November 2021

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

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News & Resources

The Nonprofit Pay Problem and What We Can Do about It

Liz Moulthrop, Director, Paterson Music Project

11-03-2021

In the words of Petro Manzo’s article “The Real Salary Scandal” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the “psychic income” one receives from feeling good and fulfilled from their nonprofit work doesn’t pay the bills, and can have real consequences for individuals and their families. The concept of a “psychic income” connects to a longstanding narrative that nonprofits workers can’t make too much, for fear that they will profit from charity work. Dan Pallotta has discussed how harmful it is when we adopt the Puritan mindset that paying well somehow undermines our mission. Many funders perpetuate this narrative, too—limiting general operating funding and keeping strict ratios between overhead and direct program expenses. But our passion for our work shouldn’t hinder us from paying our bills.

Arts-Based Research—or at Least Our Version of It

Samantha Winterton, Orchestra Director, Sistema Whangarei – Toi Akorangi

11-03-2021

In January 2020, Sistema Whangarei – Toi Akorangi found itself in a quandary. Like many programs around the globe, Sistema Whangarei has limited access to local professional orchestras or universities; instead of their expertise, we rely on the support of our young people to create a sustainable program. It is paramount, then, that we attract and retain teenagers in our organization. But we had noticed a concerning phenomenon: students who seemed invested in our program and who were making great progress would suddenly, unexplainably leave.

You May Not Know It, but Your Next Appointment Could Be with the Queen of Paradise

Marshall Marcus, Founder and President, Sistema Europe

11-03-2021

It was one of those moments that goes so far beyond probability that you just have to laugh. There I was in September, at home in London, following a WhatsApp group of attendees at El Sistema Venezuela’s first-ever World Congress. At 21:51 U.K. time, a message popped up in the group chat from someone I’d never heard of, Padre Miguel de la Calle in Papua New Guinea. “Felicitaciones a la gente del Sistema en Venezuela por la realización del primer Congreso Mundial, realizando otro sueño más del Maestro Abreu!” wrote Padre Miguel, “we are here with the Queen of Paradise Orchestra team, tocando y luchando!”

More than Blind Hope: Measuring Social Impact through Music at the Batuta Seminar

Juan Luis Restrepo, Colombia-based musician and architect

11-03-2021

Over Batuta’s three decades of existence, though, one question has proven difficult to answer: How do we measure the impact of music in social contexts and avoid wishful declarations that “music itself will do the job?” And so, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, Batuta held an open international forum that sought to tackle this very question, hosting an International Seminar on Music and Social Transformation from September 28 – October 1.

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