It is a joy and privilege to announce Longy’s new stewardship of The Ensemble and World Ensemble newsletters, furthering a commitment to social-justice-centered music education that best prepares students to make a meaningful life in music.


To celebrate this new chapter, Longy School of Music of Bard College is sending a chapbook, as a gift to readers, entitled Grace Notes: A Collection of Editorials by Tricia Tunstall for The Ensemble, with an Introduction by Eric Booth and Foreword by Longy President Karen Zorn. Subscribe to the newsletters on the right.

The Ensemble newsletters are the only publications dedicated to the extraordinary community of El Sistema-inspired program leaders, educators, students, and parents around the world—380+ programs in 65+ countries, with nearly a million participating young musicians. Each organization is unique but they share inspiring ideals: to effect social change and personal development through musical excellence. The Ensemble newsletters are the movement’s primary forum for news exchange, research and innovation reporting, sharing of resources and opportunities, calls-to-action, and thoughtful editorial and practitioner perspectives.

Thought leaders Eric Booth (Founding Publisher) and Tricia Tunstall (Founding Editor) have worked tirelessly to build an active, informed, and visible network for this community. Over 10 years of incredible work, they have travelled the globe, unearthing and sharing resources and ideas from every corner, and connecting colleagues from a wide array of backgrounds and organizations.

Author of The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible and widely considered the nation’s leading teaching artist, Eric Booth has taught at Stanford University, NYU, Tanglewood and Lincoln Center Education, and Juilliard, where he founded the Art and Education program and was Artistic Director of their Mentoring Program. As a senior advisor to El Sistema-inspired sites around the world, he is a leading advocate, writer, speaker, teacher, and consultant to Sistema programs, orchestras, cities, and governments. His new book Playing for Their Lives: El Sistema and the Global Movement for Social Change Through Music is co-authored by Tricia Tunstall.

Award-winning author and educator Tricia Tunstall is a champion for the critical role of music in childhood development. Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music catalyzed this movement worldwide, while Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson highlights the teacher-student relationship. Her work in public schools, private lessons, higher education, and the first El Sistema-inspired state alliance—all while publishing prolifically—is a model for cultural leaders.

Working with Managing Editor Graciela Briceno, Tricia expanded the World Ensemble with editors for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America, and a Spanish edition.

Without Eric and Tricia’s mentorship, collaboration, and counsel, Longy would not be as deeply rooted in this movement, with the first and only El Sistema-inspired degree program in the US, the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Los Angeles, and the first El Sistema-inspired program embedded in a conservatory curriculum, with Side-by-Side in Cambridge.

New Managing Editor Christine D’Alexander, D.M.A. has been a Longy MAT faculty member, a program director and teaching artist at Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), and currently Assistant Professor of Music Education at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where she teaches courses in music education and strings, and serves as Coordinator of Student Teaching. She plans to expand the number of contributors to The Ensemble and World Ensemble and engage further professional communities, with her involvement with the International Society of Music Education (ISME), the College Music Society (CMS), and National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

Longy School of Music of Bard College is honored to contribute to the legacy of The Ensemble and World Ensemble newsletters—inspired by the generous spirit that created this community, and excited to build on its extraordinary success.