Transition Time: A New Home for The WE
Editorial by Eric Booth and Tricia TunstallCo-founders, The World Ensemble It’s exhilarating to make something new. Anyone who’s ever started a “music for social change” program, or any kind of new program, or even any work of art or craft, knows that... Read More →
Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Project Meets The Network of Music Schools of Medellin
“We survive because we are creative and resilient.” – Yo-Yo Ma It is not a secret to anyone that Medellin, Colombia had a number of violent years that left a trail of pain, death, and corruption. In the early ’90s,... Read More →
EDITORIAL: The Transformative Power of Big
I have been lucky enough to attend the last three gatherings of the global Sistema’s biggest events—Side by Side by El Sistema Sweden, Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra, and the YOLA National Festival. There is no getting around it—these are gigantically... Read More →
Music expanding horizons: FUNSINCOPA projects changing lives
In March 2019, I had the opportunity, through the Global Leaders Program, to be part of the professors’ team of the FUNSINCOPA Summer Camp at Panama City. The summer camp is a development opportunity for students who are already part... Read More →
A Bank of Musical Instruments To Transform Lives
I met Natalia García de Castro, Executive Director of the Siemens Colombia Foundation, one rainy morning in Bogota in March 2019. On that day, we began to work together to design innovative proposals in favor of children and young people who... Read More →
The Ambassadors’ Exchange, July 2019
Young Africa Works: Focus on Kenyan Youth, by Linet Othieno (Kenya) Towards the end of May, Ghetto Classics had a performance at the UN Assembly. The theme was Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities. This month we also had the... Read More →
EDITORIAL: How to Change the World—That’s All
Why do some innovations make a lasting change in a field? Think about Apple computers and iPhones. Billy Beane’s 2002 Oakland Athletics baseball team that brought deep statistical analysis of players into the profession. Venezuela’s El Sistema. Lasting change doesn’t... Read More →
Teach a Man to Fish: Sonidos de la Tierra and the Power of Community Autonomy
It’s 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon in Quiindy, and the Gaete household is humming. Silvia is humming Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 while she prepares dinner for the family with her husband, Juan, who taps along rhythmically as he sets the... Read More →
The Ambassadors’ Exchange, June 2019
Teaching as Learning, by Luara Baqueiro (Brazil) I started playing double bass by chance, and thanks to my years of study at NEOJIBA, I have hope for a better future through music. I first felt this hope when I joined the... Read More →
Announcing the launch of Music In Action Journal: A Knowledge Hub for the Frontlines of Music-For-Social-Action
When cultural historians reflect on the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one of the most significant paradigm shifts noted will be the explosion of music-for-social-action initiatives across the globe. Inspired by the work of pioneering figures including Jorge Peña... Read More →