youth development

After months of work behind the scenes and four days together in Dundee, Scotland, a 95-musician orchestra made up of Big Noise and YOLA musicians—plus 100 younger Big Noise members forming a choir—came together on stage at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall for the Festival’s Family Concert on August 16, 2026.

It was a beautiful moment. But even before they ever shared the stage, the young musicians from Scotland and Los Angeles had achieved something remarkable.

Music possesses the power to transcend borders and unite hearts. That’s why, last month, a hundred children in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea packed their instruments to bring their music to Jayapura, Indonesia. It was a historic milestone: the first international tour for the students in the Queen of Paradise Project, launched seven years ago by Music Director Jesus Briceno with the support of Father Miguel de la Calle. Father Martin Prado is now the CEO of the project.

Is there such a thing as a “Generation Alpha” melody?

TATI (Teaching Artist Training Institute) is launching its inaugural Leaders Fellowship Program, a six-month professional learning experience for leaders of community music and El Sistema-inspired programs.

Something special happens when young musicians are invited to trace the roots of their art form to its source. This October, a group of high school students from Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education initiatives had the rare opportunity to do just that through a cultural exchange of jazz and blues music in Clarksdale, Mississippi. 

El Sistema USA’s Youth Leadership Initiative brings together young musicians and program leaders in the US to develop and spread leadership and life skills.

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.

The Creative Economy Pathways Virtual Town Hall Series, hosted by Creating Abundance Collaborative, explores how Creative Youth Development (CYD) organizations open career pathways through arts-based experiences and youth leadership.

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. 

The Global Extended Learning and Youth Development Association (GELYDA) has produced a special double issue of their magazine Extensions, themed entirely around Creative Youth Development (CYD).