Teaching Artists

 
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
Playing in the Same Key: Aligning Purpose and Practice for Students

Fiona Cunningham, Director, Academy for Impact through Music

03-04-2026

“What’s the biggest thing keeping you up at night, as a leader or as a teaching artist?”

When Nikoletta Polydorou, founder of Sistema Cyprus, recently posed this question to music-for-social-action leaders and teaching artists across different countries and contexts, one concern surfaced repeatedly: when a program’s purpose isn’t clear, and collectively owned, the learning is less focused and effective.

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?”

Sitting in the Student Seat at AIM’s Fire Up Residency

Olivia Romanet, Music Theory Teacher, MusicEnsemble, Conservatoire de Musique de Genève

10-01-2025

That first day, I felt like a teenager: somewhat defiant, hesitant to initiate, eager to observe, even mistrusting…but also wanting to chat, meet people, laugh, and share.

AIM knew what they were doing. We’d found ourselves on the other side of the classroom, sitting in the student chair. And in experimenting with ways to develop our own community and agency—our capacity for action—as educators, we found ourselves viewing students’ needs with new empathy.

Teacher Learning through the Spark of Action Research

Francis Gagliardi, Program Director, Nucleo, London, England; member of first Firebird team at the Academy for Impact Through Music

09-03-2025

How can I contribute to making something that’s already great even better?

That was the question I asked myself when I took on the challenge of carrying out the first Academy for Impact Through Music (AIM) Chispa, in Caracas, Venezuela, in December 2024.

 

In Oregon, a More Neighborly Approach Brings Joy

Neal Spinler, Executive Director, BRAVO Youth Orchestras

09-03-2025

The majority of the population is in Portland, at the northern border, with most everybody else residing along the “I5 Corridor”—Interstate 5, a major north-south highway that runs from Portland to California. BRAVO serves a region at the very northern tip of Portland; JOY serves students in Yamhill County. North Portland is a diverse blue-collar area with shipyards, warehouses, and port terminals; Yamhill County is the heart of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley, a region known best for its fabulous wineries. But while the county boasts fancy vineyards and tasting rooms, it is also filled with farms and the hardworking farmhands and families.

Just 46 miles apart, our landscapes could not be more different. And yet the work we do could not be more aligned.

Last Call! Apply for the Fire Up – The Field Teaching Artist Residency

07-09-2025

Fire Up – The Field is a free five-month program from the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM) in collaboration with LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) and its National Accelerator program.

EDITORIAL
Teaching Artistry: West Meets East in Potential

Eric Booth, Co-founder, The Ensemble; Co-founder, ITAC; Senior Faculty, Academy for Impact through Music

04-02-2025

Teaching artistry is the sleeping giant of social change. 

And that giant is waking up. At least that’s what I claim, in my relentless advocacy for the global field. 

EDITORIAL
The Power of Positive Psychology in Social Impact Programs

William Yip, Director, Ximalaya Drama/Theatre & Education Innovation Institute

03-05-2025

In the world of arts education, we often discuss the importance of creating engaging, transformative experiences for young people. However, the challenge lies in ensuring that these experiences lead to lasting positive change. How can teaching artists not only foster creativity but also help students grow emotionally and socially? The answer may lie in positive psychology, a field dedicated to enhancing human wellbeing and potential.

ESUSA Regional Gatherings

03-05-2025

El Sistema USA is hosting two regional gatherings this year, bringing together program leaders, teaching artists, and students from across the country for community-building and professional development.

Transforming Young Lives Through Music: Lessons from Five Years of Impact in Creative Youth Development

Alexis Jackson, Data Analysis Officer, The Lewis Prize for Music

03-05-2025

Music has the power to transform lives, strengthen communities, and challenge the systems that shape them—but what does that transformative process actually look like? For the past five years, The Lewis Prize for Music (TLPM) has been addressing this question by supporting organizations that harness music’s power to uplift and empower young people. 

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