Music Education: Transforming Children’s Lives

Across the planet, social initiatives rooted in the teaching of music have shown the powerful impact that this form of creative expression, collective engagement and personal development can have on the lives and futures of children and youth. The programs presented in this panel hail from diverse cultural and social environments, and address different needs and challenges among the students they serve. Despite these differences, our speakers will draw upon their lived experience, and that of their students, to identify the common threads that make their work successful, impactful and life-changing, with lessons that can benefit children and communities everywhere.

Presenters:

Lee Willingham
Dr. Lee Willingham is Professor of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he coordinates the music education program as well as the MA and PhD programs in Community Music. Since joining Laurier in 2004, he has balanced research, writing, and performance, conducting the Laurier Singers Chamber Choir and guest conducting ensembles across Canada and internationally, including the Budapest Central Choir and the Saskatchewan Honour Choir.

Elizabeth Njoroge
Elizabeth Njoroge, a luminary in the world of classical music, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Art of Music Foundation in Kenya. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from McMaster University and a Pharmacy degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK. Driven by a deep passion for music, she pursued vocal studies in Scotland and the UK, performing with renowned ensembles including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Adam Greig
Dr. Adam J. Greig is a Scottish-born musicologist, performer, and educator originally from Fife. He completed his BMus (Hons), MMus, and PhD at Lancaster University in England, with his doctoral research focusing on the music of French composer Germaine Tailleferre.

Ron Davis Alvarez
Ron Davis Alvarez is a musician, teacher and founder of the Dream Orchestra. He specialises in training teachers to lead youth orchestras and has lectured at conferences and masterclasses around the world. In 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Ron Davis Alvarez founded the Dream Orchestra with children and teenage refugees who had no musical training from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Kurdistan, Albania, Angola, Eritrea and Somalia. With over 50 current members, the Dream Orchestra is now a role model of education for many music programs worldwide and was awarded the 2021 Ockenden International Prize.

Kenn Mainville
Kenn Mainville is President & CEO of Sistema New Brunswick, the largest youth music program in Canada. A longtime supporter and parent of two NBYO alumni, he champions a program that has transformed music culture in New Brunswick and inspired thousands of young lives over the past 15 years.