korean and English, the word dream carries layered meanings. It can refer, first, to the images and sensations we experience during sleep; second, to the hopes and ideals we wish to realize; and third, to a fleeting illusion or unrealistic fantasy.

When I was designing the framework for the Theater of Dreams last year, I leaned into the second meaning—the kind of dream filled with high ideals.

Classics for Kids Offers Matching Grants

06-04-2025

Classics for Kids Foundation offers matching grants to help build sustainable music programs within US-based K–12 schools and nonprofit organizations.

Suggested Reading: To Be Young, Gifted and Black

06-04-2025

To Be Young, Gifted and Black, a new book by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, offers an intimate look at how her children navigated their professional path into the classical music world while exploring their cultural, racial, and national identities.

Serious Games Improve Student Engagement in Music

06-04-2025

A new, open access literature review in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning highlights the impact of serious games (SGs) in facilitating music learning.

Peabody Institute Offers Arts in Healthcare Training

05-07-2025

Are you curious how you can use music to make a difference for patients, families, and caregivers in healthcare settings?

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.

The Queen of Paradise Initiative: A Life-Changing Experience in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea

Dane Madrigal, composer, conductor, and music educator

05-07-2025

One of the most memorable experiences from my time in Vanimo was helping the students prepare music for a truly special occasion: the visit, last August, of Pope Francis. With only three weeks to prepare, the students were able to put together both a fully recorded concert for the Holy Father and a few live pieces for his visit to the IVE Fathers in Baro.

The El Sistema USA 2025 West Coast Regional Gathering

Patrick Scafidi, Executive Editor, The Ensemble

05-07-2025

At events like these, it’s easy to think about the word “community” as the people in the room. But El Sistema USA’s nifty trick was to upend that idea. Rather than celebrate our professional community—the connections we form with colleagues—the ESUSA leadership team explored the ties that bind us to larger, more diverse communities—of families, of activists, of scientists, of lawmakers, and of the folks that lawmakers tend to ignore.

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