The 2022/23 season is just beginning and Elemental Music has so many exciting new initiatives underway!

Among those initiatives is our brand new Teaching Fellowship. This is a paid opportunity for college students in Southern California to receive hands-on experience teaching young musicians in our ensemble programs (strings, band, choir, or full orchestra) while also being mentored by veteran teachers and performers.

The idea for this program was developed by our Board of Directors, specifically in the Racial Equity Committee. With the acknowledgement and understanding that children of all backgrounds should be able to look to the front of the classroom and see themselves reflected in their teachers, our Teaching Fellowship program was developed as a way to expand the pipeline of who has the opportunity to become a professional music educator and teaching artist.

There was an overwhelmingly positive response to this program, with over 40 students applying in this first year. The selection process was extremely competitive, with only four spots available for fellows. Please give a warm welcome to Elemental Music’s 2022/23 Teaching Fellows:

Elemental Band:
Emma Marie Surdilla, University of California, Los Angeles

Elemental Choir:
Carolyn Lozano Archbold, California State University, Los Angeles

Elemental Strings:
Mads Knight-Weber, Santa Monica College
Daniel Young, University of Southern California

L to R: Mads Knight-Weber, Carolyn Lozano Archbold, Emma Marie Surdilla, Daniel Young

Fellows will work alongside our teaching artists for the entire season, in addition to participating in training sessions with directors and special guests. We know that each fellow brings a unique set of skills and experiences to our programs, and we are so excited to work with these college students. We can’t wait to see how each fellow grows over the course of the season!