social impact

 
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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Join the Skoll World Forum for Free

 

 

04-01-2026

The Skoll World Forum (April 21–24) is one of the world’s most distinguished gatherings of thought leaders, focusing on finding solutions to global problems.

Suggested Reading: Music as a Social Prescription

 

 

04-01-2026

“Social Music as a Prescription for Maintaining Wellness” is an article by renowned U.S. jazz musician Jon Batiste and Joanne Loewy, Director of the Department of Music Therapy and Professor at New York City’s Icahn School of Medicine.

SIMM Opportunities in 2026: Seminars and Journals

04-01-2026

Two SIMM (Social Impact of Music Making) research seminars are welcoming attendees.

Open Call for Europe-Based Creatives: PartArt4OW

 

 

03-04-2026

PartArt4OW has launched its third call for cross-disciplinary projects that help build a sustainable “blue economy” across Europe.

Re-birth: 18 Years of Music, Meaning, and Maturing

Elizabeth Njoroge, Founder and Executive Director, Art of Music Foundation

03-04-2026

Many of the students we began with, back in 2006, are the first in their families to finish school, to attend university, and to build careers. The truly amazing part is that now, as young adults, their dream is not to escape. Their dream is to return. They come back to their communities—with purpose, compassion, and determination. More often than not, they come back to Ghetto Classics as teachers. Most of our current 42 teachers once sat where our students now sit. The learners have become leaders.

Which means, of course, that the program no longer “belongs” to me.

Suggested Reading: The Social-transformative Potential of Music Mediation

12-03-2025

How are musicians creating social impact across European communities?

EDITORIAL
Young People Are Speaking To Us. Are We Close Enough to Hear Them?

Dalouge Smith, Founder and Executive Director, The Creating Abundance Collaborative; Co-founder and CEO, The Lewis Prize, 2018–2024

12-03-2025

I’d been missing the presence and perspective of young people in these gatherings dedicated to arts education, young people’s wellbeing, and community health through the arts. When young people were present, it was most often as performers, and occasionally as panelists alongside adults.

Throughout these events, I had been wondering, “How is it that we continue to position young people as objects of conversation, and not the subject?”

Free Report from Sound Diplomacy: “Why Impact Matters”

11-05-2025

To keep a music program running these days, it’s not enough to just believe in the work. We must be able to demonstrate our impact.

Chiquinha Gonzaga Orchestra: Building a Culture of Peace Through Music

Diogo Pereira, Executive Director, Harmony Project Phoenix; Consultant, Instituto Brasileiro de Música e Educação (IBME)

11-05-2025

The Brazilian Institute of Music and Education (IBME – Instituto Brasileiro de Música e Educação) was launched in 2011 with just 15 students. Today, it serves more than 4,000 young people and continues to grow. Among its many talented ensembles, one stands out: the Orquestra Sinfônica Juvenil Chiquinha Gonzaga, an all-female youth orchestra that celebrates the intersection of Brazilian classical and popular music.

Sinfónica Azteca: Empowering Young Musicians Across Mexico, the Americas, and Beyond

Adrián Nájera-Coto, Sinfónica Azteca Project Manager, Orchestra of the Americas Group

10-01-2025

The story of Sinfónica Azteca begins about five years ago, when the world was just beginning to reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the globe, music programs and youth orchestras were struggling to survive. The need to restore trust in live music and reignite enthusiasm among young musicians had never been greater.

In Mexico, this posed a double challenge, since we had always lacked a national youth orchestra capable of uniting the country’s young musicians in high-caliber, immersive artistic experiences.

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