Educational Programming

Crossing Borders Music performs educational programs for thousands of students each year, from kindergarteners to college students.

K-12 programs:

  • Stories and Music of Resilience” Crossing Borders Music celebrates musical stories of resilience in a performance of string quartet music by composers from around the world. This unique 50-minute string quartet program features music by composers from Uganda, Argentina, the Soviet Union, the Chickasaw Nation, Taiwan, and the US. Each piece shares a unique story of resilience, whether in the face of personal loss, political oppression, or other people’s incorrect assumptions!
  • “What Gives Music Meaning?” is a two-livestream series for students in grades 6-12. In its two parts, “Windows and Mirrors” and “Music and Context,” students explore how a musical expression’s cultural context, the music itself, and our own unique perspectives can all make a piece of music or art “special” to us.
  • Crossing Borders Music also provides mini-residencies, mini-performance/presentations about our unique work, masterclasses, sectionals, side-by-side play-alongs, and more.

K-8 programs:

  • “Celebrating Black Trailblazers” Crossing Borders Music uses music to celebrate Black trailblazers in this rich, one-of-a-kind, 50-minute in-school performance. Through guided listening, students will hear the stories of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable, Florence Price, and Rosa Parks come to life through music for string quartet by African-American composers.
  • “Stories and Music of Resilience” Crossing Borders Music celebrates musical stories of resilience in a performance of string quartet music by composers from around the world. This unique 50-minute string quartet program features music by composers from Uganda, Argentina, the Soviet Union, the Chickasaw Nation, Taiwan, and the US. Each piece shares a unique story of resilience, whether in the face of personal loss, political oppression, or other people’s incorrect assumptions!

All-ages programs:

  • “Cambodian Music: The Living Tradition” shares Cambodian culture and shares lessons learned from our long-time, cross-cultural collaboration with the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and its Resident Artist, Nisa Pov.

College-level programs:

  • Crossing Borders Music shares its music, its values, and engages with students in dialog about what inclusive music looks like. Crossing Borders Music has shared with students at Indiana University, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Bradley University, North Park University, and more.
Crossing Borders Music at Caldwell Elementary School


Interested in bringing Crossing Borders Music to your institution? Please contact us online here, or e-mail info@crossingbordersmusic.org.