Dear Subscriber,

As we all work doubly hard to stay connected—to each other, and to the ever-changing field—this September Resource Basket aims to make things easier. Below, you’ll find many opportunities to build bridges with and learn from one another, from ITAC5 (happening now!) to ongoing conversations on anti-racist pedagogy and adapting the performing arts to our new reality. Readers in Australia will find two unique opportunities for funding and celebration. And as always, we offer some helpful supplementary reading and moments of joy; if you can, take a few moments to read, watch, and share them with someone outside the field. 

For a comprehensive list of COVID-19 resources, please visit the The World Ensemble website. And if you have a few minutes, please take our survey to help us serve you.

Thanks for reading,

The WE Team

The Global Leaders Program, The Spanish Association of Symphony Orchestras (AEOS), Classical:NEXT, and Banco de la República (Colombia) have announced a second season of their industry panel series (Re)Setting the Stage. Taking place from September 24 – December 17, Season II will feature eight conversations with arts leaders and those on the front lines of our sector, focusing on a wide variety of topics designed to help participants adapt to the evolving landscape of performing arts. Among the many themes are “Digital Divide & Cultural Inclusion: Connectivity & Accessibility after COVID-19,” “On Stage to On Demand: Growing Audiences into Communities,” and “On the Brink!: Public Funding & the Recovery of Cultural Institutions.” Registration is free and simple; sign up here and join these ongoing conversations with thought leaders in our field.

The Fifth International Teaching Artist Conference is happening as this issue goes out—there are still some remaining sessions you can attend free via livestream. Check the website of the ITAC Collaborative to register for the livestream, see the schedule, and view already-archived speeches and sessions from the largest-ever gathering of artists who work in communities and schools.

The ITAC Collaborative goes all year round, extending the work of the ITAC Conferences. Earlier this year the ITAC Collaborative invited (and financially supported) six Innovators to lead projects designed to add tools, share resources, and build connections supporting the global teaching artist field. Creative Generation was selected to produce the “Knowledge Sharing and Digital Learning Project,” which addresses the gap in research and resources produced by and for the field of teaching artistry. The project will engage volunteers in the field from a cross-section of countries to collect, validate, and disseminate tools, resources, and creative/scholarly research in several capacities. As part of this project, an international Advisory Committee has been assembled from practitioners who applied from around the world. Find out more about the project and its international team of teaching artist advisors here. 

Decolonizing the Music Room 

A new organization has been launched in the U.S. to address the racial inequities in music education. Decolonizing the Music Room is a non-profit organization that aims to use research, training, and discourse to help music educators center the voices and experiences of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian people, challenging the historical dominance of white Western European and American music, narratives, and practices. In their own words: “We at DTMR aim to disrupt the minimization and erasure of non-dominant cultures and identities in the field of music education to build a more equitable future through our work.” Resources include suggested reading, podcasts, firsthand accounts from other music educators, video blogs, and more. We are resharing this The Ensemble resource for our international readers, as music educators across the world continue to look beyond the Western canon.

Back in June, El Sistema Sweden and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra were forced to adapt their annual Side by Side music camp to COVID times, transitioning an event that usually hosts over 2,500 young musicians into an entirely virtual experience. Having long desired a digital platform to complement the in-person camp, they hit the ground running. The result? Side by Side Digital, a virtual music camp that hosted 700 participants from 30-plus countries. Their performance of The Lion King’s “Circle of Life,” put together by Christer Hedberg from &friends, combines self-filmed clips with camp recordings from the Concert Hall. In the words of ES Sweden, “‘Circle of Life’ represents for us in a very brilliant way the basic idea behind Side by Side—that music can unite us beyond all boundaries.”

With funding support from the Australian Government through the Office for the Arts, the Support Act has expanded its services to offer Crisis Relief to music industry professionals impacted by COVID-19. Musicians and arts workers were hit hard by the pandemic, and these grants are an opportunity to help those still working to make ends meet. There is no deadline to apply; please share with any Australian musicians or music workers you know. Click here to learn more.

Australian arts workers may also want to learn more about the Red Ochre Award, recognizing an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person for their lifetime achievement in the arts and their contribution to the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, both nationally and internationally. Nominations close December 7; click here to nominate someone through the Australian Council of the Arts.

The Royal College of Music in Stockholm and El Sistema Academy in Sweden are teaming up to offer a three-day course on developing musicianship in young people, titled “Subject didactics for teaching children and young people in orchestral playing and choir singing.” Taught by Ronny Linderborg in collaboration with Ron Davis Alvarez (Artistic Director of El Sistema Sweden), the course will take place January 29–31. This offering is free of charge for citizens in the EU, in the EEA states of Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, and in Switzerland, though citizens of other countries will need to pay the registration and tuition fees. It is promising to see El Sistema receive continued recognition and prominence at higher learning institutions, so please share this widely and consider signing up yourself. The application period ends on October 15; read more about the course here.

Child Art Magazine Explores “Art for Health” 

The latest issue of Child Art magazine, from the International Child Art Foundation, focuses on Art for Health. It includes research pertinent to instruction in all art forms and reports from around the world about the Arts Olympiad. The editor writes, “Art can be a powerful catalyst for cultural and social change. Art can also provide immediate benefits that result in better mental and physical health, especially during this pandemic; hence this special issue on ‘Art for Health.’”

Americans for the Arts (AftA) and other leading arts organizations have put out a statement in support of arts workers in the U.S. AftA has just opened it up for endorsements by U.S. arts organizations and individuals. Designed to “engage in, and drive, direct employment of creative workers,” this U.S.-based resource may be a useful template for arts workers in COVID-affected nations across the world.

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 For more information: Longy.edu/ensemble-news