Celebrating African Diasporic Culture With Castle of our Skins
The African American poet, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni begins her “Poem for Nina” with the following lines: we are all imprisoned in the castle of our skins and some of us have said so be it if i am... Read More →
The Ambassadors’ Exchange, September 2019
My Summer with the NPO Seven Spirit Orchestra, by Axelle Miel (The Philippines) For the second half of summer I interned at NPO Seven Spirit, a Cebu-based non-profit organization that provides free classical music lessons to underprivileged children around the... Read More →
The YOLA National Festival and Symposium in Los Angeles
In July, the Los Angeles Philharmonic sponsored the YOLA National Festival and Symposium, a multi-dimensional gathering for the El Sistema movement in the United States. The Festival was an intensive orchestral training program for students ages 12-18 from across the... 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 →
A Space of Our Own: The Atlanta Music Project’s New Headquarters
Nine years ago, 19 elementary schoolchildren gathered at the Gilbert House, an old house in southwest Atlanta, to begin their journey towards becoming musical artists. Over the course of the following decade, these children were joined by hundreds of others;... 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 →
Discover Musical Explorers: A Teaching Resource for Little Ones!
Musical Explorers has long been a beloved live program at Carnegie Hall for kindergartners through second graders. Using singing, listening, and movement, it builds fundamental musical skills through a diverse global music curriculum. Carnegie Hall has now made its curriculum... 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 →
Intentional or Accidental? Creating Powerful Organizational Culture
Picture this: In ten years, your traditional orchestra, with four decades of history, has morphed to include a rapidly expanding community social outreach component. From an initial pilot project, you now teach 1,100 children daily, in 10 locations, with 60... Read More →
Addressing Teacher-Student Racial Bias
In some instances, Sistema teachers are from a different race or ethnic background than their students and families. In the U.S. Sistema field, the racial disparities between faculty/staff and students/families are widely recognized as a challenge, and the issue of... Read More →